METRO ATLANTA: Real Bad Day- What’s the Plan? Tabletop Exercise Workshop

Real Bad Day- What’s the Plan?

Tabletop Exercise Workshop

Monthly Meeting of the Metro Atlanta Chapter of Georgia Society of Professional Engineers

Matt Spencer, CSP, SHRM-CP, REM

Abstract:

• Free Monthly dinner meeting of Georgia Society of Professional Engineers
• 6:00 p.m., Monday, October 14, 2024 at the Piccadilly Cafeteria, Tucker.
• Presentation Topic: Tabletop Exercises Workshop, Planning Before Catastrophes & Good Events
• Speaker: Matt Spencer, CSP, SHRM-CP, REM, Vice President HR & Safety Programs,S. Poultry & Egg Association
• Benefiting licensed engineers, aspiring PE, engineering students & others interested in learning about technology.

Atlanta, Georgia (October 7, 2024)  –  The Uvalde, Texas school shooting went badly. The Barrow County crisis management was professional. The officials responding to the recent Rockdale County fire   – managing well. Undoubtedly, the difference is planning. Tabletop exercises before an event is a very useful planning tool. In the simplest form of a tabletop exercise participating team is in a low stress environment without distractions and is presented realistic situation scenarios. They develop and document response procedures; when who does what and communicates with who. The inclusion of representatives of involved departments and agencies, such as marketing, insurance, attorneys, unions, and emergency responders, depends on the scenario. Some scenarios could be as ordinary as opening a new store, shutdowns, a black Friday sale, layoffs, or a big corporate party. The most thought of scenarios involve risks to business continuity, weather preparations, defective product responses and recalls, and public safety. Engineers have a moral and legal obligation to the public welfare, health and safety. Engineers may at some point be called upon to participate in or lead tabletop exercises. Even if not taught in their formal education, they should be trained for this.

Matt Spencer, CSP, SHRM-CP, REM, Vice President HR & Safety Programs, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association will address the 6:00 PM, Monday, October 14^th monthly dinner meeting of the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers at Piccadilly Cafeteria, Northlake, (2000 Crescent Centre Blvd, Tucker, GA 30084 ). He will lead a workshop on Tabletop Exercises Workshop, Planning Before Catastrophes & Good Events. He will discuss the why and when to have a tabletop exercise rather than a typical meeting, how the formats differ, and the “dos and don’ts” of participating in and leading tabletop exercises. The program will include small group role playing for scenarios that engineers and managers realistically could encounter (emergency response planning, product defect, project setback, new facilities or production line for example). All types of managers, currently registered Professional Engineers, those engineers aspiring to become PEs, and others engaged in engineering and business would benefit from the presentation. Members of the general public are also welcome to learn about technology, engineering, and public welfare. There is no charge for the meeting or presentation.

Matt Spencer, CSP, SHRM-CP, REM, has been the HR and Safety Programs Vice President for the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association since 2017. He is responsible for the strategic management of certain USPOULTRY technical services provided to or on behalf of association members, including worker safety, human resources, fleet safety, employment law programs, and more. Mr. Spencer provides technical and logistical support to the Joint Poultry Industry Safety & Health, Human Resources, and Duck Councils. He represents USPOULTRY on various outside committees or boards, such as the NFPA 55 Industrial and Medical Gases, 150 Animal Housing, and 660 Agricultural Dust technical committees, ANSI Z490.1 and ANSI Z16 advisory committees, the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA) board of directors, and the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda Councils for Manufacturing and Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing. Mr. Spencer assists in developing program areas related to educational programs for the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) and provides other IPPE support. He prepares comments and articles for risk management positions of the Association. Previously, Mr. Spencer held various positions in the Environmental, Health, and Safety and HR fields in different industries for over eighteen years. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Safety and Health Engineering from the University of Columbia Southern. Matthew is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Associate Safety Professional (ASP) from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. Mr. Spencer is  a Certified Professional of the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM-CP) and has also obtained his Registered Environmental Manager (REM) Designation from the National Register for Environmental Professionals. Matt Resides in the Atlanta area.

About the Meeting

The GSPE Atlanta Metro Chapter meetings are open to engineering professionals, students, and other interested members of the public. The meetings take place on the second Monday of each month, September through June. The meetings start with F2F networking at 6:00 pm, followed by dinner and the speaker at 7:00. The presentation will be archived for later viewing on the GSPE video channel, www.youtube.com/GSPEng. Many engineers enjoy the presentations as well as earn a required Professional Development Hour. Currently registered professional engineers, those engineers aspiring to become PEs, students, and others engaged in engineering would benefit from the presentation. Anyone in the field of engineering and members of the general public are welcome to pose questions and to learn about engineering and public welfare.

Both F2F and later archived viewing (www.youtube.com/GSPEng) .are FREE.