Transcript Slide 1
Designing, Conducting, and
Evaluating Tabletop Exercises for
Pandemic Influenza Business
Continuity Planning
Kristine Moore, MD, MPH
Medical Director
Jill DeBoer, MPH
Associate Director
Workshop Outline
• Overview of Exercises (30 minutes)
• The Tabletop Exercise Planning Process:
From Conception to Action (60 minutes)
• Facilitating a Tabletop Exercise; Exercise
Evaluation and Follow-up (30 minutes)
Overview of Exercises
Presentation Outline
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Steps in Business Continuity Planning
Purpose and Timing of Exercises
Five Major Types of Exercises
Unique Features of Pandemic Influenza
Exercises
• Designing Exercises to Meet Your Needs
Steps in Business
Continuity Planning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Develop a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Implement the BCP
Test, Refine, and Revise the BCP
Steps in Business
Continuity Planning
1. Conduct a Risk Assessment
Identify internal and external threats, hazards,
and vulnerabilities that could impact your
company
Hazards may be industry-specific or may be
general
Rank hazards by probability and severity
Pandemic influenza is a hazard with a high
potential severity and high probability (at some
point)
Steps in Business
Continuity Planning
1. Conduct a Risk Assessment
2. Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Define how different hazards (such as
pandemic influenza) could impact your
business
Identify critical job functions and operations
Assess assets for response
Consider minimal requirements for continuing
operations
Steps in Business
Continuity Planning
1. Conduct a Risk Assessment
2. Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
3. Develop a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Utilize an all-hazards approach with annexes
for specific issues
Make key decisions (based on the BIA)
Develop policies and procedures as necessary
Define trigger points as needed
For pandemic planning, consider unique
stresses (CIDRAP 10-point framework)
Steps in Business
Continuity Planning
1.
2.
3.
4.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Develop a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Implement the BCP
Educate staff and conduct training as needed
Conduct steps necessary to implement policies
and procedures
Steps in Business
Continuity Planning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Develop a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Implement the BCP
Test, refine, and revise the BCP
Purpose and Timing
of Exercises
An exercise is a focused practice activity that
places the participants in a simulated situation
requiring them to function in the capacity that would
be expected of them in a real event.
Excerpt from FEMA Emergency Management Institute Independent Study Course,
Exercise Design (March, 2003)
Why Exercise?
• Identify successes and strengths to be
maintained and built upon
Plans, policies, and procedures
Resources
• Reveal areas needing further improvement
Plans, policies, and procedures
Resources
• Educate on plans, policies, and procedures
• Educate on the complexities of a specific
emergency scenario
Why Exercise?
(continued)
• Improve organizational coordination and
communications
• Train personnel in roles and responsibilities
• Improve individual
performance
• Satisfy regulatory
and/or funding
requirements
• Evaluate response
systems
When to Exercise
• According to planned exercise program
schedule
But also…
• Revision of Business Continuity Plan
• Changes in key personnel
• Shifts in sector/industry trends
• New regulatory requirements
• Changes in information technology systems
• In response to recent past incidents or events
• In anticipation of upcoming events
Exercise Categories
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Orientation
Drill
Tabletop Exercise
Functional Exercise
Full Scale Exercise
Orientation
Purpose
• Familiarize staff to organization’s emergency
response plan
• Familiarize current staff to changing information
or procedures
• Bring together various departments for better
understanding and coordination
• Identify planning and response priorities prior to
plan development
Orientation
Methods
• Talk Through
• Brain Storming
• Case Study
• Training Workshop
Orientation
Example
• Cross Border Orientation Exercise
Scenario 1:
Foodborne Botulism
Outbreak
Suspect Botulism Cases
•Cranial nerve dysfunction
•Bilateral proximal muscle weakness
Largest Foodborne Botulism
Outbreak Reported
in North America
176 cases
Small Group Discussion
• Review Identified Issues
• Prioritize Issues
• Brainstorm Realistic Action Steps
Orientation
Good for:
• Educating, building awareness
• Gathering new ideas or feedback
• Exercising before a plan is started
• Exercising before a plan is finalized
Drill
Purpose
• Instruct thoroughly through repetition and
practice
• Focus is usually on one aspect of the response
plan in one organization
• Can be used to test staff training, response time,
interdepartment cooperation and resources,
manpower and equipment capabilities
• Can be preceded by orientation
Drill
Sometimes referred to as:
• Procedure verification exercise
• Validation exercise
• Walk-through exercise
Drill
Examples
• After Hours Notification Drill
• Emergency Operations Center Drill
• IT System Recovery Drill
• Mass Dispensing Site Drills
Tabletop Exercise
Purpose
• Focus on constructive problem solving as a
group
• The success of a tabletop exercise is determined
by feedback from participants and the impact this
feedback has on evaluation and revision of
policies, plans, and procedures
Tabletop Exercise
Methods
• A discussion guided by a facilitator based on a
simulated emergency situation
• Basic Tabletops: Participants discuss problems
as a group; leader summarizes conclusions
• Advanced Tabletops: Series of messages
requiring rapid response; facilitator guides the
discussion
Tabletop Exercise
Advantages
(FEMA Exercise Design Manual)
• Is a good way to acquaint key personnel with
emergency responsibilities, procedures, and one
another
• Is an effective method for reviewing plans,
procedures, and policies
• Requires only a modest commitment in terms of
time, cost, and resources
Tabletop Exercise
Disadvantages
(FEMA Exercise Design Manual)
• Lacks realism and thus does not provide a true
test of an emergency management system’s
capabilities
• Provides only a superficial exercise of plans,
procedures, and staff capabilities
• Does not provide a practical way to demonstrate
system overload
Functional Exercise
Purpose
• Fully simulated interactive exercise that tests the
capability of an organization to respond to a
simulated event
• Tests multiple functions and coordinated
response in a time-pressured, realistic simulation
(without deploying resources)
Functional Exercise
Methods
• Participants gather where they would actually
operate in an emergency (usually an EOC or
other operating center)
• Participants are briefed immediately prior to the
start of the exercise as to objectives, procedures,
time frame and recording requirements
• Simulated information is delivered to players by
paper, telephone, or radio
Functional Exercise
Methods (continued)
• Players respond as they would in a real
emergency, in real time, making on-the-spot
decisions and taking on-the-spot actions
• Similar to full-scale exercise without the
equipment
• Involves controllers, simulators, and evaluators
• May consider “no-notice” design
Functional Exercise
Sometimes referred to as:
• Simulation exercise
• Operational exercise
Functional Exercise
Examples
• Strategic National Stockpile Exercises
• Nuclear Power Plant Exercises
Full Scale Exercise
Purpose
• Tests the comprehensive response capacity
of multiple organizations by simulating a
real event as closely as possible
Full Scale Exercise
Methods
• Field personnel proceed to the location of a
mock emergency
• EOC activities are combined with on-scene use
of simulated victims, equipment, and manpower
(enactment)
• Activities at the scene serve as input and require
coordination with the simulation at the EOC
Full Scale Exercises
Example
• City/County Emergency Management Exercises
• Airport Disaster Exercises
Exercises are Everywhere
• Military
• Emergency Management
• Hospital Disaster Planning
• Nuclear Power Plants
• Airports
• Businesses
• Public Health
Unique Features of Pandemic
Influenza Exercises
• Rapid decision-making with limited information
• Staged decision-making
• Long term event
• Global event
• Impacts all sector of society
• Exploring relationships with the public health
system
• Anticipated public panic
Designing Exercises to
Meet Your Needs
• Choose Type of Exercise Carefully
– Based on Exercise Goal and Objectives
• Choose Exercise Format Carefully
– Unlimited possibilities
• Consider the Roles of Internal Teams
and External Consultants
Early in the Design Process:
Visualize
“That was a
smashing success!”
Three Key Questions:
What did the participants learn?
What was documented?
How do the participants feel?