2012 — Number 1 - ExxonMobil

The hands-on
course covers
risk management,
employee and public
safety, government
relations and
practical incidentresponse
training.
that, to be useful, the training
must include both classroom
instruction and hands-on experience.
The hands-on component
is critical because it drives home
the lesson that theory and reality
don’t always mesh.”
Training sessions began
in 2009, and more than 400
employees have participated
so far. Most sessions are conducted
at a dedicated company
training facility in Paradis,
Louisiana, about 20 miles south
of New Orleans.
Training goes global
Initial classes focused on
employees in the United States
and Canada, including classes
on Arctic response that were
held in Canada. This year,
Tomblin and Hansen are taking
their training to ExxonMobil
employees in Singapore,
Australia, Russia (Sakhalin)
and the United Kingdom.
Participants come from all
areas of the company, including
exploration, production, refining,
marketing, pipeline and tanker
operations. Attendees range
from lead country managers to
technicians.
“We’re not training any one
person to be an expert in any
one thing,” explains Tomblin. “We
train them to be part of an overall
incident-management team. We
want them to understand the
expectations that will be placed
on such a team. Everyone
affected by an oil spill or other
incident will have demands. This
includes local citizens, government
agencies, elected officials,
the news media, other businesses
that may be affected and
so on. We try to give participants
the big picture so they’ll understand
the wide range of issues
they will face when they serve on
an incident-management team.”
Classroom instruction includes
presentations by subject-matter
experts on such topics as hazard
recognition, spill containment
and recovery, protective
equipment, decontamination
procedures, environmental sensitivities,
oil-spill behavior and
effects, risk management, news
media relations, government
affairs and use of dispersants.
Exposure to these topics gives
participants a broad understanding
of the many facets involved
in managing a response.
When theory meets reality
Two days of classroom sessions
are followed by a day of outdoor
hands-on training deploying
oil-spill response equipment.
It’s here that participants learn
firsthand that theory and reality
often conflict.
“In real-world deployment, terrain,
weather and operating conditions
can vary widely, and can
change quickly,” says Hansen.
“In the classroom, we explain
how booms, skimmers and
other equipment are designed
to work. Then we go out on the
water and deploy that equipment.
Participants see firsthand
that conditions can change
quickly. Factors such as rough
seas, changing tides, high winds
and freezing temperatures can
complicate the best of plans.”
Hansen recalls a recent session
involving placement of
a long string of containment
boom. “At 9 a.m., everybody
was enthusiastic about getting
that boom into the water. But
by noon, they had an understanding
for how difficult it can
be. Doing it
themselves
was the
best way for
To learn more
exxonmobil.com/
emergencyresponse
them to learn that laying boom
is a physically demanding and
complex task. From an incidentmanagement
perspective, that’s
an extremely important lesson.”
“Of course, we hope our
students never have to use the
knowledge and skills we give
them,” Tomblin adds. “But if they
do, we know that every one of
them is capable and will do the
right thing if called upon.” the Lamp
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