Building capability through large‑scale exercises
Large-scale emergency exercises place significant demands on teams. They test decision‑making, communication, and technical performance under pressure.
The exercise in Egypt brought together more than 120 participants from business units, authorities, and industry partners. OSRL supported the planning, training, facilitation, and evaluation activities, helping the organisation assess how its teams respond in a multi‑day scenario.
This article provides a summary of the work carried out and invites readers to download the full case study.
Why this exercise mattered
The organisation runs exercises as an ongoing programme, with each iteration building on previous lessons. As competence grows, scenarios increase in complexity to maintain realism.
Focus areas included:
- Performance under pressure
- Stronger evaluation methods
- Integration of lessons from past events
- Coordination across multiple teams and agencies
OSRL has supported this organisation over several years, particularly in large‑scale, multi‑day exercises that require significant planning and structured evaluation.
How support was provided
OSRL contributed across several areas:
Exercise planning
- Scenario inputs, injects and storyline development
- Evaluation criteria aligned to exercise objectives
Training
- “Performance Under Pressure” training using the Red2Blue framework
Exercise facilitation
- Simulation cell support for logistics and spill response realism
- Advisors embedded in Operations, Planning, and Logistics for ICS guidance
Performance coaching
- Real‑time coaching for Incident Commanders and section leads
- Physiological data collection using heart‑rate monitors to support behavioural awareness
Evaluation
- A combined evaluation team from OSRL, the client, authorities, and industry
- Mid‑exercise feedback, hotwash sessions, and consolidated reporting
This structure helped the organisation observe how teams operate during extended pressure and where adjustments may support future readiness.
What organisations can apply
The exercise surfaced several lessons relevant to any organisation running complex simulations:
- Build familiarity and capability before an incident through repeated engagement
- Use multi‑agency participation to reinforce shared readiness
- Introduce structured evaluation to capture insights consistently
- Treat exercises as a programme, not isolated events, to maintain continuity
- Combine technical realism with coaching to support individual and collective performance
These points provide practical prompts for teams reviewing their own exercise programmes.
Continuing development through structured exercises
Multi‑day exercises offer valuable opportunities to observe behaviour, test procedures, and refine organisational processes.
The Egypt exercise demonstrated how planning, training, facilitation, and independent evaluation can help organisations learn from realistic scenarios.
