Crisis Management and Emergency Management consultation, planning, implementation and testing. Our approach in this practice area involves working with our clients to ensure an integrated and holistic approach to the definition, control and preparation for significant business disrupting events. Our experience enables us to advise on the processes and organisational capability requirements to manage conventional safety hazards requiring emergency response to asymmetric issues where senior business leadership is required. This experience extends to an in-depth understanding of regulatory requirements in multiple jurisdictions as well as the application of international standards in Crisis Management and Emergency Management. Assisting our clients to develop or optimise their Crisis Management and Emergency Management systems, socialising requirements through contextualised training and assurance testing is a fundamental part of our business.

Training Bespoke training solutions from definition to design to implemented capability. Our team has extensive experience in developing learning strategies and training content which allows us to incorporate clients’ contextualisation needs into a proven, mapped and approved learning framework. We hold formal qualifications in training design and assessment and have extensive experience as executive management coaches and qualified trainers in a range of disciplines including Crisis, Emergency, Media and Human Resources Management. We enable our clients with formal Training Needs Analysis and the design of comprehensive multi-year training plans to ensure they design and maintain optimal capability and meet required regulatory requirements. Accredited Training We offer accredited Competency Based Training for Incident Management Teams as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO 52953) to our business clients. This accredited training is not offered as public courses. As an RTO, we deliver a range of nationally recognised Emergency Management competencies from the PMA Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Refining Training Package. We develop contextualised training courses aligned to a clients’ procedures which can be delivered either on or offshore. We offer the following nationally recognised competencies. PMAOMIR322 Manage incident response information PMAOMIR418 Coordinate incident response PMAWHS511 Manage emergency incidents Non-accredited Training In addition to our accredited Competency Based Training, we are also highly experienced in the public-sector Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System (AIIMS) having provided training and advice to Ports, the Oil and Gas Industry and Government Agencies on the fundamentals of this system. Our experience also extends to delivering training underpinned by standards from a number of international bodies including the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Incident Management System (IMS). In these areas we also develop bespoke/contextualised training packages from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Incident Command System (ICS) and have delivered ICS training for a number of Oil and Gas clients.

Advice and implementation of Incident Management Software Platforms or Common Operating Pictures (CoP). We have considerable experience of working across - and advising clients on - multiple proprietary Incident Management Software Platforms such as Noggin, WebEOC, WebIAP, Missionmode, etc. Our experience also enables us to assist clients in developing optimised solutions based on existing software applications such as Microsoft Office 365 and publicly available GIS solutions including Google Earth. With all of these platforms we find that it is essential to match the capabilities of the system with the client’s requirements, experience, budget and existing workflows.

Advisory, development and implementation of governance risk and compliance (GRC) frameworks. We advise our clients on risk governance models to ensure that corporate risk strategy is balanced and that responsibilities for risk oversight and ownership are optimised and properly defined. Our advice to clients on formal governance models assists them to set the risk culture tone at the top and permeate this through all levels of their organisation. Comprehensively aggregating identified strategic, preventable and external risks, as well as consolidating risk governance and compliance activities, ensures our clients embed optimal GRC processes. This approach helps achieve long-term cost savings by eliminating duplication; enhancing efficiency in strategic, financial and operational risk management activities; and boosting our clients’ ability to keep pace with essential business growth and transformational initiatives. A fundamental aspect of our advisory offering is assisting clients towards an integrated management system (IMS) approach. This incorporates and centralises the client’s separate management systems (Quality, Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Information Security) and processes within one framework, eliminating silos and inefficiencies. It allows universal objectives between departments and systems and allows operations to be simplified by having one system to follow rather than a number of separate ones.

Socialisation of plans and procedures through workshops to high fidelity crisis management, emergency management, emergency response or business continuity exercise simulations. We utilise our 25+ collective years of experience and understanding of what types of simulations are most appropriate to meet the aims and objectives and ensure a successful outcome for our clients. This experience across multiple sectors allows us to offer an innovative and engaging approach to align with the experience and requirements of the organisation being exercised. Our methodology in preparing exercises is based on our considerable experience in designing activities from small desktop discussions to complex multi-layer functional exercises with live field components. Our approach is based on a detailed planning process which is anchored by accurately defining the aims and objectives of any rehearsal as part of our project management approach. We routinely facilitate collaborative Exercise Planning Teams from a range of agencies and industry bodies and understand how to best leverage success from such groups. A critical component of our approach is to ensure that there are realistic and meaningful outcomes crafted so the exercise works and provides learning opportunities for the organisations involved. The aim is to ensure the exercise construct and scenario adequately address the Plan, Prepare, Respond and Recover elements of Emergency Management as well as alignment to the client’s procedures, protocols and enabling them to demonstrate capability as part of regulatory compliance. Our methodology in conducting exercises is underpinned by our considerable experience in leading and debriefing operational teams in complex environments and understanding that a hands-on approach is critical to ensuring the detailed background knowledge required to truly assess the actions and outcomes of any simulation activity.

Business Continuity Management planning, implementation and testing. Our Business Continuity advisory experience covers a range of sectors including mining, energy, utilities, banking, not-for-profit and government. Our team hold formal qualifications in Business Continuity Management coupled with years of corporate experience implementing and managing resilience capabilities. We have a detailed understanding of both the Australian guidelines and international standards for Business Continuity including: ISO 22301-2012 Societal security - Business continuity management systems – Requirements and: ISO 22313-2012 Societal security - Business continuity management systems – Guidance and the Business Continuity Institute Good Practice Guidelines (GPG) 2018 Edition. Many of our clients have come to us for pragmatic solutions following unsatisfactory and over-complicated BC programs delivered by Big Four accounting firms. On all occasions, we have delivered bespoke solutions that are aligned to the organisational structure and capacity to understand and implement these tailored BC solutions.

Security Risk Management – assessment, design and testing of Security Management Systems. We have advised and developed systems for clients operating in the energy, rail and ports sectors, many of which have defined critical infrastructure. Our people are career security professionals with formal qualifications who have an in-depth understanding of both the Australian and international security legislation as well as standards including ISO31000 Risk Management – guidelines and the HB 167 on Security Risk Management. This level of experience enables us to apply solutions which are optimal to a given clients’ capacity and mandated security requirements. We maintain strong relationships with the Aviation and Maritime Security (AMS) Division of the Department of Home Affairs and are approved to have access to a range of Security Agency systems to assist with risk assessment and access current risk intelligence. This level of access ensures we are able to advise our clients on the latest requirements as well as facilitate the development, review and approval of regulated security systems and procedures.

Systems audits and post incident reviews as part of internal or external audits and investigations. Our team hold formal leadership and industry qualifications and have experience as incident commanders with government agencies and in the private sector. The majority of our team also have experience as military leaders in complex operational environments and familiarity with formal inquests. This background allows us a unique perspective on the ability of organisations to apply defined processes and perform in challenging circumstances. We have supported our clients by conducting post-incident debriefs and detailed reviews of organisational response to a range of incidents. This support is routinely conducted in parallel with privileged legal investigative processes to ensure our clients are able to learn from the incident whilst ensuring the appropriate management of sensitive matters.