Tabletop Exercises for Mine Emergency Response Train-the-Trainer Center for Educational Technologies ® Wheeling Jesuit University

“Mine operators’ emergency response plans (ERPs) must be treated more than just more paperwork. ERPs should be developed collaboratively... and revised based on mine-specific drills and tabletop exercises.” - West Virginia Governor’s Independent Investigation Panel, 2011

Tabletop Exercises Are discussion-based exercises. Offer a low-stress environment for examining roles and responsibilities. Typically highlight plans, policies, procedures, and interagency agreements. Are a good way to acquaint personnel with emergency responsibilities and with one another.

Tabletop Exercises Take advantage of varied experiences and diverse perspectives. Are facilitated by a trainer who presents the scenario, moderates discussion, monitors pace, and poses questions. Ask participants to respond based on plans and procedures used by their organization as well as their knowledge and experience. Are relatively inexpensive.

Successful exercise programs have engagement and resources that provide for the exercise cycle. Improvement Planning Foundation Design & Development ConductEvaluation Exercise Cycle

To provide a foundation: Improvement Planning Foundation Design & Development ConductEvaluation Exercise Cycle Review plans and assess needs. Establish buy-in. If needed, identify a planning team, establish a timeline, and allocate resources.

To design and develop an effective tabletop exercise: Improvement Planning Foundation Design & Development ConductEvaluation Exercise Cycle Define scope and purpose. Determine objectives. Compose scenario. Coordinate logistics. Plan exercise conduct and evaluation methods.

To conduct an effective tabletop exercise: Improvement Planning Foundation Design & Development ConductEvaluation Exercise Cycle Clearly explain to participants what is expected. Introduce the scenarios. Select and ask discussion questions. Facilitate problem solving. Control the pace.

To effectively evaluate a tabletop exercise: Improvement Planning Foundation Design & Development ConductEvaluation Exercise Cycle Be familiar with the mine’s plans and procedures and exercise objectives. Take notes during the exercise to help you facilitate an exercise debrief. Conduct an exercise debrief.

To follow up a tabletop exercise: Improvement Planning Foundation Design & Development ConductEvaluation Exercise Cycle Assign responsibility to and track progress of any adopted recommendations or follow-up actions. Build assessment of any improvements into the next exercise.

Participants Facilitators present the scenario, moderate the discussion, monitor the pace of the exercise, and pose questions to the participants. Participants respond to situations presented in the emergency scenario based on current plans and procedures used by their organization as well as their knowledge and experience. Sometimes evaluators may assist the facilitator by observing and recording key issues discussed during the exercise.

Facilitation Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Set the stage. Explain. Success largely depends on participants understanding what is expected of them. Present the scenarios. Facilitate problem solving and draw answers and solutions from participants by steering them in the right direction without giving them the answer.

Exercise Debrief Note problem or gray areas that require further clarification. Allow participants to give feedback on the exercise and the decisions they made. Record any recommendations for improvements or after-action items decided upon by participants.

Exercise Debrief Review exercise objectives to determine whether they were met by the exercise. Note any creative problem solving beyond current plans and procedures. Determine whether there were any lessons learned that are suitable for sharing with other responders or other mines.

Development of these slides was supported by Grant Number 1H75OH REVISED from the CDC-NIOSH. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC-NIOSH.

Mining and Industrial Safety Technology and Training Innovation Center for Educational Technologies ® Wheeling Jesuit University