WHY PLANS FAIL
Post on 25-Feb-2016
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WHY PLANS FAIL
SASKATCHEWAN EMERGENCY PLANNERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
MARCH 2012
DON BRENNANINTERNATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
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“THE PROBLEM IS ALWAYS IN THE
EXECUTION , NOT THE IDEA”
Napoleon Bonaparte
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Audience Check
Elected Officials CAO/Administrators Emergency Coordinators First Responders Volunteers / NGO’s Roughrider Fans Others
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Is your plan infallible?
Some do’s and don’ts Try not to alienate the agencies and people
that need to have confidence in you.You will lose your credibility
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Obvious reasons
Have not started the plan Have not completed the plan Have not exercised the plan Have not circulated the plan Have not updated the plan Have not validated the plan
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TUNNEL VISION
Focusing on singular elements and not what else is going on
Limiting the scope of what we do to a manageable size. This makes us over confident and catches us by surprise.
Manage our planning to an “all hazards approach” Plan for the worst and hope for the best Expect something in between Identify priorities – immediate issues - impacts
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Look at the whole picture – a global view Without a clear picture decision makers often
fail to make decisions or they make knee jerk reactions
They become overwhelmed by an overabundance of facts,rumors and conjecture.
Some base their decisions on costs
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Misinformation caused by Tunnel Vision
To prevent this we should follow these steps: Collect and validate information Look at the credibility of who provides that
information Understand the issues Seek the necessary expertise to make the
correct decision Open your EOC early
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Flexibility
You achieve flexibility in the plan by having a diverse group of people on your planning committee – Often the same players are in your EOC.
Some plan with the Big picture in mind Some carry out the mission There are those who gather the information and limit
the distribution Accurate information allows for flexibility when
conditions make it necessary
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Team planning is better
Always ensure plans are compatible with other stakeholders and partners
Working in isolation defeats all planning Build plans that are flexible enough to deal with
underlying issues rather than just specifics Understand the issue of “Cultures” Accommodate thinking – outside the box
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CULTURES
ADMINISTRATIVE or political culture.They have no time for this until it happens
RESPONDER cultures, often traditional PROFESSIONAL cultures, too many grey areas in
response, they need black and white PLANNER cultures ,outside the box thinkers NGO/VOLUNTEER cultures,faith based REAL cultures –ethnic or new Canadians often have
communication issues, evacuation and food issues
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The Unknown Plan
Having a well thought out emergency plan is irrelevant if all parties are not thoroughly familiar with it
Plans need to be shared at every level within your own agency.The plan needs to be explained and understood (training-table tops)
Know the expectations of other agencies Updates need to be passed on
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All members of your agency need to know their roles and responsibilities,especially those named in the plan
They need trained back ups Outside agencies named in your plan need to be aware
as soon as the plan is implemented Regular joint meetings assist agencies in being aware
of any changes within any other agency.This allows them to sync those changes to their plan
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FAILURE to activate
Plans are not activated when events begin slowly
Senior management are often unaware of smaller incidents
Nobody is concentrating on an escalation of events and progressive impacts
Again- Tunnel Vision
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Activation requires thought
Ensure your plan has pre-approved triggers and clear levels of activating authority
Every level needs to know when the plan is activated
Activating only portions of the plan is counterproductive.Things can quickly be overlooked.Seen as working in isolation
Get Big Quick!
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Miscommunication
We express ideas from our own point of view We need to think about how the message is received
through filters of gender,culture,workplace bureaucracy or the bias of each person relaying the message
When responders talk to each other information can be misunderstood because of:
1. Use of different terminologies2. Lack of common standards3. Not keeping in sync under rapidly changing conditions4. Inter agency rivalries5. Incompatible communications
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Failure to activate your public information component is problematic
Decide on a course of action and communicate it to the front line. Creates trust and helps to prevent panic
Lack of information to civilian volunteers and NGOs There is often a disconnect between the “experts”, the
public and the media Never exaggerate or understate to the media.Facts are
absolutely essential. No time for political agendas
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Communication between the expert and Senior management / Elected officials
As the expert we are not likely to be the ultimate decision maker in a major crisis
Sooner than later we must communicate with someone senior who will make those decisions
Experts usually find they have about five minutes to explain and compartmentalize complex situation(s) to someone with no background and who may not know you.
To gain trust and involvement-exercise in their backyard to gain attention and trust
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Decisions- require trust
This presents the most risk to a plan in a major event when the decision maker and the expert have not established trust
The decision maker may make incorrect decisions and take the opposite view because of a lack of trust.The results can be disastrous and create unnecessary problems to be dealt with by overtaxed agencies
Agencies need to trust in one another by understanding their respective roles and why they do the the things they do
The public needs to trust in collective decision making by the experts and decision makers
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Not having the tools or not knowing how to use them
Not having communication prior to or in the early stages of an event can create chaos
If you plan to use a tool in a crisis – use it daily Having to explain how something works to large numbers of
individuals usually indicates they shouldn’t be part of the Incident Management Team
Be aware of where all equipment is stored and the procedure necessary to obtain it ( sandbags, flood barriers, heavy equipment, etc.)
Be aware of how to commandeer or find people with unusual expertise ( interpreters, sign language)
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Scale of the response to the incident
Prepare for the worst – Hope for the best ( Murphy’s Law)
There is danger in over – reaction. Better than too little too late
Emergencies are not evenly distributed Consider all the impacts Make clear distinctions betweens an alert, an advisory,
and an emergency
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Resources
The mapping of your resources is necessary within your plan
Mutual aid and cross training Each community plan needs to list it’s resources and
file in a central depository for the province Procedures need to be established to obtain resources
from others Training and exercise is required to know how to use
resources
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Unhealthy competition
We do not need competition when managing a crisis During the World Trade bombing police and fire did
not work well together because they did not work well together prior to the incident
Thinking and performing as a team does not come naturally
Breakdown barriers and develop true teamwork prior to a disaster
Individuals look good when the team looks good
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Lack of Emergency Management Knowledge in Leaders
The conductor needs a clear vision and knowledge of every musician in order to conduct a symphony
Those with limited knowledge need to trust in experience This holds true at every level The public and the media can sense very quickly when someone is
not competent Lack of knowledge leads to delegation. Most senior management
send a delegate to exercises and then do not know what to do during the real thing
Yet, they feel obliged to take charge Most do not have the time nor the inclination to learn the details of
emergency management. Especially outside their organization
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Who is in charge
The Incident Commander at the scene? The CAO The municipal emergency coordinator before,during an
after? The politician? The Provincial government? The Federal government?
This is why authority need to be clearly spelled out in an emergency plan
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The Guardian of the plan
Lets deal with municipalities
Always the Emergency Coordinator The EC must maintain and update the plan The EC must share the updates The EC is responsible for the training of everyone named in the plan The EC is responsible for exercising the plan The EC is the “expert” link to management The EC should be responsible for archiving and lessons learned
The same holds true for other agencies who need to appoint a person as their EC
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The Emergency Coordinator The EC must take overall responsibility and be capable Must be a knowledgeable leader Must be a great communicator Must earn trust Must be credible Must be able to see the big picture Must know front line staff and protocols Must be trained Must be experienced Must be flexible Must be diplomatic Must be fair but firm
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Exercises
Paper exercise – can be effective – usually not Table top – effective and less costly than a simulation Simulation – the most effective, and most costly Communities tend to exercise what they know they are good at
and shy away from what they are not Usually followed by back slaps all around and the failures are
seldom are addressed Sometimes they are over complicated Responders are forced to use a skeleton crew.This limits who
learns from the exercise Same exercise conducted over and over again.
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Conclusion
We have discussed just some of the reasons why emergency plans fail People make plans work Communication makes plans work Front line staff are the key to make it work Knowledge makes plans work Resource management makes plans work Capable leadership makes plans work Trust makes plans work Management / elected officials who get their hands dirty make plans work Everyone taking an active role in exercising makes plans work Proper support makes plans work
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THANK YOU
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