Premium on Safety - Issue 37, 2020 - 4

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT

More Than a Plan

Being prepared for an emergency requires more
than a dusty binder on a shelf
BY FRANK JACKMAN
Whether the emergency is a serious incident or accident involving
a small flight department's aircraft, or a global pandemic affecting
millions, it's important for companies to have more than an
emergency response plan, says Donald J. Chupp, president and
CEO of Fireside Partners. Being properly prepared requires an
emergency response program.
"A plan is the written testament of what you intend to do," said Chupp,
who heads an organization that started off as an emergency response
and preparedness consulting company, but now also runs a 24/7
Emergency Operations Centers capable of supporting clients around
the world. "A program has the resources, the training, and the physical
capability to actually make good on those intentions. The program is
what makes your plan a truth-telling document, ultimately."
The front end of any emergency response program should be a
"robust capability" to find out that an emergency has happened and
to confirm that the emergency affects your company, your aircraft,
and/or your employees and passengers, Chupp said. After that, a
good program enables you to determine the emergency's level of
magnitude and whether an event is serious enough to warrant full
activation of the program.
"A lot of plans assume that you know all that and that you're
going to open the book and you're going to get to work," he
said. "A program adds that sort of decision-making and sense of
magnitude to the equation before you start doing anything so that
you make sure that when you start the procedures you're doing so
under the correct context."
After awareness, confirmation, and magnitude come what Chupp
referred to as the three 'Ps'-people, perception, and participation-
which he said are the most important elements of any emergency
response program.

The first 'P' is to take care of the people directly affected by the event.
"That's got to be a primary focal point," he said.
Second is to manage the perception of the company as it will be
viewed by employees, customers, and the outside world.
The last 'P' is about effectively participating-rather than simply
cooperating-in any investigation into the event. Cooperation implies
handing over whatever is asked for, making statements freely, perhaps
without the right advice or counsel, and basically following the
directions and orders of the investigators. Participation, on the other
hand, is more about having a seat at the table with others involved
in the investigation, such as the aircraft and engine or component
manufacturers and the aircraft operator if that is not your company,
and participating in the process. "You want to actively participate is
those activities because the causation of the emergency may have
nothing to do with a fundamental failure on your part," Chupp said.
"With the stress and the unfamiliarity of these investigative systems, a
lot of good companies are so nervous, and they don't know the rules,
that they simply adopt this cooperative mindset and they just hand
over everything, even things that aren't asked for. And you can imagine
how detrimental that could be to an organization," he said.
After the three 'Ps' comes the return to service plan, which is a strategy
for getting back to work in a safe and professional manner.
It is an element that a lot of organizations haven't contemplated.
Decision making around getting back to work involves two major
components-the aircraft itself in terms of any safety issues that
may need to be addressed across the company's fleet before flight
operations resume, and the emotional and psychological well-being of
a company's employees. Accidents in business aviation are profoundly
impactful, perhaps more so than at the airline level because they often

USAIG helps policyholders develop organizationspecific emergency response plans and supports
exercises and drills. Click here to download our
ERP Best Practices guide.

https://www.usau.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/USAIG-ERP-Best-Practice-Guide.pdf

Premium on Safety - Issue 37, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Premium on Safety - Issue 37, 2020