Exercise Planning
Last Updated: 01-Nov-2007 3:04 PM

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Exercise Planning

The information contained in this publication is intended to provide useful guidance, but is not a definitive statement applicable in all circumstances. Independent professional advice should be obtained before taking any action or refraining from taking any action on the basis of this information.

One must learn by doing the Thing,
For though you think you know it,
You have no certainty until you try.
Sophocles 5th Century BC

Preface

1. Introduction

2. Types of exercise

3. Planning an exercise

4. Designing an exercise

5. Conducting an exercise

6. Emergency evacuation exercises

7. Frequency of exercises

Annex A - Glossary

Annex B - Further reading

Annex C - Exercise check list

Annex D - Guideline for briefing those taking part in exercises

Preface

The safety of spectators and staff at any sports ground is the responsibility of the ground management. In exercising this responsibility, the management must identify potential hazards and take the necessary steps to eliminate, reduce or mitigate them. This will involve drawing up safety procedures, together with action plans for various contingencies. These must then be validated by being tested and, where necessary, revised in the light of the test.

This guidance, which should be read alongside the companion document on contingency planning, is designed to assist sports ground management and its safety personnel to plan, conduct and review exercises to test their procedures and contingency plans. It is the distillation of good practice, experience and knowledge gained over many years by the Football Licensing Authority and others concerned with safety at football grounds, both in Britain and overseas.

The need to draw up and test contingency plans is not unique to football. The advice in this guidance may therefore also be of assistance to those responsible for spectator safety at other sports ground.

1. Introduction

Spectators and staff at sports grounds are vulnerable whenever a large number of people are concentrated into a small area. Even when the risk of disaster is low, the potential consequences of any safety failure may be very serious. The ground management must therefore be capable of responding quickly and effectively to any hazard.

The fourth edition of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds ("the Green Guide") emphasises that the ground management should ensure:

that all staff holding safety related posts are trained and competent;
that contingency plans have been drawn up and emergency procedures agreed; and
that exercises are carried out on a regular basis to ensure that procedures laid down in contingency plans operate smoothly.

No legislation, code of practice or set of rules could adequately prescribe the action required to counter every conceivable hazard. Nor could any particular plan be applied to all venues, for each is different. In every case the procedures and plan must be drawn up having regard to the particular layout and character of the venue and an assessment of the risk. Each procedure and plan then needs to be tested to ensure that it is effective at the sports ground concerned.

Testing in this context is more than just a paper review. It requires some form of exercise, during which those responsible practice or rehearse how to respond to a particular situation. Experience has shown that exercises are the only practical, efficient and proven method by which the ground management and safety personnel can test and validate planned arrangements and procedures. As the inquiries into various disasters have repeatedly confirmed, untested plans are likely to fail at the crucial moment.

Effective testing and validation can only be achieved if the personnel have already been trained to a suitable level of competence. While an exercise may be valuable for providing practical experience, building on and consolidating earlier training, evaluating the success of that training and identifying any further requirements, that is not its primary purpose. Moreover, exercise planners should be aware that using untrained people will predispose the plan to failure.

This document does not purport to prescribe a standard exercise content or format, since these will necessarily vary according to the circumstances of the sports ground concerned. There are, however, general principles and practical measures common to all exercises whatever the size of the sports ground. It is intended to assist all those who participate in the organisation of an exercise to address the various stages so that the exercise may be a fruitful learning experience. It supplements the more general guidance available on exercise planning, in particular the Home Office’s "The Exercise Planner’s Guide".

Maintaining a safe sports ground requires a continuing commitment by the ground management, which must never lapse into complacency. It must review and update its plans and arrangements whenever there is a material change of circumstances, whether to the layout of the ground, safety systems, crowd management procedures or key personnel.

An exercise is thus not a one off event but part of an ongoing programme and process of planning, testing, analysing, reviewing and planning again. This creates what is known as the Exercise Planning Loop, illustrated in the following diagram. This provides the structure for the next sections of this document.

THE EXERCISE PLANNING LOOP

2. Types of exercise

There are essentially four types of exercise, with variations within each type:

Seminar - based on a classroom environment and also known as an orientation, workshop or discussion exercise.
Tabletop – likewise classroom based, also known as a floor plan exercise.
Control centre - in military circles sometimes known as training without troops, in a sports ground this type of exercise could be based around the actual central control point or ground control room.
Live - also known as an on-location, site, practical, operational or field exercise.

It should be remembered, however, that many of the above involve simulations of some kind. These can only ever be approximations rather than duplications of a real event. There is much evidence, for example from aviation disasters, that simulation exercises which produce a consistent picture of incidents being successfully handled will not necessarily accurately predict how people will react in actual circumstances. Things that go wrong in simulations are likely to go wrong in reality but things that go right might not do so in a real situation.

On each occasion, it is important to choose the particular type of exercise that will be the most appropriate and cost effective for achieving the desired aim and objectives. Whatever the type of exercise, detailed notes should be kept at every stage in order to facilitate a thorough debriefing and review.

Seminar exercises

A seminar exercise is a low cost means of informing the participants about the organisation and procedures that would be invoked in response to an incident. It is designed to examine both individual and group responses to a basic emergency or contingency plan and their understanding of the availability or shortfall of resources. It also seeks to identify possible problems in activating the plan.

This type of seminar begins with the description of a scenario by means of a narrative or briefing, accompanied by maps, charts and other appropriate documentation. This is designed to create an incident scene to which the participants will respond. Further predetermined problems concerning the incident are introduced at various points. These may be directed towards particular individuals, groups or organisations or may involve more than one group or organisation.

The participants should be encouraged to identify the implications of the scenario for each of them and should discuss possible solutions in depth, with a view to resolving them using the available resources. Since they are not expected to reach instant decisions, this type of exercise should avoid putting them under time pressure.

Tabletop exercises

A tabletop exercise introduces a more advanced exercise simulation. It normally begins with a prepared narrative that sets the scene, based upon a realistic situation. At various points in the exercise the participants are provided with further information to which they are expected to respond in line with the existing contingency plans.

Information, usually in the form of messages, is given to particular individuals according to their responsibility and status. While these messages are pre-scripted, those receiving them have no foreknowledge of their contents. To increase realism, messages can be given simultaneously to other participants to encourage a co-ordinated response. However, in contrast to a seminar where the group as a whole works to resolve the problem, each individual or organisation must act as they would during a real incident.

This type of exercise is intended as a learning process and should aim to keep stress and frustration to a minimum. New messages should be injected once the decisions appropriate to the previous stage have been taken and not in accordance with any rigid time scale. Nor indeed should there be any rigid schedule for the entire exercise. If a problem arises, the directing officer or staff need to be in a position to control or stop the exercise in order to discuss and resolve the problem. This is a necessary part both of the learning experience and of the testing and validation of the plans.

A tabletop exercise is a cost effective and efficient method of testing plans, procedures and people. Participants will get to know and understand not merely the contingency procedures but also the people with whom they may be working during an incident. These types of exercises are not intended to test the capabilities of safety systems such as radios, CCTV, fire alarms, but concentrate on the responses of the participants.

Control centre exercises

This type of exercise is aimed not merely at the personnel who normally staff and operate the control room at a large spectator event but also at testing the communication systems themselves. In particular, it focuses on whether the necessary information reaches the relevant people (including members of the public) at the right time for them to reach well judged and correct decisions. It uses actual messages transmitted by telephone, radio, the public address system or other means of communication and the visual images picked up by the closed circuit television network. Maps, charts or floor plans may also be introduced to help simulate an incident.

The problems raised by the messages should be realistic, with a sufficient degree of complexity to test those being exercised. However they should not go beyond what is reasonably foreseeable, having regard to any risk assessments. A percentage of the messages should be prepared in advance to help keep the exercise flowing and ensure a degree of realism. The frequency and complexity of messages may be designed to put staff under the required degree of pressure.

This type of exercise simulates the reality of emergency management decision making to the maximum, but involves only a modest input of resources and cost. Nevertheless it requires considerable preparation, a major commitment from all concerned and sufficient time and opportunity for debriefing and review.

Live exercises

A live exercise may vary in scale from a test of one small element of a contingency plan, for example the stewards’ response to a fire or bomb threat, up to the simulation of a major disaster, requiring the complete evacuation of the ground. Live exercises are not an alternative to tabletop exercises. Instead they complement each other and should be held sequentially.

A major live exercise may involve the actual movement of spectators and equipment, the deployment of safety personnel, the use of command and control facilities and the active co-ordination of all the participants. It could include setting up and operating emergency control centres and simulating the full management of the incident until the emergency services have arrived on site and are in a position to accept responsibility. If so desired, the response time of the emergency services, with a time allowance for a normal, non-emergency, "exercise" response built in, could be included among the factors to be tested.

A live exercise requires a high level of co-operation between all the participating organisations and personnel during both the planning phase and the exercise itself. It will inevitably demand considerable preparation time and a significant commitment of resources. It must be preceded by a detailed briefing session. A full debrief, involving all the participants on site, is also essential before anyone leaves.

Following any exercise of any kind, the leading participants should review, and if appropriate, revise their plans in the light of their experience. They should record their conclusions in writing.

3. Planning an exercise

Careful planning is essential if an exercise is to provide valuable lessons and to justify the effort and cost involved. If poorly prepared, it could confuse and demoralise staff. The ground management must therefore first identify why the exercise is being staged and what it is intended to achieve. Only then should it consider the type, scale and content. The persons responsible must also carefully and honestly consider whether they have the necessary authority, competence, time and resources to proceed.

Reason for the exercise

The reason for an exercise may derive from factors including:

a need identified by a risk assessment;
an incident or near miss, particularly if something similar has occurred previously;
the evaluation of a previous exercise;
a need to assess whether personnel have been sufficiently well trained;
changes to the physical structure or layout of the ground;
ongoing, completed or planned changes to the management structure, personnel, systems or routine;
factors outside the ground that may affect its safety or management; or
a legislative requirement, for instance in a safety certificate.

Objectives of the exercise

The ground management must establish and agree its aims for the exercise at the outset of the planning process, for example to test the validity and viability of its contingency plans in the event of a particular (stated) kind of incident. It should record these aims clearly and concisely.

Only then should the ground management identify its detailed objectives and set specific targets, having regard to any constraints on the range and scope of the exercise. These objectives should cover the actions and decisions to be taken by the participants in the exercise and elements such as the ground management’s overall policy, the availability of resources, communications and command and control facilities, and inter-agency relationships.

The aim, objectives and targets may need to be approved at the highest level, particularly if there are likely to be substantial resource implications. They should also be agreed in advance with any of the emergency services or other agencies that will be participating in the exercise. This is to ensure a common understanding and to avoid conflicting arrangements.

Range and scope of the exercise

The scope, size and complexity of an exercise will be determined by many factors. These may include the following.

Personnel – It is necessary to identify the intended participants in the exercise. These may include any or all of the ground management, the safety personnel, stewards, other employees, and/or contractors. The exercise designer must also determine whether event officials, spectators or members of the public are to be involved.

Area and extent – Among the issues to address are:

which plans (as defined in Appendix A), or aspects of them, are to be tested; in particular whether the exercise covers one, or a combination of, the sports ground’s contingency plans, the emergency services’ or local authority’s emergency plans or their major incident plans;
the nature of the risk or hazard to be addressed during the exercise;
the proposed location of the exercise, whether a classroom, the control room or elsewhere, either indoors or outdoors, or any combination of these;
the resources available, including accommodation, means of communication, personnel and time, and their cost;
the identity of the exercise controller and of the person with overall responsibility for the decision taking process;
the working relationships between the employees of the sports ground and other agency personnel; and
the means by which different organisations’ approach will be co-ordinated.

Level of realism – An exercise may be designed with either a higher or lower level of realism. There are advantages and disadvantages in either case.

A higher level of realism, whether simulated or otherwise, will enable each organisation to gain a better understanding of the viability of its plans and procedures. However, it may put individuals under greater stress and may reveal more about their individual training and competence. Such an exercise will also be more costly and complex to stage.
By contrast, a lower level of realism will reduce the stress and pressure on the participants. It may allow more time for a considered assessment of the particular situation. However, the exercise will not fully exercise or test the individual or group reaction under near realistic conditions.

Resource implications – The type, location, timing and duration of the exercise will largely determine how much it costs. Anyone considering staging a large scale live exercise, particularly one involving the emergency services, would therefore be well advised to assess the likely cost implications and to conduct a detailed inventory and audit of available resources at a very early stage. Depending upon the outcome, it might be necessary to re-assess whether the proposed aim and objectives are realistic and achievable.

Safety of the participants - During an exercise the safety of all personnel is of paramount importance. Holding an exercise can never justify ignoring known hazards. This is particularly so during live exercises. No live exercise should proceed until a thorough safety check and audit has been undertaken and any hazards have been addressed. All participants, from whatever organisation, must be made fully aware of any potential hazard in the area within which the exercise is to be held.

In addition, the ground management should appoint an Exercise Safety Controller who does not participate in the role play and whose sole role should be to ensure that all participants comply with the safety requirements. This person must be adequately identified, recognisable to all participants and present at all briefings and have the authority to halt the exercise at any point. For multi-agency exercises, each participating organisation should also provide its own safety officer.

Review of aim and objectives

Before moving onto the detailed planning of the exercise, the ground management should review and, if necessary, revise its aim and objectives to ensure that they remain realistic and achievable in the light of the factors listed above.

4. Designing an exercise

Once the ground management has confirmed or amended the aim and objectives of the exercise, the participating organisations and the general safety arrangements, its next task is to design the exercise itself and to consider how it is to be conducted.

All exercises require a degree of pre-planning at the design stage. This will vary according to their nature and scale. While a seminar exercise will require comparatively little pre-planning, more time needs to be devoted to designing table top, control centre and live exercises in proportion to their greater complexity. Where more than one organisation is involved, it is sensible to give the exercise a name or code word.

It is advisable to appoint a working group at an early stage in the process to help plan any exercise, save possibly the simplest seminar. Such a group should include representatives of all the staff and any other organisations who are to be involved. Its timetable of meetings should be planned in advance and linked to the target dates referred to below.

This section sets out the various stages to be followed during the design process. As the ground management follows them, it may find itself having to review its initial objectives.

Getting started

At the outset, the exercise designer needs to ascertain that the ground management:

fully supports the aim and objectives of the exercise;
is content for its staff to participate; and
is willing to bear its share of the costs.

These costs need to be identified and the various participants need to agree by whom they are to be met.

The next stage is to determine the time and date of the exercise and then to work back from this in order to identify the key target dates by which various stages of the planning process should be completed. These should cover:

the completion of the plan itself;
the acquisition of the necessary resources; and
the development of the required support material.

The exercise designer should also at this point identify:

the specific individuals who are to take part;
the names and functions of the directing team, the person in overall charge and the Exercise Safety Controller; and
suitably qualified persons to observe and help assess specific aspects of the exercise as non-participants.

He/she should also ensure that:

the exercise location will be available when needed and in a suitable condition;
the area to be used will be clearly delineated and that the necessary safety precautions will in place;
suitable areas will be provided for the observers;
the requirements of any speaker, presenter, controller or participating organisation are known and that any necessary equipment, such as seating, tables, visual aids, or lighting, will be provided; and
the appropriate insurance cover will be available and that there will be no confusion or dispute over liability.

Developing the exercise

The scenario that will form the backdrop to the exercise must be developed in some detail and should not be left to evolve of its own accord. This is essential, both to avoid confusion and to enable the ground management to determine the degree of pressure to be experienced by the participants and the amount of time they will be given to resolve a particular issue. It also helps keep the exercise within the boundaries set by the available resources.

This pre-planning should extend to the messages to be delivered to the participants. The exercise designer therefore needs to:

identify the nature, sequence and timing of the problems that are to be injected into the exercise and prepare the appropriate scripted messages;
determine the means by which each message is to be passed, for example by telephone, by fax or by radio; and
ensure that the participants are aware of the messages that will start and conclude the exercise.

Any exercise that involves members of the public or the possible movement of emergency service personnel and vehicles in a realistic scenario will invariably attract the attention of the media and the public at large. In such cases, it would be sensible to inform the media of the exercise and of its aim and objectives in advance and to discuss what possible role they might play. Since any major incident will involve having to deal with the media, it may increase the realism of the exercise. It can also help the ground management show that it takes its safety responsibilities seriously, thereby allaying possible anxieties and forestalling any inaccurate reporting.

Final checks

Having reached this stage of designing the exercise, the ground management needs to review its preparations. In this context it may wish to refer to the check list attached at Appendix C. It must be able to satisfy itself that the details of the exercise still hold good, that all is on schedule and that the location, financial arrangements, participants and safety arrangements are all confirmed. Any problems must be resolved before the exercise is launched.

5. Conducting the exercise

All exercises consist of four main stages:

briefing;
exercise play;
debriefing; and
critique and evaluation.

Briefing

It is essential that all the participants are fully briefed and given opportunities to ask questions in sufficient time before the exercise begins. Among the points the briefing should cover are:

the reason for the exercise, its aim and objectives, ground rules and approximate timetable;
the main participants and their responsibilities;
details of how messages may be received and, where applicable, of any readily available support material, plans, briefing sheets or other resources;
the terminology to be used, if this differs in any way from that used during a real incident, and the code word to be used should a real emergency arise or it be necessary to abort the exercise; and
any matters considered necessary by the Exercise Safety Controller.

The briefing should set the scene in a realistic manner in order that all the participants can identify with the incident to which they must respond. It may help if part of it is presented as a simulated briefing relating to the particular incident. Further detailed guidelines on briefing are set out in Appendix D.

The directing team and exercise controller should be briefed separately on their particular roles and tasks. However, they should also attend the main briefing, so that they may understand what is expected of the other participants.

Exercise play

It is the responsibility of the exercise controller to:

steer the exercise and to ensure that it keeps within its original design and time scale;
be aware of the health and safety implications of any action and ensure that neither the participants nor the public are put into hazardous situations; and
monitor all the decisions and actions against the existing policy, contingency and emergency plans.

The directing team should set the pace by introducing or holding back the pre-arranged messages. They must resist the temptation to introduce new material that is not a part of the original design. While there may be occasions where allowing a situation to evolve may be positively beneficial for the participants, this should be a conscious decision by the exercise controller.

One of the key requirements during any exercise is that detailed and accurate records are kept of all decisions and of any action taken by individuals, groups or organisations, including the emergency services. One or more minute takers or log keepers will be required. During busy times these should be relieved at regular intervals. For live exercises, particularly those involving several organisations, the use of CCTV and the recording of all radio and telephone messages and face to face discussions will assist the eventual debrief, evaluation of the exercise and review of the contingency plans.

Debriefing

The extent and form of the debriefing and subsequent critique and evaluation will clearly depend upon the nature and scale of the exercise itself. A simple post-exercise review may suffice for a seminar or small tabletop exercise. However, the largest exercises will require a more detailed and sophisticated analysis both collectively and by each individual agency. In such cases, a partial debrief should be held as soon as the exercise is concluded and before any of the participants leave. This should at the very least ensure that every individual is known to be safe, is thanked for participating and is given the opportunity to voice any serious concerns.

It is, however, important to gather as much feedback as soon as possible, before memories begin to fade and details are confused. Ideally, therefore, every participant should be debriefed face to face immediately after the event. This process should focus on the events and handling of the exercise and whether and how this might have been done better. In most cases this need not be lengthy. Where appropriate, it should be supplemented by more detailed debriefing and the completion of critique and evaluation forms at a later date.

Critique and evaluation

A critique and evaluation is an essential ingredient of any exercise. Only thus can the necessary lessons be identified, absorbed and taken into account when revising the contingency plans. This process must therefore be controlled as closely as the exercise itself. It must focus on the original aim and objectives of the exercise and on the lessons to be learned. If extraneous issues arise, these should be considered separately. Indeed, they may require testing through a further exercise.

Both those who have participated in the exercise and the observers should contribute to the critique and the evaluation. The observers will not have faced the same pressures as the participants and should be able to take a more detached view of that part of the exercise on which they have focused. If drawn from outside the management structure, they may question assumptions or procedures or identify failings that have become accepted through custom and practice. Their role, however, is not to criticise but to enable the ground management to identify possible improvements.

Accordingly, after every major exercise, the directing team, exercise controller, participants and observers should all be given the opportunity to complete a brief written critique. These should follow a prepared format and specifically address the key issues, in particular whether:

the exercise went according to plan and the participating organisations were able to co-ordinate their responses effectively; and
the communication systems and the procedures and plans being tested, in particular the response to the incident, withstood scrutiny.

The main issues raised by these critiques should be channelled, where necessary through the individual’s own management structure, into a formal evaluation process. This should include a meeting of the directing team and exercise controller, senior representatives of the participating organisations, other key personnel and the observers. They should address all issues honestly and openly as a team, not in order to apportion criticism or blame but to promote a collective learning experience.

Every evaluation must have a proper outcome, including proposals for a clear action plan. Otherwise the lessons learned may be quickly forgotten as the participants retire or move to other posts. Out of this process should come:

a final report disseminating information based upon the appraisal and an assessment of the critiques;
details of any plans and procedures which have been identified as requiring improvements and recommendations that these be implemented within a given timescale; and
details of further training or exercises required to test or implement these recommendations.

In the light of this evaluation, all parties need to commit themselves to implementing the necessary improvements to their plans or procedures. They should record not merely these changes, but also the reasons for them, in writing. This process should close the planning loop, referred to earlier, and should be the launching pad for the next cycle of planning, testing, analysis and review.

6. Emergency Evacuation Exercises

The contingency plans for every sports ground should cover the partial or full evacuation of spectators and staff. It is essential that these plans are tested and validated. The ground management and personnel need to know how spectators are likely to behave in given situations and how they should respond. The necessary skill and experience cannot be acquired merely in a classroom.

However, a live exercise involving real spectators presents particular challenges. It should only be considered in the light of a full risk assessment. While fire drills and evacuation exercises are relatively easy to conduct in workplaces, where the majority of those on the premises are staff familiar with the layout, this becomes more difficult where, as at sports grounds, staff are greatly outnumbered by members of the public. These may not know their way around and will often instinctively seek to exit along the same route by which they had entered.

When planning and designing an exercise to test its evacuation plans, the ground management must therefore consider whether to involve spectators. If so, it must strike a balance between creating an exercise that is so realistic that the spectators (not least those with disabilities or limited mobility) are put at risk and one where there is no sense of urgency and which may therefore give a false impression.

Among the factors to which the ground management should have regard are:

what elements of the plan it wishes to test;
the size and configuration of the ground;
the type of hazard and potential levels of risk in the areas concerned;
whether previous exercises have already satisfactorily identified the pattern of crowd movement; and
the likely level of disruption outside the ground that will require to be managed by the police.

These in turn will help the ground management determine which of the following is the most appropriate form of exercise on this particular occasion:

a full evacuation of the ground coinciding with the final whistle or completion of the event, possibly including directing spectators away from their normal exit routes and the real or simulated attendance of emergency service vehicles to confirm whether access routes are clear, rendezvous points are available and attendance times are realistic;
the evacuation of one or more stands or spectator areas to a simulated place of safety, usually at the conclusion of the event;
a full or partial evacuation of the ground during a minor event with a smaller number of spectators;
a live exercise using an invited audience to simulate spectators;
an exercise during an event involving the safety personnel, other agencies and the emergency services, but not the movement of spectators;
a simulated failure of one or more of the safety systems, such as the main power supply, radio network, CCTV, or public address system, which would normally form part of the evacuation plan; or
a table top exercise involving all staff and the emergency services.

Experience has shown that it makes good sense to involve spectators, particularly those who attend regularly, in an evacuation exercise. Any increase in their understanding of evacuation procedures and routes should make the ground management’s task easier in the event of a real emergency.

Where spectators are to be involved in an evacuation exercise, the ground management should ensure that they are well informed in advance of what is to happen and what will be expected of them. This could be done through one or more of the following means:

the public address system and/or display screen;
a written entry in the event programme;
notices at the ground;
the distribution of leaflets to spectators on their arrival; or
publicity in the local press.

The ground management would also be well advised to notify its insurers of any proposed evacuation exercises involving spectators, in order to ensure that it is adequately covered. Insurance companies have normally accepted that such exercises are a valuable means of reducing the risks of serious injury in a real emergency.

The ground management should seek guidance from the local authority about the implications of any nearby hazardous industrial premises covered by the Control of Major Accident Hazard ("COMAH") Regulations. Where a sports ground could be affected by an accident at such premises, it would be sensible to carry out specific exercises in collaboration with the owners of the premises concerned, the local authority and the emergency services.

7. Frequency of exercises

Where a sports ground is subject to a safety certificate under either the Safety at Sports Grounds Act 1975 or the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987, the local authority should specify the minimum number of exercises to be held each year. This does not nullify the responsibility of the ground management to hold whatever exercises are necessary to ensure the reasonable safety of spectators.

Further exercises, designed to ensure the safety of staff or visitors, under health and safety at work or fire safety legislation, are outside the scope of this document.

There is no statutory requirement upon the management of other grounds to hold exercises to test its contingency plans for spectator safety. However, failure to do so would count against the ground management in the event of any incident resulting in injuries to spectators.

In the light of experience and current good practice it is strongly recommended that:

the ground management should hold a minimum of one live exercise every year;
such an exercise should ideally be preceded by one or more seminars, tabletop or control centre exercises;
the exercise programme should endeavour, over a maximum period of five years, to cover the full range of the sports ground’s contingency plans in order that they are all assessed, evaluated and reviewed within this period; and
following any material structural alterations, changes to the safety systems, crowd management procedures or key personnel, or any out of the ordinary event, the ground management should consider holding a further specific exercise.

The ground management should, as a matter of routine notify the local authority and the emergency services of any proposed live exercise at the planning stage even if they are not expected to participate.

In addition, the ground management should retain all documentation, including details of the participants and the notes of the briefing, de-briefing, critiques and evaluations, for a minimum of six years, both as a resource for future learning and as potential evidence against any future civil liability claim.

Appendix A

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Contingency plan A plan prepared by the sports ground management setting out the action to be taken in response to incidents occurring at the sports ground that might prejudice public safety or disrupt normal operations.

An evacuation plan is one of many contingency plans but because of its importance it is specifically referred to in this guidance document.

Disaster Any event (happening with or without warning) causing or threatening death or injury, damage to property or to the environment or disruption to the community, which because of the scale of its effects cannot be dealt with by the sports ground management, the emergency services and local authorities as part of their day-to-day activities.

Emergency plan A plan prepared and owned by the emergency services and / or local authority for dealing with an incident at the sports ground or in the vicinity.

Exercise To practise using, in order to build on, extend and evaluate training.

An activity designed to test and validate a plan or procedure.

A management tool for assessing the effectiveness and suitability of arrangements and procedures within an emergency, contingency or evacuation plan.

Exercise controller The person with the overall oversight and authority to alter the planned programme and, if necessary, to terminate the exercise early.

Exercise safety controller A person responsible for ensuring the safety of all participants in the exercise.

This may be the ground safety officer; however, if the safety officer is actively participating in the exercise, some other person should fulfil this task.

Major incident plan A plan prepared and owned by emergency services and local authorities for dealing with major incidents in their area, requiring the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency services, the NHS or the local authority.

Simulation Simulation attempts to approximate a real emergency by using a combination of:

· background information;

· written and audio-visual material;

· equipment and aids;

· settings, locations and timescales;

· means of communication; and

· role play.

The purpose of simulation is to evoke responses that are very similar to those that the real emergency would prompt.

Note: The definitions in this schedule are used throughout this document. However, ground management should be aware that terminology, in particular the definitions of particular types of plan, may vary from agency to agency and from area to area.

Appendix B

Exercise Planning

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