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Tabletop Exercise Instructions for Planned Events and Unplanned Incidents/EmergenciesPrintable version [PDF 348KB] Generic Tabletop Exercise PowerPoint (HTML) You may need the Adobe® Reader® to view the PDF(s) on this page. Contact Information: OperationsFeedback@dot.gov
U.S. Department of Transportation Publication #: FHWA-HOP-15-004 March 2015 NOTICE THIS DOCUMENT IS DISSEMINATED UNDER THE SPONSORSHIP OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE INTEREST OF INFORMATION EXCHANGE. THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ITS CONTENTS OR USE THEREOF. THIS REPORT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A STANDARD, SPECIFICATION, OR REGULATION. THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT DOES NOT ENDORSE PRODUCTS OR MANUFACTURERS. TRADE AND MANUFACTURERS' NAMES APPEAR IN THIS REPORT ONLY BECAUSE THEY ARE CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL TO THE OBJECT OF THE DOCUMENT. Technical Report Documentation Page
Form DOT F 1700.7
(8-72) Table of ContentsINTRODUCTIONThis 2014 version of the 2007 document, "Tabletop Exercise Instructions for Planned Events and Unplanned Incidents/Emergencies was undertaken to include the recent explosion of information on how to organize a tabletop exercise now available. In the search while updating the document, it became evident that it is still somewhat difficult to find is a complete package that includes a written document that offers simple, clear-cut steps for those not familiar with tabletop exercises; links to videos; and a PowerPoint presentation the facilitator can tailor to use at the beginning of the exercise. This revised document seeks to include these three components. A recent review shows that the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), various health agencies and utilities have prepared tabletop exercise material and/or held exercises to meet their specific needs. Finding tabletop exercises that either deal specifically with transportation issues or explain how to incorporate transportation concerns into a broader tabletop exercise are not readily available. The intent of this document is to help fill that void. When planned special events (PSE) are held, they generally increase traffic demands in or near the location of the event. In order to address this influx of traffic, transportation management plans are developed with the intent of minimizing the effect the event has on the transportation system. For a transportation management plan to be successful, however, it is strongly recommended that the plan be tested and reviewed prior to the event. One of the most effective ways to test a transportation management plan is through a tabletop exercise. For traffic incidents, tabletop exercises are a valuable way to bring the on-scene responders from the range of multi-discipline agencies together at one time. The exercise offers in a very short time all a very clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of all involved at the scene. Often for traffic incidents, the exercise is based on a recent incident. Why Exercise?
When the exercise is for a planned special event, a tabletop exercise uses the transportation management plan as the basis for action. It enables participants to role play in a scenario-based exercise conducted in an informal stress-free environment. During this low cost/low stress activity, key stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of transportation management plans test the plan through a facilitated scenario-based discussion. Tabletop exercises allow traffic management team officials to review the effect of certain event-specific action plans on other concurrent events. Through this interaction, contingencies are vetted and resolved. In addition, a tabletop exercise can be used to train and familiarize personnel with their roles and responsibilities within the planned special event's transportation management plan. No matter how thorough a transportation management plan may be, it cannot account for all contingencies. The purposes of a tabletop exercise are to (1) test the written assumptions in the transportation management plan and (2) see what must be changed and how the plan can be improved. The tabletop exercise allows the participants to see how they react to unexpected events such as equipment failure or personnel shortages. For planned special events, review and testing allows the traffic management team to identify potential limitations of the traffic management plan prior to the day-of-event. With stakeholder agencies representing various jurisdictions and disciplines, review and testing promotes traffic management team coordination and increases stakeholder familiarity of the duties, responsibilities, and capabilities of other stakeholders. Activities range from tabletop exercises that examine how different agencies react to various scenarios to "hands-on" applications that can involve a full simulation or deploying a transportation management plan for smaller planned special events as a test. Without the benefit of testing the transportation management plan, discrepancies may not be realized until the actual implementation of the plan. During these exercises, mistakes can be discovered while there is still time to make modifications and before any negative consequences are realized. Section One – Preparing for the Tabletop ExerciseScenario Writing TipsScenario building can be daunting. To ease that fear, one option is to use a scenario based on a recent event – and that event can be fairly well known. At critical points – either as the scenario unfolds during the exercise or as it meets the needs of those involved in the exercise – develop the questions the facilitator uses and based on the scenario that is used. Some of the questions to use (and adaptation of these questions is strongly encouraged by the exercise organizer and facilitator who are far more familiar with both the specific event and the intent of the tabletop exercise) are provided below. Tabletop scenarios should have the level of detail to give those involved in the exercise as many of the answers you need to help shape the standard operating procedures [SOP] (or also called Plans of Action or [POAs]). At the end of the exercise (and probably during it as well, it helps to ask those involved – In general, the questions seek to accomplish the following:
To help those writing the scenario as well as the facilitator, these questions show how to integrate the questions into the scenario.
The facilitator shares information will all involved. As tabletop exercises are not exercises in ESP, no one in the exercise has access to outside knowledge. All players are dependent on the information provided by the facilitator. The facilitator takes in that information and throughout the exercise asks, what happens next. For example, the x group makes the decision to do y. The facilitator always has the ability to interrupt the discussion to ask, "is anything missing? or is anyone or any organization missing?" To help the participants understand where they are in the cycle of the event, it helps for the facilitator to say, "At this stage of the exercise, we're now 5 hours/1 day/etc. into the event. Some questions to consider after the opening part of the scenario has been read
Generic Questions
Exercise to emphasize: Generic ScenarioScenario: Truck spills contents on Main Street Objectives:
At 2:00 AM on Tuesday March 13, a tanker truck overturns on Main Street and blocks both directions of traffic. The truck has a liquid that begins to spill. The liquid may be hazardous. How would the incident be detected? How would you know about this truck? How will this event affect the event? It is now 3 a.m., who from your traffic control team will be working? If the traffic control team doesn't start until 6 a.m., how will they know of this event? This is a police function as it should be. How should the event in this instance be treated differently? Shift for the transportation team begins when? 6 a.m. If the team members do or don't know, remind them that the buses start to leave at 5 a.m. What needs to happen to make the flow of communication about the incident available to the bus drivers who need to move the spectators from their distant locations? Where does the 24/7 police function tie to the traffic control center that opens at 6 a.m.? How is the information conveyed to the traffic control center?
What's the risk to the event?
Who needs to know? Who needs to know at 2 a.m.? Is there a way to make use of existing technologies that would allow you to find this out without a telephone call? Do you have this information? Summarizing points –
Wrap-up
Links to YouTube VideosDepending on the search words used, a number of YouTube videos offer very good examples of a well-designed tabletop exercise. Though none dealing specifically with transportation were found, when the phrase, "videos of tabletop exercises" was typed in, these YouTube videos were listed – TXWARN Tabletop Exercise http://securitynotes.asdwa.org/?s=TXWARN+Tabletop+exercise To view a discussion on what was learned at their exercise, view "Disaster and Town Management Tabletop Exercise Reflections," at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_nsq9C8xJo Generic PowerPoint PresentationPresentation is available as a separate document and is designed for the facilitator to adapt for the specific exercise. Section Two – The ExerciseGENERAL GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING TABLETOP EXERCISESPlanning for a Tabletop ExercisePlanning is critical to ensure that a tabletop exercise will be productive and useful for participating stakeholders. Following is a list of the major elements involved in planning for a tabletop exercise: Several months ahead of time:
ParticipantsThe purpose of a tabletop exercise is to encourage discussion among the stakeholders and to develop recognition of coordination and planning requirements. This can only be accomplished if group discussion takes place freely and without embarrassment to any individual or service. In order to make sure this type of environment exists, it is critical that care be taken when identifying a facilitator for the tabletop exercise. The facilitator of the exercise should be someone who has expertise and is knowledgeable with the planning and implementation of the transportation plans for planned special events but who is not an exercise "player." Ideally, this would either be the traffic engineer or an instructor who has the responsibility and knowledge of planned special events and resources available in your community. Planned special events tabletop exercise participants should (at least) include representatives of fire and rescue, police/law enforcement, transportation and/or public works, venue representatives, transit, emergency medical services, towing and recovery, elected officials, public information, and emergency management, and, if appropriate, a representative from the transportation operations center. Additional details concerning the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders typically involved with the traffic management for unplanned incidents is discussed in greater detail in the Roles and Responsibilities section. In addition, since participants cannot be expected to remember all that takes place during the exercise, it is critical that observers be used to: (1) watch what happens, (2) take notes on what is seen and heard, and (3) recount observations during the review process to provide for the after action report. ScenariosThe goal of testing a transportation management plan is not to be mistake free, but to identify potential problems areas. For tabletop exercises to be effective, they should test as many parts of the transportation management plan as possible using scenarios. A number of scenarios that cause disruptions to event traffic should be developed, keeping in mind that the scenarios should be as realistic as possible. Often times during a tabletop a simple scenario is presented to initiate discussion, and as the exercise progresses the scenario is escalated. During scenario discussions, operational problems and solutions can be identified. These scenarios typically do not require modeled network information, as their primary purpose is to test the stakeholders as to how they would react and to fine tune the responsibilities of each stakeholder and the communications protocol between the stakeholders. After Action ReviewAfter action reviews are conducted after a tabletop – or any exercise – has ended. The purpose of the review is to:
Participant input is also crucial in the review process. They can note difficulties experienced during the exercise that might not be obvious to observers. Reviewers should debrief participants as soon as possible after the exercise so participants do not forget what they experienced. These participant observations should also be included in a more extensive review of the exercise. Individuals who do not represent day-of event traffic management team personnel or event stakeholders can be very useful in moderating the review process since they do not bring real or perceived bias into the process. Finally, all of the observations and insights are useless unless there exists some opportunity to incorporate recommended changes into the transportation management plan. Tips to Ensure an Effective Tabletop ExerciseThe following are guidelines that will make your tabletop exercise more effective:
Additional tabletop exercises may be needed to evaluate the revisions/accomplish local goals of this exercise. LIMITATIONSOne shortcoming of the tabletop is that not all of the participants, especially the frontline personnel, will take part in the exercise. This could mean that those who are playing the role of a traffic management team member might handle events differently than those who actually would take the actions on the day-of-event, or that actions might differ if there were interaction with other participants. It also means that the insights, questions and suggestions of these operational personnel are lost. One way this can be addressed, in part, is to have several tabletop exercises, which review portions of the plan with smaller groups. Having multiple tabletop exercises better accommodates the schedule of designated traffic management team personnel. These exercises can focus on that portion of the plan, which in turn, involves these individuals. A tabletop may also miss outside influences that would be dealt with during an actual planned special event. For example, an operator at a traffic operations center may be handling other activities during a special event such as an incident not associated with the event. It should be noted that tabletop exercises can also be held prior to a more detailed exercise, which involves a greater number of people. In fact, a tabletop may identify problems which can be corrected prior to a more detailed exercise and allow a better simulation of what takes place. OTHER SOURCESSources used in the development of this guidance document:
Roles and Responsibilities: ExplanationThe roles and responsibilities or "back stories" for each of the groups represented in this guide is divided into two sections. The first group lists their planned special events responsibilities and the second section lists the responsibilities for unplanned events – either traffic incidents or emergencies. Some of the groups that will participate in the tabletop have responsibilities for only one of these areas. Though the summary of the roles and responsibilities is somewhat generic, the write-up is intended to give the group as much information as possible about their responsibilities for both the planned events and unplanned incidents/emergencies. Planned Special EventsThe oversight team involves stakeholders participating in program planning activities to improve the management of travel during future planned special events. These stakeholders include mid-to-upper level representatives of transportation agencies and law enforcement. Additional stakeholders include elected officials, regional organizations, and other government agencies. Members of an oversight team work to establish policies, regulations, procedures, and task forces for future application to a specific planned special event. Team members may work with an event planning team, consult on feasibility study results and evaluate conceptual transportation management plan components. Stakeholders may also work independent of the team to evaluate potential new technology applications that may improve their performance and capabilities while meeting team objectives. TransportationTransportation agencies are responsible for the overall planning and implementation of traffic incident management programs. These agencies are also involved in the development, implementation, and operation of traffic operations centers (TOC), as well as the management of service patrols. Transportation agencies are secondary responders. That is, they are most likely to be called to the incident scene by first responders, usually law enforcement. Transportation agencies are rarely connected directly to public safety emergency communications and dispatch systems. These agencies develop the transportation management plans for planned special events. Planned Events Responsibilities
Transit agency
Transportation - Unplanned Incident Responsibilities
Police/Law EnforcementLaw enforcement agencies include State Police and Highway Patrols, County Police and County Sheriffs, Township and Municipal Police and other agencies which have officers sworn to enforce laws. Jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies varies widely from state to state and even within a state. Typically, State Police and Highway Patrols have jurisdiction on State highways and county and municipal police have jurisdiction off the State highway system. State Police and Highway Patrols have statewide coverage and many lack sufficient resources to adequately respond to incidents on State highways in urban areas. In many locations, State law enforcement agencies receive assistance from county and local agencies and in some cases local law enforcement has jurisdiction even on State highways. Law enforcement agencies are first responders at traffic incident scenes, providing 24-hour emergency response and operating under a paramilitary command structure. At most traffic incidents, law enforcement officers act alone and trained to make unilateral command decisions. Planned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident Responsibilities:
Fire and RescueFire and rescue services are provided by county and municipal fire departments, and by surrounding fire departments through mutual aid agreements. In most jurisdictions, the fire department is the primary emergency response agency for hazardous materials spills. Like law enforcement agencies, fire and rescue departments also operate as first responders under a well-defined command structure providing 24-hour emergency response. Unlike law enforcement, which operates individually for most duties, fire departments operate under a highly organized team structure with the close supervision of a commanding officer. Fire departments and emergency medical service providers (EMS) also act at the direction of one decision maker, and may not respond individually to requests from other response agencies unless their command officer directs them to do so. In most large urban areas, fulltime professional personnel staff fire and rescue departments. In many suburban and in most rural areas, volunteers primarily provide fire and rescue services. Planned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident Responsibilities
Emergency Medical ServicesThe primary responsibilities of EMS are the triage, treatment, and transport of crash victims. In many areas, fire and rescue companies provide emergency medical services. In other localities, some EMS services are part of separate agencies. And, in some areas, private companies provide these services to local jurisdictions under contract. Emergency medical services have evolved as primary care givers to individuals needing medical care in emergencies. As with police, emergency medical personnel have a defined set of priorities. They focus on providing patient care, crash victim rescue, and ensuring the safety of their personnel. Planned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident Responsibilities
Emergency ManagementPlanned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident Responsibilities
Towing and RecoveryTowing and recovery service providers are responsible for the safe and efficient removal of wrecked or disabled vehicles, and debris from the incident scene. Towing and recovery companies are secondary responders operating under a towing arrangement usually maintained by a law enforcement agency. Towing and recovery arrangements generally fall under one of two major types – rotation or contract. In rotation towing, a police department will maintain a list of pre-qualified companies and will rotate the call of those companies. In many locations, rotation lists are classified by specific company capabilities so that a company with only automobile towing equipment doesn't get called to a truck incident. Location zones may also maintain rotation lists so that companies closer to the incident scene will get called. In contract towing, companies are contracted to provide specific services on call. The contracts are often awarded through a bidding process and qualification requirements to bid may be more rigid than requirements for placement on a rotation list. The closest qualified company may also award contracts on a zone basis to help enable response. Planned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident Responsibilities
Venue Representatives (e.g. Arenas, Stadiums)Planned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident Responsibilities
Professional Sporting Organization (e.g. National Hockey, Professional Golf)Planned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident ResponsibilitiesMayor/Governor's OfficeAs the senior elected official, the mayor or governor will make the final decisions regarding transportation. The decision will be based on the most current information provided by the first responders in the field. Planned Events Responsibilities
Unplanned Incident Responsibilities
Other Groups:Public Safety CommunicationsPublic safety communications services are the 911 call takers and dispatchers. In larger urban areas, call taking and dispatching duties may be separated. Call takers route emergency calls to appropriate dispatch. In some areas, all public safety emergency calls (police, fire and rescue, and emergency medical) are handled in one joint center with call takers sending calls to appropriate agency dispatch depending on the nature of the call. In smaller urban areas and in many rural areas, call-takers may also dispatch public safety response. Most of the larger urban areas have E911 capabilities so that call takers can obtain the location of landline 911 calls. Many rural areas do not yet have E911. Most calls on highway emergencies come from cellular telephones that are currently not able to provide location information for 911 calls. Hazardous Materials ContractorsHazardous materials contractors operate in a number of regions in the United States. They are hired by emergency or transportation authorities to clean up and dispose of toxic or hazardous materials. Most common (and small quantity) engine fluid spills (oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, anti- freeze, etc.) can be contained and cleaned up without calling hazardous materials contractors. Traffic Information MediaTraffic information service providers are primarily private sector companies that gather and disseminate traffic condition information. These private providers are the primary source of information for commercial radio traffic information broadcasts, the most common source of traffic information for motorists. These companies also package specific information on a route or time of day basis to paying clients who subscribe for the information. In recent years, many Internet sites have been created to provide road condition and traffic information. A mixture of public sector agencies and private information service providers maintains these sites. On July 21, 2000 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated 511 as the single travel information telephone number to be made available to states & local jurisdictions across the country. The FCC ruling leaves nearly all implementation issues & schedules to state & local agencies & telecommunications carriers. There are no Federal requirements or mandates to implement 511. Simply stated, 511 is an easy-to-remember 3-digit telephone number, available nationwide, that provides current information about travel conditions, allowing travelers to make better choices - choice of time, choice of mode of transportation, choice of route. Mindful of both the opportunity & challenge 511 presents, the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in conjunction with many other organizations including the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), with support from the U.S. Department of Transportation, established the 511 Deployment Coalition. The goal of the 511 Deployment Coalition is "the timely establishment of a national 511 traveler information service that is sustainable and provides value to users." The intent is to implement 511 nationally using a bottom-up approach facilitated by information sharing and a cooperative dialogue through the national associations represented on the Policy Committee, the governing body of the program. More information about 511 available from:
Planned Events Responsibilities
Master List of Exercise ObjectivesThis list of exercise objectives is from the Wisconsin Emergency Management: Tabletop Exercise Scenarios – Volume 1. This list serves as a range of possible exercise objectives and should not be interpreted as meaning that every listed objective must be included in every exercise. Please select only those objectives that are related to the scope of your specific scenario. Please note that these objectives have been superseded by the current Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) objectives which are tied to federal exercise grant money. For information about the HSEEP objectives, please go to Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP), April 2013 http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1914-25045-8890/hseep_apr13_.pdf.
NOTE: It is recommended that no more that 6 – 8 or so objectives are chosen for any one exercise. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration |
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