Premium On Safety - Issue 11, 2013 - 2

Emergency Response Plan

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impact from things done
right will be surprisingly
profound, while consequences from mistakes
will be magnified. You
will be fighting the clock.
News and social media
move at blazing speed
and mobile devices have
us connected like never
before. Does your plan
address these challenges and opportunities, or
“We find operators who take emergency
are you using a twentieth century ERP in the
response preparation seriously have
twenty-first? Living near
the workplace is not the
noticeably strong safety cultures. It’s unclear norm it once was, and
outside of working hours
which comes first, the culture or the ERP
your team may be far
apart. Gathering them
commitment, but the link is unmistakable.”
in one spot may take
hours, and you don’t
have hours to achieve team situational
those lines aware of the form and trained
awareness. Most plans call for a supervito use it? Are the forms handy? Have drills
sor to be quickly informed and decide
validated this? Some people expect to be
whether to activate the ERP. USAIG’s
notified on their cell phone, but do they
really cover that device 24/7? Do they carry Watson recommends that the decision be
vested in several people at a supervisory
an accident report form with them everylevel, to provide redundant assurance one
where they go? If everyday calls are occacan always be reached. He also suggests
sionally missed (and whose aren’t) a call
a “when in doubt, activate” approach,
regarding an accident can be as well.
pointing out that “it’s easier to scale or
Your accident protocol must work pershut down a response if the situation
fectly anytime aircraft are flying, and that
proves less severe than initially thought,
takes careful thought. Corporate security
than to catch up.”
centers often provide an always-staffed
Sequentially calling response team
location that can process accident calls
members is a common next action, but
after some coordination and training
relating even a basic version of the situon the desired protocol. All people not
ation to each individual soaks up time
expected to process an accident call
and may result in people understandshould know exactly where to send one.
ing the situation differently. A quick
Reminders installed on or near all comcall, email, or group text message that
pany phones may be helpful for this. The
directs everyone to a passcode-protectnumber filed on flight plans should be
ed conference line may be an option to
one that’s always answered, and lines
bring the group up to speed together.
that are unattended part of the time
Either way, accuracy of contact informay need to be forwarded when workmation in the plan is vital. Cully White,
ers leave. You can’t control when, from
ERP coordinator in USAIG’s Los Angeles
where, or to whom an accident call is
branch, confirms, “Outdated contact
coming. Your goal is to control as much
list info is a common issue found when
as possible from that moment forward.
exercising ERPs. Phone numbers and
Activating the ERP
jobs change faster than these plans
Effects are intensified in the first
are typically tested. Lists should be rehours after an accident. The positive
2

validated at least quarterly, and many
are not.”
Making first notifications
Addressing media inquiries and notifying emergency contacts for crew and
passengers are unenviable but vital tasks
in the early aftermath of an accident. A
full discussion of these complex issues is
beyond this article’s scope, but considering a few broad points can help assess an
ERP’s readiness.
The first originates outside the ERP:
integ- rity of flight manifests. Nothing will
desta- bilize an emergency response more
quickly than an inaccurate manifest or lack
of an emergency contact for each person on
it. Any gaps processing this information in daily
practice for every flight should be closed.
Second, it’s generally best to share
known facts as soon as possible, and
almost always a mistake to delay while
waiting for more details. A rapid call with
basic known facts—and a kept promise to
follow up as more information unfolds—
illustrates you are being as forthright
and caring as possible. Even a temporary
silence implies, well, something else, and
may leave the informing to less appropriate sources. Does your ERP identify who
will notify emergency contacts for people
on the aircraft and who will address the
media? Are people aware of and trained
for these roles? Does it state who will
authorize release of information?
Finally, does your ERP contain goals
and an actual process—when, how—for
emergency contact notification and media
statements? These issues are often left
hazy in the ERP but, like flying an aircraft
with no emergency procedures defined,
assuming you can sort this out on the fly
is likely to fail. Best practice operators
state that an emergency contact should
be advised within X minutes of a worker
suffering a serious or incapacitating injury
and that a “basic facts” media statement
will be approved for release within Y minutes of a breaking-news event. Then they
develop procedures, job aids and policies
within their own contexts to enable meeting those targets.
Validate readiness systematically
Processing the first advisory of an
accident, activating the ERP, alerting
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Premium On Safety - Issue 11, 2013

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