CCG Newsletter Issue N°6                                                         February 18th, 2020   http://cascocg.com

THE STORMY WEATHER SHIELD

Major drills: why they are so important

Why should we conduct major drills when there are cheaper and less disruptive alternatives?

In our June 2019 newsletter, we addressed the need to integrate crisis management training with practice.

We repeat over and over again the importance of practice to crisis management, not because it is a business slogan but also because we are convinced of the importance of this to the success of the program. 

Practice : a key element of any learning process

Looking at this topic from from the human perspective, we identify four stages in any learning process (see picture below): 

Knowledge is different from knowing-how

Think about the following situation: you have probably read brochures or watched videos about CPR.  You know what it is about and how it is supposed to be done. You know the basics.

Now... can you give CPR to someone correctly and effectively in a real emergency  not having practiced it before? Probably not.

Crisis management doesn't escape this logic. If you do not practice the knowledge you have acquired during trainings, it will be difficult to apply it effectively during a real emergency. You must necessarily cross that bridge that we mentioned before.

So, when you exercise you are crossing the bridge!!!.

What type of drills should we need to conduct?

 While there is a general consensus on the importance of conducting drills, there are often discrepancies regarding to the level and complexity of them.

 There are many types of exercises whose complexity ranges from the simple to the complex. Also does the time and resources to be invested (money included)

 Examples:

Major Drills? Why?

In addition to provide organizations with the chance to test a larger set of components of their plans, from a human perspective, there is a key reason which makes major drills (despite their higher costs) prevail over the less complex ones: the mechanism by which our brain stores the information.

Let's do a simple test:

Situation A.- Do you remember what were you doing exactly 33 days ago at this time? Probably not.

Situation B.- Do you remember what were you doing when you were told that your first child (grandchild, nephew, etc) was on their way? MOST LIKELY YES.

 Do you know what is the basic difference between situations A and B?  EMOTION.

When facts are associated with an emotion, they are stored in the brain in a more solid and lasting way.

The stronger the emotion is, the longer the information will remain in our brain

A major drill is an immersive experience, in which the participants undergo a stressful test. In fact, there is frustration, stress, nervousness, exposure to superiors and subordinates, sense of urgency, etc.

All these factors, connected to strong emotions, make the storage of this information (know-how) more solid and longer lasting.
That is what we want to achieve: emotional impact to retain the information in the brain.

Major drills not only allow us to check most of the components of our crisis management plan by working together, but they are also more effective in terms of how solidly the knowledge is fixed in the participants' brains

Remember : having a plan and not practicing it is almost the same as not having a plan

Having a plan is essential. Practicing it is critical.

Author: Eduardo Fernández Martínez, CCG Associate Consultant 

UPCOMING EVENTS 

 HELCOM Response Working Group Meeting Vejle, February 26-28 | DENMARK

Demonstration of Oil Spill Response Equipment , March 4 | USA, Des Allemands, LA  

Meeting of IOPC Funds’ governing bodies, March 11-13 | UK, London  

25th Cedre Information Day, March 17 | FRANCE, Paris  

SPE HSE & Sustainability Conference, March 17-19 | COLOMBIA, Bogotá  

Marine Insurance London Conference , March 20 | UK , London  

SCAA Annual Meeting & Conference , March 24-25 | USA, Arlington, VA 

Workshop on oil spill liability and compensation, March 25-27 | TOGO, Lome

AIChE 2020 Spring meeting and 16th GCPS, March 29 - April 2 | USA, Houston  

IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee, Mar. 30 – Apr. 3| UK, London  

Regional Workshop on Oil Spill Waste Management, April 1-2 | TUNISIA, Tunis 

Clean Waterways Conference , April 7-9 | USA, Indianapolis, IN  

Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council , April 20-24 | USA, Minneapolis, MN 

Oil Spill Response Strategies & Tactics Training , April 28 – May 1 | USA, Leonardo, NJ 

APICOM GM Meeting, May 10 | USA, New Orleans, LA  

International Oil Spill Conference & Exhibition , May 11-14 | USA, New Orleans, LA 

European Maritime Day Forum Event , May 14-15 | IRELAND, Cork  

43rd AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response, June 2-4 | CANADA, Edmonton, Alberta 

Elastec’s Spring 2020 River Workshop, June 2-4 | USA , Carni, Il  

2020 IOPC Funds’ Short Course, June 8-12 | UK, London  

Clean Pacific Conference & Exhibition, June 9-11 | USA, Seattle, WA  

European Environmental Ports Conference 2020, June 24-25 | NETHERLANDS   Rotterdam  

HazMat Emergency Response Workshop, Sept. 8-11 | USA , Sacramento, CA  

Ecoforum Conference & Exhibition,  Sept. 15-17 | AUSTRALIA, Darwin  

Oil Spill India Conference & Exhibition, Sept. 22-24 | INDIA, Mumbai  

IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee, Oct 19-23 | UK, London  

Clean Gulf Conference & Exhibition, October 20-22 | USA , San Antonio, TX