Introducing the 'human factor'

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In a bid to improve the effectiveness of emergency exercises, learning and development consultancy Forum Interactive has been working with Tayside Fire & Rescue (Dundee, Scotland) to help oil company Nynas develop new techniques to respond to major accidents & emergencies. Introducing authentic and unpredictable human responses - using real people has allowed Nynas to test systems and processes in a highly realistic environment. Glen Robertson explains more

Camperdown Emergency Exercise was a multi-agency exercise carried out at Caledon West Wharf and Nynas Refinery in Dundee, Scotland. This exercise forms one of an on-going series of exercises carried out by Nynas personnel with the Emergency Services.

Working closely with Nynas in its planning and co-ordination were Tayside Fire and Rescue, Scottish Ambulance Service, Tayside Police, Briggs Environmental, Forth Ports and learning and development consultants, Forum Interactive.

Introducing the 'human factor' In the past casualty simulators - dummies - are used in such exercises. Casualty simulators provide an effective means of testing emergency response procedures.

However, they are less effective at simulating 'human factors' which permeate real accident and emergency scenarios.

In the Camperdown Emergency Exercise, the level of challenge was increased by using actors to introduce authentic and unpredictable human responses. The presence of 'real' casualties provided an urgent and continual need for attention to the victims of the incident.

For the first time, factors like response time, quality of medical attention and degree of compassion became part of the exercise.

Feedback from the actors about their experience enabled the organizers to continually evaluate the effectiveness of their procedures, and provide training and coaching as the day progressed.

The scenario The exercise was based on a fictional event taking place at Nynas' oil refinery. A tanker vessel is unloading crude oil into the refinery. Nearby, the driver of a minibus carrying workers has a fatal heart attack at the wheel, resulting in the vehicle crashing into the pipe work manifold next to a security barrier.

The pipe work is breeched and hot crude oil sprays out, burning the occupants of the minibus and the security guard at the barrier. It continues to spray out for 10 minutes, entering the River Tay. A road tanker driver carrying fuel oil sees this incident and, distracted, crashes into an electrical switch cabin. He is trapped with a broken arm and the fuel oil runs out.

Increasing the challenge Actors were used to test systems and processes in relation to casualties and information management. All those participating were informed of this in advance.

Casualties: emergency services arriving on the scene were confronted by 'real' casualties - people in pain and distress - who remained as such for the duration of the exercise.

Journalist: Meanwhile, a journalist asked questions and gathered information about what was happening until he was challenged and removed. He put anyone he encountered under pressure to answer questions and they had to stick to the correct response. This part of the exercise was designed to highlight potential improvements to communication procedures, as well as people's reactions to the press under pressure.

Phone calls: Another actor phoned key personnel within the organisation in the aftermath of the exercise. The actor played a variety of roles from concerned relatives to inquisitive journalists.

Nick Ashton, health, safety, security and environment manager, Nynas comments: "Forum Interactive provided the actors and helped us develop detailed scripts for each role - they also provided realistic make up based on real burns victims.

Each role was researched with incredible detail to make it as lifelike as possible. For example, how do burn victims behave? How would a road tanker driver react? What kind of questions would a journalist ask? It was incredibly life like."

Outcomes One of the core benefits of using actors in place of 'casualty simulators' is to introduce a higher level of realism to an emergency exercise. For example, burn victims behave differently to people with broken limbs or head injuries. These unique responses can be simulated with great precision by actors.

Using real actors, participants also have to develop more 'emotive' responses such as patience and compassion. Factors such as time management and prioritisation also become important as the actors simulated varying levels of injury.

Nick Ashton continues: "Using actors gave us more options, and introduced a new level of focus and realism. For example, we wanted to simulate the effects of Bitumen burns, and the kind of responses this would evoke from the victims and emergency services.

The exercise has also demonstrated how dangerous chemicals can be - this has encouraged managers to sit up and think about the consequences of serious accidents. It has definitely delivered the impact we were looking for." Roy Dunsire, station manager of Tayside Fire and Rescue commented: "Having to respond to real people meant there was no complacency among the crews. It also produced a more shocking and realistic atmosphere, so we will be better prepared for the real thing - particularly dealing with burn victims.

Feedback from the actors has also helped us identify better response procedures." Glen Robertson is the director of Forum Interactive.