Rothstein Associates Inc.

EXERCISE SOURCEBOOK:
OPERATING CENTER SIMULATIONS
by James W. Morentz, Ph.D. and Scott A. Gutschick

“Shows how to put players under stress with intense, fully simulated messages, maps,
radios,
and telephone transmissions, requiring decision making under pressure. Offers a complete
guide to scenarios, EOC design, map making and evaluation.”

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“This Guidebook will help you design, prepare, conduct, and evaluate a type of advanced
exercise called an Emergency Coordinating Simulation (ECS). These exercises are
practical, efficient, and proven ways to improve the individual abilities of emergency service
personnel and the overall capability of the emergency management system.

“The approach of this Guidebook to exercises is based on the belief that the most effective
ones are part of a complete cycle of exercises. This cycle begins with low-stress discussion
seminars and tabletop exercises and proceeds to the Emergency Coordination Simulation
and Outside Disaster Drills. This Guidebook is the second in a series of Exercise
Sourcebooks that will help any emergency organization in government or industry develop a
complete exercise program.

“Among the basic principles of exercising that influence this Guidebook are:
1. Emergency Coordination Simulations must be tailored to specific sites and
circumstances. This means adapting the ideas found in this guide to the government.,
business or industry "scene" of your exercise.
2. Emergency Coordination Simulations are part of the planning process. Unless the plan for
any location or facility is tested by practice, and unless individuals themselves broaden their
experience and skills through practice and tests, the plan will remain only a paper reminder.
3. Emergency Coordination Simulations need to be part of a continuous exercise process,
not one-time shows. They must be part of an organization's commitment to safety and
emergency preparedness. Any emergency organization that attempts the complex,
high-stress exercise described in this Guidebook without adequate experience with more
basic exercises runs a considerable risk of failure.

“This Guidebook cannot be a cookbook to exercises. No guide can prescribe a little bit of
this and a lot of that and guarantee a successful exercise. What this guide does is distill a lot
of experience into a few pages in order to suggest some techniques that have been
successful elsewhere and alert you to potential problems.

“You now know the assumptions of this Guidebook. In the following sections, it turns to
answering some of the common questions about Emergency Coordination Simulation. After
that question and answer overview, the Guidebook suggests steps and techniques, while
warning of pitfalls and failures, to conduct Emergency Coordination Simulations in your
company or jurisdiction.”

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDEBOOK

ANSWERS ABOUT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT EXERCISES
What is an exercise?
What is simulation?
What is exercised?
Why should I exercise?
What will I get from an exercise?
Is any one thing most important to the success of an exercise?
Who develops the exercise?
What Is the role of the emergency manager?
Where should I begin?
Can you give a few quick rules for having a good ECS?

THE EMERGENCY COORDINATION SIMULATION
Four Steps to an ECS

GETTING STARTED (Checklist)
Needs and Capabilities Assessment
Reasons for Exercising
Capability to Conduct an Exercise
Defining the Exercise Scope
Scope in Your Exercise
Should You Conduct an ECS?
A Statement of Purpose
Announcing the Exercise: The Directive

EXERCISE PREPARATION (Checklist)
Task 1: Planning the Exercise
Work Plans
Costs and Liabilities
Task 2: Refining Objectives
Task 3: Simulation Development
Some Hints on Writing A Narrative
Sequence of Major Events
Doing The Detailed Sequence of Events
Control Points
Hints on Writing the Detailed Sequence of Events
Writing Messages
Task 4: Physical Facilities
Task 5: Displays and Materials
Charts and Maps
Overhead Projectors
Computers
Charts
Problem and Event Log
Damage Assessment Chart
Medical Facility Chart
Fallout Shelter Status Chart
Congregate Care Facility Chart
Law Enforcement Resources Chart
Fire Resources Chart
Transportation Resources Chart
Sequence of Events Charts
Organization Charts
Maps
Making Maps
Duplicating Maps
Telephone Directory
Messages
Information in an Exercise
Task 6: Staffing the Exercise
The Control Role
Staffing
Training
The Simulation Role
Staffing
Training
The Evaluation Role
Staffing
Training

CONDUCTING EMERGENCY COORDINATION SIMULATIONS (Checklist)
Assuring a Smooth Flow of Messages

CRITIQUE, EVALUATION, AND FOLLOW-UP (Checklist)
Why to Evaluate
What to Evaluate
When to Evaluate
Conducting a Critique
Evaluation Recommendations Report
Reviewing the Draft Report
Preparing the Final Report
Follow-Up

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1984, 86 pages Order #DR245.
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