When I was joining new teams/positions (as OIM, Field Manager, etc.) one of my first plans was to assess -and enhance if needed- the Emergency Response capabilities of the organization in place. Frequent drills on the different scenarios is one of the basic means to reach that. And in order to make the simulations more realistic, I used to prepare sophisticated (but realistic) scenarios, to add observers who can take pictures/vidoes of the response that can be used in the debriefing sessions, and -at a later phase- to make unexpected changes to the organization by pulling back one or more members of Emergency Management Team (including myself as EM Commander), who can even be subject of Search and rescue.

-Involve staff in scenario development: Use their real-world experiences. -Create realistic environments -Conduct structured debriefings: Focus on learning and improvement. -Implement a continuous improvement cycle: Track and implement feedback.

Observe and note down areas for improvements during the emergency simulation. Focus on the pre and post emergency simulation brief, so as to evaluate whether the roles & responsibilities, emergency response task is clear and precise. Provide a feedback loop / channel for all interested parties, direct or indirect stakeholders, Emergency Response Team members, to share their perspectives. Continuously review the effectiveness and efficiency of each contextualized emergency preparedness and response plan

1. Recueillir les retours post-simulation : Organiser des débriefings systématiques après chaque simulation pour permettre au personnel de première ligne de partager leurs impressions. 2. Analyser les écarts entre simulation et réalité : Les retours peuvent révéler des écarts entre la simulation et les situations réelles (équipement manquant, temps de réaction irréalistes, etc.). 3. Impliquer les premières lignes dans la préparation : Demander aux intervenants de première ligne de contribuer à l’élaboration des scénarios. 4. Utiliser les retours pour affiner les procédures et protocoles : Les observations faites par le personnel de première ligne peuvent révéler des faiblesses dans les procédures d’urgence.

Ask questions, have some tactical staff involved in the planning, ask questions, see feedback, and ask questions. Staying curious and aware of modern ideas and processes helps build realistic and meaningful simulations. Don’t write off ideas just because they’re not yours.

Using a hardened JOC with frequent practice and drills of planned and unplanned events based on previously designated scenarios, that leverage technology to provide advanced warning, immediate alerts to responders and constant communication throughout the progression of the training exercise with focus on preparation for real, on the ground, response, rescue, security and mission operational assessments can provide frameworks for constant interagency support, communication through the response process and incorporation into plans of valuable insights through constant feedback, this should be drilled in a variety of fluid field environments prior to response to disasters to ensure seamless interagency cooperation and mutual support.

Front line staff are critical to the effectiveness of emergency simulations, both front line first responders and front line non-responder staff who would be impacted by an emergency. Feedback both on the design of such simulations as well as on the simulated responses will offer planners insight into what would most likely occur, how responders would actually respond, and how impacted parties would react. This would give planners the data necessary to make modifications to emergency plans, determine any additional resource needs (human & equipment), and to craft new training scenarios that could better prepare both responders and impacted persons within an organization. This is most effective in organizations with internal 1st responders.

To create greater realism, the homework needs to be done well before the exercise. I have found it very useful to create decision trees using the players SOPs. The decision trees create a stimulus through an inject from the MSEL. Based on the SOP and SMEs analysis of the community of practice you come up with expected player actions. It is a good practice to project the inject response out as many moves as possible given your time to develop the exercise. This have to be everything that is not present during the exercise and know every expected player action and response is what make Functional Exercises so hard to develop. It is all about the research/homework.

There should be direct communication on a constant basis to know individuals and the work activities they are involved in to understand their perspective. Many programs are often mismanaged by creating a blanket system/plan with expectations to execute. This is not realistic nor practical since one does not fit all. The failure to recognize this basic concept creates confusion and disconnect with Clients/stakeholders in that the project is not truly organized. Take the time to survey/analyze all aspects of operations before releasing a procedural plan.

To enhance emergency simulations, incorporating frontline feedback is crucial. This can be achieved by: * Directly involving frontline staff in scenario design using real-life experiences. * Leveraging technology for anonymous feedback, video analysis, and real-time engagement. * Prioritizing psychological safety to encourage open communication and learning. * Providing targeted training based on identified needs. * Measuring the impact of feedback-driven improvements. By implementing these strategies, organizations can create more realistic and effective simulations that better prepare their workforce for real-world emergencies.