Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planning Guidelines for Transportation Agencies (2005)

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37 CHAPTER 8 TRAINING,TESTING, AND UPDATING (TASKS 6, 7, AND 8) TRAINING PERSONNEL AND TESTING THE PLAN If an agency is to have an effective COOP plan, agency personnel need to have more than a general awareness of COOP requirements. Each individual plays an important part in the agency’s COOP readiness, and each division needs to know how to execute its portion of the COOP plan and how it relates to the COOP plan for the agency. In short, every person needs to “own” the process. To achieve this, an agency needs to train all personnel on COOP plans and conduct COOP drills, where personnel will use a COOP plan in response to a mock emergency. COOP plans may be adaptable to various scenarios that range from partial or short-term relocations or loss of horizontal facili- ties (road and track) to complete disruptions of operations and movement of an entire agency’s operations from vertical facilities (buildings). The COOP team also needs to test its plans, backup, and recovery systems regularly. Agencies must stress the intended result of the training before personnel receive training. COOP training is always aimed at an individual’s and an agency’s ability to provide personal and public safety and conduct essential operations which emergency providers, other agencies and the public need, even in times of an agency’s emergency. Agencies need to • Train all employees on COOP plans and the agency’s needs for them; • Train all employees on their potential roles in the process; • Train all employees to the level of expertise and skill required; • Test the plans, policies, and equipment for operational- ity and effectiveness; • Drill personnel on tasks assigned; and • Exercise decision-making skills and methodologies. Agencies test and exercise plans, equipment, and personnel to demonstrate and improve their ability to execute the plan. Training familiarizes COOP team members with the essential functions that they may have to perform in an emergency. Tests and exercises help to validate and identify shortfalls in specific aspects of the COOP plan, policies, procedures, sys- tems, and facilities used in response to an emergency situa- tion. Periodic testing also ensures that equipment and proce- dures are maintained in a constant state of readiness. Fur- thermore, testing helps agency personnel understand what will happen once an evacuation of their normal operating facilities occurs and what steps will be taken to implement the COOP plan. Tests, training, and exercise plans are most effective when they provide for • At least annual individual and team training of agency COOP team personnel to ensure currency of knowledge and integration of skills necessary to implement COOP plans and carry out essential functions; • Annual internal agency testing and exercising of COOP plans and procedures to ensure the ability to perform essential functions and operate from designated alter- nate facility(ies); • Quarterly testing of alert and notification procedures and systems for any type of emergency; • Refresher orientation for COOP team members arriving at an alternate operating facility which covers the sup- port and services available at the facility, including communications and information systems and adminis- trative matters such as supervision, security, and per- sonnel policies; and • Joint agency exercising of COOP plans, when applica- ble and feasible. Each and every training, drill, or exercise should be planned to achieve specific purposes, and an immediate review (oral or written or both) by participants, organizers, and senior leadership is essential. The review should focus on what hap- pened, what went well, what did not go well, and how any of those results can be improved or changed. Changes should be considered and implemented as quickly as possible, because a real emergency situation testing those procedures and pro- cesses could happen soon. UPDATING THE PLAN Finally, a transportation agency is advised to review and update its plans regularly. The work of the COOP team does not end with the development and implementation of a COOP

program. Indeed, development and implementation are just the beginning. An effective COOP plan will not remain viable without regular review and revision. The most obvious reasons to change the plan are the addi- tion and/or subtraction of essential functions, of essential personnel, of essential resources, or essential support sys- tems. The second most obvious need is to change processes, approaches, or procedures as a result of lessons learned through drills and exercises. The following situations might prompt a review and poten- tial update at any time: • Extended leave or absence of key personnel (because of sickness, debilitating injury, retirement, or death); • New hiring of a person to a position included on any COOP team roster, delegation of authority listing, or succession plan; • New functions of the agency or functions assumed by the agency that are considered to be essential because of statutory or regulatory requirements, public safety needs, or administrative priority; • Retirement of and/or introduction of equipment or other non-human resources that have been or will be used to support an essential function; 38 • Change in plans for alternate location sites and/or con- tact persons; and • Changes in agency priorities and/or policies on security functions at main facilities or alternate facilities. A plan that is out of date can itself be a threat to an agency, because the absence of key personnel, incorrect telephone or address information that prevents contacts being made, and subsequent delays could threaten the safe and orderly trans- fer of operations to alternate means or to alternate locations. Completed worksheets prepared using these guidelines, or those that have been created by or modified by a transit/ transportation agency, can be incorporated directly into the COOP plan. The objective is to ensure the plan accurately reflects the capabilities and requirements of the transporta- tion agency to provide essential functions during an emer- gency that disrupts normal operations. Using the sample plan, the transportation agency can mod- ify the text to create a document that reflects its unique requirements. As appropriate, supporting procedures and checklists may be developed. Worksheet 33 can be used by the COOP team to make sure that the developed plan addresses the COOP requirements discussed in these guidelines.