Lakhasly

You are reviewing the Warning & Informing Communications Strategy for a major airport.Responders can and should collaborate with others where this helps them to Warn, Inform and Advise (WIA) the community

The community themselves including voluntary groups and businesses should not be overlooked WIA planning and execution

Guidance in the UK suggests responders may carry out Warning, Informing and Advising by the following methods:

on their own

collaboratively, by agreeing with partners to act under the leadership of a lead responder

jointly, by making arrangements with another responder or

by delegating the task to another responder who will work on their behalf

Examples of joint working (UK):

Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council warning and informing services have developed joint arrangements for communicating with the public.The Informer Emergency Notification System covers CCA, REPPIR, MACR and COMAH.Determine specific actions to improve crisis communication and crisis response capability

Create linkages to pre-crisis activitiesDiscuss what Multi-agency collaborative emejrgnecy response working procedures you would expect to be included.

You are reviewing the Warning & Informing Communications Strategy for a major airport.
Discuss what Multi-agency collaborative emejrgnecy response working procedures you would expect to be included.

Responders can and should collaborate with others where this helps them to Warn, Inform and Advise (WIA) the community

The community themselves including voluntary groups and businesses should not be overlooked WIA planning and execution

Guidance in the UK suggests responders may carry out Warning, Informing and Advising by the following methods:

on their own

collaboratively, by agreeing with partners to act under the leadership of a lead responder

jointly, by making arrangements with another responder or

by delegating the task to another responder who will work on their behalf

Examples of joint working (UK):

Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council warning and informing services have developed joint arrangements for communicating with the public. The Informer Emergency Notification System covers CCA, REPPIR, MACR and COMAH.

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/warnandinform

Cleveland Emergency Planning Unit has developed communication links with industry (COMAH Establishments, Nuclear Power Station, etc.)

www.clevelandemergencyplanning.info
Emergency Preparedness (UK) Annex 7 C: Checklist of suggested protocols for WIA

To agree the identity of lead responders to warn, inform and advise the public on those scenarios which can reasonably be anticipated

To agree the process to be used to identify the lead responder to warn, inform and advise the public on any other type of emergency

To agree joint working procedures and allocation of responsibilities in support of the lead responder for warning, informing and advising

Emergency Preparedness (UK) Annex 7 C: Checklist of suggested protocols for WIA

To agree the trigger points for the handover of the lead responsibility for warning, informing and advising from one responder body to another, and the procedures to achieve this

To agree how services or products for warning, informing and advising (e.g. equipment for media centres) will be sourced

As appropriate, to agree with local companies and organisations the circumstances in which their facilities or resources (e.g. premises, call centres), may be made available to the responder bodies, to help deliver advice and information to the public in the course of an emergency
oint Discharge of the Warning and Informing Function

Joint Discharge of the Warning and Informing Function is one form of collaborative working on Warning, Informing & Advising

By making arrangements to operate with another responder or delegating the task completely to another responder

The key requirements will be suitable arrangements for delegating the responsibility and for ensuring it is carried out to the proper standards

In the UK for example the Warning, Informing & Advising generic duty falls on all Category One responders

In the USA it falls on national, state and local bodies from FEMA down to local town Mayors for example

A more specific duty for WIA usually comes from regulation or laws of entities such as high hazard industries e.g. nuclear, COMAH (Petroleum/chemical hazardous) sites, ports and airports
Maintenance of Warning and Informing Arrangements

Emergency plans must contain arrangements for warning and informing the public and just as emergency plans must have maintenance arrangements so must WIA processes be maintained

“As with any other part of planning for the response to an emergency, the communications strategy - either direct with the public, or via the media - should be fully integrated into the responder’s emergency plans”

Warning and informing arrangements are usually the remit of a communications/media sub-group

Like most plans or parts of plans they review the arrangements yearly and exercise them on a regular basis either as stand alone exercises or as part of larger exercises

As well as continual maintenance, immediate review after a plan has been used is very useful:

After use in an emergency it is important to evaluate the performance of the communication plan, document lessons learned, and determine specific actions to improve crisis systems or the crisis plan

An emergency is a very important learning opportunity

Failure to learn the lessons from it increases the chance of a failed response in the future

It is easy for us to focus on the level of tactics and implementation and not consider our overall communication strategy

When the emergency is over:

Evaluate responses, including communication effectiveness

Document and communicate lessons learned—what worked and where were the challenges?

Determine specific actions to improve crisis communication and crisis response capability

Create linkages to pre-crisis activities