CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN TEMPLATE - Sedgwick County

organization’s COOP program is capable of supporting the continued execution of itsessential function throughout the duration of a COOP situation. Testing, training, andexercising familiarize department/jurisdiction staff members with their roles andresponsibilities during an emergency, ensure that systems and equipment are maintainedin a constant state of readiness, and validate aspects of the COOP plan.A. TrainingA COOP training program is driven by a multi-years strategy integrated into thedepartment’s or jurisdiction’s training, testing and exercise program that providesstaff with instructions in individual, team or department functions, procedures andresponsibilities necessary to activate, sustain and terminate the COOP plan. Thegoal of a COOP training program is to maintain a roster of fully equipped andtrained response personnel.An effective COOP training program will provide for the following:• Regularly scheduled training for all department personnel.• COOP orientation training for new employees.• Annual COOP awareness briefing for entire workforce.• Annual individual and team training of COOP team members to developknowledge and skills to implement the COOP plan and carry out essentialfunctions.• Refresher orientation for the COOP team when it arrives at the alternatesite.• Utilization of checklists to aid task-specific training of COOP teams.• Support a progressive exercise program that concludes in a deliberate andpreplanned movement of COOP personnel to the alternate site.Training programs should be documented with an agenda, class roster, syllabusand utilize student evaluations to ensure on-going improvements.B. Testing and Exercises COOP plans, if appropriate1. TestingWhen alternate facilities have been identified and are made available, aCOOP testing program will evaluate the logistical support, services andinfrastructure (e.g. water, electrical, power, heating, air conditioning) ofthe alternate facility and validate that vital equipment and systemsmentioned in the COOP plan conforms to specifications and operate in therequired elements. COOP vital systems and equipment should be tested onan annual basis, and alert and notification procedures and systems on aquarterly basis.2. Exercises26