Training decision-makers: Existing strategies for natural and technological crisis management and specifications of an improved simulation-based tool

Abstract

Serious games and environmental computer-based simulations can be useful training tools for people who have to act in emergencies. Currently, stakeholders who deal with crises have to make decisions under stress, for example in order to mitigate consequences or avoid negative impacts on high-stake elements.Many factors are critical in a training environment for ensuring that effective learning occurs, principally: experience improvement, engagement and immersion, and realism. This paper aims to identify the limits of existing learning systems for emergency stakeholders within a crisis cell and then to propose a set of recommendations in order to specify a system to improve the effectiveness of peoples' actions in case of a major crisis.The development of this approach requires the pooling of information concerning varied and multidisciplinary skills. The paper first focuses on the classical difficulties of crisis management, after which the notion of experience in decision-making is defined. The issue is studied from three points of view: the educational approach, the simulation system, and the training environment.The last section of this paper contributes to establishing a set of enhancements which can lead to the specification of simulation based learning systems for further development. More particularly, we specify the needed characteristics of our learning approach and teaching strategy. Finally, we propose a model with the main steps that have to be implemented in order to design a new learning system: a semi-virtual training environment for strategic crisis management.

Elaboration of Tools to Facilitate the Scenario Development of Crisis Management Training

“…A crisis scenario makes trainees familiar with the situation and grants the immersion of participants when it is associated with environmental and contextual elements (Tena-Chollet 2012;Tena-Chollet et al 2016). However, the educational impact of each message is not clearly established.…”

Contribution to the Definition of a New Type of More Technological Ambulance: Use Case of French Civil Security Ambulances

“…• Videoconferencing, used in 2008 by France Telecom Orange and the Paris hospital to experiment with a conferencing service between the control center of a hospital and an ambulance. This method permits direct communication between the field and the control center but does not enable the transfer and reception of data 2 • PILOT V3 and V4 of TPL System are fixed equipment that enable data transmission, but do not transmit multimedia data (image and video) 3 • In addition, medical tablets can be found in hospitals and provide access to patient data anywhere and anytime. However, these tablets are restricted to hospital use and do not allow the sharing of data processing [7].…”

“…The next step is to validate the list of requirements with regard to stakeholder needs. This will provide a set of consistent and comprehensive requirements called "specifications" especially when they are validated and approved by stakeholders [3]. 5) Changing requirements.…”

“…highways, national, local), which makes it difficult to define specific emergency plans [1]. As a consequence, emergency services are increasingly interested in improving their coordination (coordination focuses on the organization of activities deployed by different people involved in an operation) and communication (communication is verbal or exchanged between one person and another who seeks an answer) during emergency operations [3].…”

Simulieren was selten geschieht. Nutzerzentrierte Entwicklung mobiler Simulatoren für komplexe maritime Großschadenslagen

“…Unterscheiden sich die Interpretationen zwischen den beteiligten Organisationen, verringert sich die Effizienz und Effektivität der Kommunikation und Missverständnisse werden wahrscheinlich (Salas et al 2006;Flin et al 2008;Zoller 2014). Aus diesem Grund ist regelmäßiges gemeinsames Training der (potentiell) beteiligten Organisationen nicht nur zur Verbesserung der zur Krisenbewältigung benötigten Grundfertigkeiten elementar (Strohschneider 2012;Tena-Chollet et al 2016). Das Training verbessert auch eine der Situation angemessene Handlungsreaktion und ein gruppenspezifisches Problemlösen (Weick 2010, Hofinger 2008.…”