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2.6 Exercises and Drills <br /> In crisis management as in sports, the transit agency plays the way it practices. That is why <br /> OUT is committed to testing their emergency preparedness plans through disaster drills and <br /> exercises. <br /> OCPT is committed to participating in community emergency response exercises. This <br /> commitment requires the transportation system and community public response agencies to <br /> plan and conduct increasingly challenging exercises over a period of time. Implementation of <br /> such a program allows the collective community to achieve and maintain competency in <br /> executing the transportation component of local emergency response plans. <br /> There are five major types of exercises that comprise this program, each with a different <br /> purpose and requirement. Each step is progressively more sophisticated in nature and will be <br /> undertaken in a step-by-step and long-term implementation plan that is integrated into overall <br /> community response. <br /> 1. Basic awareness training to familiarize participants with roles, plans, procedures, and <br /> resolve questions of coordination and assignment of responsibilities <br /> 2. Operational training to familiarize front-line staff with roles, plans, procedures, and <br /> resolve questions of coordination and assignment of responsibilities. <br /> 3. Tabletop exercises that simulate emergency situations in an informal, low stress <br /> environment. It is designed to elicit discussion as participants examine and resolve problems <br /> based on existing crisis management plans and practical working experience. <br /> 4. Drills that test develop or maintain skills in a single response procedure (e.g., <br /> communications, notification, lockdown, evacuation procedures, etc.). Drills can be handled <br /> within the organization, or coordinated with partner agencies, depending upon the drill <br /> objective(s). Drills help prepare players for more complex exercises in which several functions <br /> are simultaneously coordinated and tested. <br /> 5. Functional exercises are full-scale simulated incidents that tests one or more functions <br /> in a time-pressured realistic situation that focuses on policies, procedures, roles and <br /> responsibilities. It includes the mobilization of emergency personnel and resources appropriate <br /> to the scale of the mock incident. Functional exercises measure the operational capability of <br /> emergency response management systems in an interactive manner resembling a real <br /> emergency as closely as possible. <br /> 751Page <br />