A Capabilities-Based Framework for Disaster Response Exercise Design and Evaluation: Findings from Oil Spill Response Exercises

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Greenberg ◽  
Paule Voevodsky ◽  
Erica Gralla
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Evaluation Measures ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Response Readiness ◽  
Exercise Design ◽  
Response Exercise ◽  
Critical Challenge

Abstract The responder community must be ready to respond quickly and effectively in the event of a disaster. In order to maintain readiness, many disaster response communities exercise their response capabilities on a regular basis. The critical challenge is to design, conduct, and evaluate exercises in a manner that effectively tests responders’ readiness and generates lessons that can improve readiness. This paper describes a framework to enable assessment of response readiness through evaluation of critical capabilities in exercises. It was developed for oil spill response based on the observation and analysis of four response exercises. The framework (1) identifies critical capabilities that lead to readiness for spill response, and maps them to (2) exercise design components that test each capability and (3) evaluation measures to evaluate each capability within an exercise. The framework enables continuous improvement by linking the evaluation of exercises to the critical capabilities required of an oil spill response organization; by evaluating the performance of specific capabilities, areas for improvement are clearly identified and can be re-tested in a future exercise. While the findings are necessarily specific to oil spill response, the principles apply to any disaster response context.

NATIONAL DRILL OF THE VENEZUELAN OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 513-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Villoria ◽  
Elia Gomez ◽  
Nelson García Tavel
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Contingency Plan ◽  
Field Response ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Evaluation Decision ◽  
Flow Charts ◽  
Intensive Work ◽  
The Given ◽  
Response Capability

ABSTRACT In November 1993, the first drill of the Venezuelan national oil spill contingency plan (VNCP) was carried out to evaluate both the response capability of the plan to cope with an emergency and the effectiveness of the regional response organization to manage the given scenario. During four days of intensive work, 800 participants, evaluators, and controllers of the drill made decisions and took actions to mobilize resources and pollution countermeasure equipment for cleanup operations. To measure the effectiveness of the response actions, 23 oil spill response processes were evaluated based on flow charts or decision trees designed for each process. In summary, the drill covered all areas related to response actions in the case of an oil spill (alert, notification, evaluation, decision-making, mobilization, field response, and postmortem), evaluating the ability of the VNCP to cope with a major emergency and identifying weaknesses in order to improve the response capability.

A State's Response to Oil Spill Preparedness How the Texas General Land Office built and maintains one of the premier oil spill response organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 2017031
Author(s):  
Steven Buschang
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
State Response ◽  
General Land Office ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
State Of The Science ◽  
Index Maps

Texas produces nearly twice and much oil as the next highest producing U.S. state and has approximately 3300 miles of sensitive jurisdictional shoreline boarding the second highest area of our nation's oil production, the Gulf of Mexico. It is home to over 27 operating refineries and hosts 3 of the top 10 busiest ports in the nation. Since 1991, the Texas General Land Office (TGLO) has built an oil spill prevention and response program that is arguably the premier state oil spill program in the nation; one that responds 24/7 to over 600 reported spills per year, certifies, audits and inspects over 600 oil handling facilities, administers an abandoned vessel removal program, an oily bilge facility program, and has an ongoing oil spill R&D program and its own state Scientific Support Coordinator, ensuring that prevention, planning and response activities are state of the science. The TGLO produces the Texas Oil Spill Toolkit, now in its 17th edition, which is a spill planning and response resource for the western Gulf of Mexico, and houses a collection of plans and documents in a single, easy to use online/off-line .html format. Plans include up-to-date Area Committee Plans (ACP) and pre-planning documents, all aligned with the National Response Framework (NRF). Included are Regional Response Team VI (RRT) documents and guidance, pre-authorization plans and mapping for alternative spill response, Priority Protection Areas (PPA), Environmental Sensitivity Index Maps (ESI), and site specific Geographic Response Plans (GRP). This paper describes the conception, history and evolution of the building and operation of a state response organization in an era of “less government”.

OIL SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT—BOHAI SEA—CHINA

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 905-908
Author(s):  
Mark Boben ◽  
Liu Yuheng
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Bohai Sea ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
The Bohai Sea ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Offshore Oil

ABSTRACT Oil spill response along the coast of China has been recognized as an important issue by the Chinese government. The Bohai Sea in particular, is an area of high oil exploration and production activity, with offshore developments comprising platforms and FPSO's (floating, production, storage and off-loading) together with associated vessels and pipelines. Major shipping lanes from the East China Sea into China also pass through the offshore oil fields. For the oil companies operating in the area, the prospect of an accidental oil spill is a concern from both a domestic and international perspective. In 2000, the companies involved in upstream activities in the Bohai Sea began discussions with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to develop an oil spill response capability. Led by ConocoPhillips, the international oil companies worked with CNOOC to build a framework for developing an oil spill response organization (OSRO) to provide appropriate services within the Bohai Sea. The key tenet for this OSRO, was to be able to perform to international standards. In 2002, the CNOOC executive management, through its subsidiary, Bohai Corporation(COOBC) committed to establishing a commercial oil spill response organization, Bohai Environmental Services Ltd. (BES). The BES remit is focused on the Bohai Sea, but with the eventual goal of providing response services along the wider China coastal region and eventually fulfilling a longer term vision of expanding into the international market. This Paper describes the standards required by the international oil companies and how BES was conceived and organized to meet them.

Incorporating Well Control Support Functions into a Broader Oil Spill Response Organization

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 2098-2111
Author(s):  
Kelly Lynn Schnapp ◽  
Joseph Leonard ◽  
Michael Drieu ◽  
Bryan Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Outer Continental Shelf ◽  
Support Functions ◽  
Well Drilling ◽  
Well Control ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
And Control

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to better prepare the oil spill response community for incorporating well control into a response organization, based on conditional considerations rather than long and firmly held assumptions. Techniques used to control a well, after a blowout, are more closely related to technical well drilling and control activities rather than to operations intended to address oil in the environment. When oil is released from a well in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), response organizers need to consider various factors influencing the organization that may exist at the time. These include a working knowledge of well control by response leadership; strength of responder relationships; and response complexity (to include authority, stakeholder and public expectations). This is particularly true when incorporating the well control support function in the oil spill response operational planning processes, usually facilitated by the Incident Command System (ICS). Within the last three years, complex well control operations were uniquely incorporated into response organizations during two Government Initiated Unannounced Exercises (GIUEs) and during the DEEPWATER HORIZON incident. Three options will be presented. Considerations for incorporating well control into a response organization will be presented using the case studies noted previously and by comparing similar lessons learned from the salvage industry in the late 1990's. Options presented help demonstrate that response organization flexibility is key to a successful response. This paper seeks to illuminate options surrounding placement of well control within an incident command structure based upon unique incident situational realities.

Designing and Developing Exercises to Enhance Capability - A Meta Analytic View

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 745-761
Author(s):  
Geeva Varghese ◽  
Thomas Coolbaugh
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Timely Manner ◽  
Exercise Programs ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
After Action Reviews

ABSTRACT A robust preparedness framework is essential to maximize response effectiveness and safeguard success. Exercises are an integral part of oil spill preparedness and emergency management. Exercises enhance the capability of an organization to respond by validating plans and procedures and seeking affirmations on assumptions and stakeholder expectations. Since planning and preparing for exercises can be costly and time consuming, it is important that lessons learned are accurately captured, widely communicated and implemented in a timely manner so that they can lead to measurable improvements in the way we prepare and respond to incidents. On average, international Oil Spill Response Organizations (OSRO) may be involved in thirty to forty oil spill response exercises in a given year, ranging from small scale exercises testing communication between various stakeholders to highly complex, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional scenarios. Participation in multiple exercises in various capacities ranging from planning, designing and facilitation to participation, performance and capability assurance as an Oil Spill Response Organization, presents varied opportunities to view and analyze exercises from both ends of the spectrum, as a planner as well as a participant. A meta-analysis of these exercises offers a unique opportunity to systematically identify recurring areas for improvement and to examine new avenues to explore and test capabilities with operators who have established robust exercise programs. A key outcome of this would be to translate learnings into important enhancements for industry’s collective response and preparedness capability. This paper presents a meta-analysis view of recent OSRO-industry exercises with a focus on a comparative assessment of specific After Action Reviews (AAR). The purpose is to identify common themes in terms of lessons learned and areas for improvement, especially when designing and planning future exercises. It also considers whether exercises have evolved to incorporate changing response capabilities and realistically testing any increased information requirements of the stakeholder community. Finally, it will also examine how successfully companies have sought out emerging technologies that will positively impact preparedness, response and recovery. It is anticipated that the recommendations put forward from this meta-analysis will assist operators in realizing the full benefits of the time and effort invested in exercise programs.

INTEGRATING YOUR RESPONSE ORGANIZATION INTO EVERYDAY SUPPORT ACTIVITIES – MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-72
Author(s):  
Lee Majors
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Equipment Maintenance ◽  
Response Training ◽  
Member Company ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Day To Day Operations ◽  
General Response

ABSTRACT In the mid 1990'S, Alaska Clean Seas transformed from a typical oil spill response organization into an organization more involved with day to day operations in member company fields. A typical oil spill response organization is a fire house type organization with a warehouse and personnel which maintain equipment and provide spill response training. Today, ACS personnel are assigned to member company fields and provide other services such as hazardous waste handling, air opacity readings, small spill response services, environmental field sampling, environmental management program maintenance, and environmental inspections. This is combined with the spill response equipment maintenance and spill response team training. The services provided are outline in a Customer Service Agreement which is signed with each operating area. It outlines the services the ACS technicians will provide, which training is provided by ACS, and which training is provided by the member company. The financial obligations are outlined in the Cost Sharing Principles. These principles indicate which services are considered allocated in the normal ACS budget and which services are direct billed back to the member company operating areas. In general, response equipment maintenance and spill response training are allocated services with the remaining being direct billed. The benefits to this type of arrangement are many. The member companies obtain services for every day type activities and build up a better working relationship with the response organization. The spill organization members become acquainted with member company personnel and resources. They also become familiar with the area and with other contract services in the area. During a spill event, this knowledge increases the efficiency of the response and increases the trust between the member company and spill response organization. Also, on day to day spill responses, the spill response organization personnel work hand and hand with regulatory agencies which builds up the trust and familiarization for bigger events. With this arrangement, ACS is also able to sustain a higher number of qualified personnel. This improves ACS'S capability during a spill event and assists the member companies with a higher quality of spill response services. This paper provides information on methods that an Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO) can become more involved in member company daily activities for the benefit of both the member company and the OSRO.

Taking a Step Back. Exercises as Training Opportunities.

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 1055-1058
Author(s):  
Joseph Gleason
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Personnel Turnover ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Exercise

ABSTRACT Historically, many response exercises conducted by the United States Coast Guard and other oil spill response stakeholders have been conducted as functional or full-scale exercises. With the increased demands placed on many U.S. agencies as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11’ 2001, there is a greater need than ever to ensure that time spent in training and exercises produces positive and tangible results for the participants. In preparation for the joint US/Canadian response exercise, CANUSLANT 2002, the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards decided to take a step back and look at the lessons learned from previous exercises. Based on this review, the Joint Response Team (JRT) decided to focus CANUSLANT 2002 as a training opportunity and to work on the lessons learned that were repeatedly identified in earlier CANUSLANT exercises. Perhaps the most common exercise conducted in oil spill response is the functional “command post” exercise where exercise participants are assigned to ICS (Incident Command System) staff elements. Participants then respond to an exercise scenario and prescripted injects that are provided to drive participant actions. With personnel turnover, transfers, and increased operational demands, many exercise participants struggle through the crisis phase of an incident scenario and never have the opportunity to learn what it is they are supposed to be doing. When all is said and done, many exercise participants are often simply go home happy that the exercise is over and done with. The goal for CANUSLANT 2002 was to produce an exercise where the participants accomplished something tangible; that long pending issues would be discussed and perhaps even resolved. The Exercise Design Team hoped that the participants walked away from the exercise saying that it was time well spent and not simply thankful that the exercise was over. This paper outlines the factors that led to the success of the CANUSLANT 2002 cross border response exercise. This paper also highlights some of the fundamentals for varying your approach to exercises to achieve tangible results while providing personnel the skills and training required to respond in the event of a real disaster.

scholarly journals Oil Spill Combat Strategy & Lesson Learnt of Balikpapan Spill

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yodi Satya
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Similar Condition ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Paper Point ◽  
Comprehensive Information ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Unified Command

Among many discussions on effective response strategies during oil spill response operations at sea, this paper elaborates comprehensive information on oil spill combat strategy and lesson learnt from Balikpapan Spill incident. The author tries to shown the effectiveness of assessment and surveillance prior to oil spill response operation, oil spill response strategies and monitoring after oil spill response operation. The paper point out strategies used by OSCT Indonesia as National Oil Spill Response Organization on responding the oil spill incident. Focusing on taking tactical response according to experience gained from previous oil spill incident, the paper also mentions the importance of unified command between local authorities and company for easier coordination. Other than strategies and effective response, wildlife response become one of the difficulties faced onsite the field due to diverse wildlife and lack of wildlife response knowledge and trained experts. Learn from this recent oil spill experience, may enrich the knowledge on responding to such oil spill incident at similar condition and area.

SAFETY SYSTEMS INTEGRATION IN A LARGE OIL SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATION

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 951-952
Author(s):  
Steven Magasis ◽  
John Redden ◽  
Dan LeBlanc
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Site Assessment ◽  
Employee Safety ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Safety Plan ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Safety Systems ◽  
Primary Mission

ABSTRACT Improvements in oil spill and hazardous materials response organizations are designed to increase the effectiveness of response efforts. Parallel improvements in employee safety and health can be made by integrating some of the same organizational and technological systems developed to support the primary mission of response (for example, oil collection or site remediation). Examples can be seen in two safety programs developed by a large marine oil spill response organization: a vessel-based level-B site assessment and characterization system, and a computer-based spill operating system that integrates site-specific site safety plan (SSP) templates.

MOBEX Cayenne 2013: Lessons Learned & Response Enhancements Derived from the International Mobilization, Preparedness & Response Exercise in French Guiana

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Paul A. Schuler
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Joint Venture ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Tier 1 ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Tier 3 ◽  
Response Exercise

ABSTRACT Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) and Clean Caribbean & Americas (CCA) conducted the first International Mobilization, Preparedness & Response Exercise (MOBEX) since the 2010 Gulf of Mexico “Macondo” incident and since the merger of CCA and OSRL in January 2013. The exercise was hosted by Shell Exploration & Production France SAS (Shell E&P), the operating partner of the Zaedyus joint venture drilling prospect offshore French Guiana. It was the first MOBEX to support a deep water exploratory drilling scenario. MOBEX Cayenne 2013, was conducted in French Guiana, May 15–17, 2013, and included the following five foundational exercise components found in all MOBEXs:Tabletop Exercise (Simulation)Mobilization of Tier 1 and 2 (Shell), and Tier 3 (OSRL) response equipment and personnelConference and Technical SeminarEquipment Deployment DemonstrationDelegate Exchange/Forum A number of planning activities, and MOBEX itself, contributed to enhancing the overall oil spill preparedness capability in the operating area. Planning activities included coordination visits and meetings with operators and governmental authorities, familiarization with sensitive environmental resources, logistics planning within the international, national and local infrastructure, expansion of indigenous response capability through training of local responders and vessel operators, and familiarization with governmental policies and procedures across a wide range of issues. This paper discusses oil spill preparedness and response lessons learned and enhancements derived from the planning and conduct of MOBEX Cayenne 2013.

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