LESSONS to REMEMBER

You have written your plan. You have verified that the procedures in your plan are correct. You have trained your staff and team members in what to do. You have continued to maintain your plan.

And now, the disaster happens. What to do, what to do.

There are several lessons to remember at this time:

1. Don’t panic
Panic is the one thing that can cause your well-prepared plan to fail. The difference between a disaster that results in failure and one that results in continuity success is often how well the teams control panic. Well-trained teams can recover from even the most serious incidents provided they remain calm and in control.

There is no one cause of panic. It usually comes from small problems that grow. Teams and the people in them operate in their comfort zone. If things work as planned, the people are in the middle of their zones. However, if things begin to unravel, the greater the chance that the next small problem will cause the team to lose control. When this escalates to the first stages of panic, rational thought is replaced by reflexive reactions that frequently have no positive impact on the situation.

2. Watch out for Murphy
Murphy’s Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Poor planning, inadequate training, and poorly maintained safety and response gear are invitations for Murphy to appear. Deny this opportunity to ruin your recovery by careful advance preparations, by keeping the skills of your teams up to date and by keeping your equipment and plan properly maintained. Failure to do one or all of these things is usually a contributing factor to a failure to recover.

3. Practice
The strategy for smarter, safety and more successful response is to routinely practice the skills necessary for a successful recovery so that if you have to respond to an emergency, they are second nature. It also help to play “what if” games with yourself and your team members. Think about the things that could potential happen and think about and practice ways to counteract or to respond to them. What would you do if you get separated from others in your unit during an evacuation ? What would you do if the building is completely dark during the exit ? What would you do if the emergency responders are delayed in arriving and you are informed that there are still people unaccounted for and maybe still in the building ?

4. Fix the Little Things
If you begin a response to an emergency with a problem, no matter how small, that problem is not going to go away or get better on its own. Minor annoyances can pile up to become a critical problem.

If your response does not begin well, you have to identify the problem and correct it immediately.

5. Listen to the Briefings
Just as you are supposed to listen to the safety briefings before any flight, you should teach your team members to pay attention during the training sessions and when they are briefed on the details of the emergency and the nature of the response.

6. Get the right Safety Gear
You should, as part of your plan development, get the safety and emergency gear needed by your response teams. This includes items such as fire extinguishers, first aid kits, AED defibrillators, protective clothing, gloves, fluorescent bibs, flashlights, water, whistles, stretchers, stair chairs, communication devices (2 way radios, cell phones, etc.), bull horns, etc.

7. Take Responsibility for your own Safety
Teach all of your team members and other staff that they are ultimately responsible for themselves. Teach them that no one else can think for them, plan for them and nobody else can save their live when they fail to be prepared. Show them to take responsibility for their own actions and be prepared to deal with problems that may occur.