Planning Best Practices

Planning can easily become overwhelming - too many possibilities, not enough detail, and so on.  Ironically, the harder a planner tries to account for every possibility, the less likely it is that the responders will keep up with the plan's "scope creep".

Varicom's approach brings order to this process with it's scenario driven planning framework. Now, planners can develop and test plans against specific scenarios that fall within the spectrum of risks facing your facility. Scenarios are modeled and stored in a central database and profiled based on the types of hazards that each scenario can cause. Important variables like incident type (gas leaks, spills, equipment collapse, floods, etc.), point of origin and size / severity, environmental conditions (wind, ambient temperature, precipitation, etc.), and others.

The relationship between scenarios, equipment, people and hazards can be visually analyzed in a graphical "white board". The planner can gain new insights for designing and improving response plans, pre-positioning various safety equipment (e.g., monitors, deluge trips, standpipes, etc.) as well as developing training plans and safety procedures.

To share plans for review, refinement and learning, Varicom's technology will allow easy access over the company intranet. All that's needed is a connected PC and a web browser.

When it comes time to train, since the plans and corresponding scenarios are stored in a central database, the training sessions need not be manually created. With Varicom RESPONDER, the teams can run training sessions via computer and be tested on their ability to effectively handle an incident.