The Power of Practice: Crisis Simulation Exercises in Action
Crisis simulation exercises (CSEs) are among the most powerful tools organisations can use to build true resilience. Unlike traditional training or theoretical planning, CSEs place individuals and teams in realistic, high-pressure scenarios, challenging them to think on their feet, make decisions under stress, and respond with confidence.
These exercises aren’t just about performance in the moment; they’re about preparation for the future. From executive leadership to frontline responders, CSEs reveal how people interact with systems, how plans hold up under pressure, and where vulnerabilities may exist, whether in decision-making, communications, processes, or infrastructure.
At Horizonscan, we’ve seen time and again how exercises turn policies into practice. They help embed crisis management into day-to-day thinking, spark new ideas for improvement, and create a shared understanding of what “resilience” really means. Whether it’s a focused desktop exercise for HR or a multi-agency, full-scale incident response drill, the goal remains the same: to test, learn, and adapt.
Now, more than ever, these exercises are essential. As risks grow more complex, spanning cyber, climate, operational, and geopolitical domains, so too must our readiness. A well-run CSE today can prevent paralysis tomorrow.
Preparedness in Practice: The Columbus Engine Plant CEP Case Study
Last week, we witnessed a full-scale Response to Recovery simulation at the Cummins Inc. Columbus Engine Plant (CEP) in Indiana. It was an ambitious, day-long exercise involving emergency services, internal teams, and senior leaders.
⚠️ THIS IS AN EXERCISE, THIS IS AN EXERCISE ⚠️
“911 Dispatch…structural collapse at Cummins Inc. … multiple persons injured and trapped…”
What followed was a coordinated and disciplined display of readiness:
- Emergency Response Teams triaged and stabilised “casualties.”
- Columbus EMS and Fire Department tested Unified Command protocols.
- The leadership team stepped in to lead business recovery, activate plans, and manage external and internal communications.
This level of engagement is rare, even on a global scale. The exercise was more than a test; it was a showcase of how partnerships between business and emergency services build shared resilience.
Real Feedback, Real Impact
Here’s what participants had to say:
- “The handovers and level of detail provided by the ERTs for each patient were so good it made our job much easier.” Paramedic
- “We don’t get the chance to exercise like this too often. We learned a lot today.” Firefighter
- “I’m so proud of how the ERTs handled the scenario; I could cry.” ERT Leader
📣 “The level of planning, coordination, and dedication that went into making the CEP event a success cannot be overstated. Everyone involved should be incredibly proud of what they achieved.
Through CEP’s energy and commitment, they not only strengthened Cummins’ resilience as an organisation, but also contributed to building greater resilience across the county. By involving the Emergency Services, they provided a rare opportunity to test practices and plans at scale, a benefit that extends well beyond one organisation.
People, procedures, and plans were all put to the test, and the insights gained are truly invaluable. It’s a privilege to work alongside such a forward-thinking client and to help design and deliver exercises that have such a meaningful impact.”
Joely Austen AMBCI DBCI , Resilience Consultant
Scalable, Tailored, and Low-Impact on Delivery
Not every exercise needs to look like the Columbus Engine Plant. Most of our crisis simulations are intentionally smaller in scale, designed to be tightly focused, highly relevant, and seamlessly integrated into our clients’ day-to-day operations. These exercises might involve an HR team navigating an employee welfare crisis, an HSE group testing an incident escalation process, or a leadership team role-playing a reputational risk scenario.
What sets these sessions apart is their precision. We take time to understand each organisation’s structure, risk profile, and operational culture, ensuring every exercise is built around the issues that matter most. Whether delivered in person or remotely, each exercise is tailored not just in content, but also in tone and tempo, so that it feels authentic, yet never disruptive.
Thanks to our experienced delivery team and highly efficient planning, the operational burden is kept to a minimum. We can deploy quickly, adapt to changing circumstances, and deliver impactful sessions without being intrusive. For clients, this means high-value outcomes, greater awareness, clearer roles, and improved plans, without interrupting business as usual.
These exercises don’t just prepare teams for crisis; they build a culture of readiness that becomes part of how the organisation thinks and responds every day.
📣 “As a business leader myself, I get how busy people are. Investing in team crisis exercises now can save lives, jobs, and reputations in the future. In today’s world of virtual meetings, these exercises also encourage valuable knowledge sharing and team building. At Horizonscan, we deliver scalable, tailored exercises with minimal impact, whether it’s a three-person HR scenario or a global, multi-team simulation across time zones. We’ve done it all. Getting prepared will cost you far less than recovering from a crisis”
Shane McMahon MSc CMIRM MBCI CBCP Director and Head of Consultancy.
From 580 individual feedback responses, key themes have emerged:
- Command and Control: Many participants emphasised the importance of understanding crisis roles (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) and the underlying structure behind decision-making. Comments included: “Command/control and role clarity were a real eye-opener”, and “The command triangle helped me realise crisis leadership is not always top-down.”
- Communication Under Pressure: The importance of timely, accurate, and coordinated communication stood out. One participant said: “The importance of clear and timely communication in an increasingly technical and hybrid world was a major takeaway.”
- Situational Complexity & Stress Management: Several responses noted the realism of the scenarios and how quickly situations escalated, highlighting the value of practising under pressure. “The real idea is that during these events, you don’t have all the information. It’s hard. It felt real.”
- Gaps Revealed, Plans Improved: Feedback consistently reflected that the exercises uncovered blind spots, particularly in areas such as IT, emergency coordination, and stakeholder management. “The practice emergency scenario uncovered areas we didn’t have a plan for. It was clear the scenario was designed to expose the gaps.”
We’ll leave you with this question:
When was the last time your team had the opportunity to work through a live risk from your risk register?
If it’s been some time or never, it’s worth considering how a tailored exercise could unlock real resilience for your team.
At Horizonscan, we believe in the practical power of training. That’s why our Crisis Simulation Exercises aren’t one-off events; they’re part of a wider programme of support, tools, and knowledge-sharing designed to build confidence at every level.
This philosophy underpins why we were proud to be recognised with two major awards at the 27th Annual CIRMagazine Business Continuity Awards:
🏆 Strategy of the Year (with Cummins Inc. GSCS) – celebrating a multi-year, multi-region programme that combined business continuity, supplier resilience, and tailored crisis readiness across a global network. It was a pleasure to be joined by Rasime Long who accepted the award along with Gill Hall and John Benfield CBCV CMgr.
🏆 Supply Chain, Transportation & Logistics Award – recognising our ability to strengthen supply chain resilience through innovative ESG integration, multi-tier engagement, and ongoing testing and exercising.
These accolades reflect the cumulative strength of our approach: not just running great exercises but building the cultural and operational infrastructure that makes resilience sustainable.
If you’re ready to start or evolve your resilience journey, let’s talk.
So far this year, we’ve delivered 24 Crisis Simulation Exercises (CSEs) and workshops across a diverse range of clients and geographies. These sessions covered multiple sectors, including manufacturing, logistics, energy, finance, and education.
This year, Horizonscan have conducted multiple exercises for our clients:
- Exercise formats: 21 in-person exercises, three remote/virtual exercises, five hybrid exercises
- Geographic reach: Delivered in 7 countries and 22 cities across the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.
- Participant engagement: Over 248 individual participants, from senior executives to frontline operations and HSE teams.
- Functional focus: Exercises covered crisis leadership, emergency response, HR and employee wellbeing, cyber risk, reputational response and more.
- Client outcomes: Feedback from participants consistently rates the sessions as “high value” and “insightful,” with praise for their realism and relevance. 98.2% said that a Horizonscan CSE will help support my current or future role. The amount of material covered was appropriate, and overall, Horizonscan did an excellent job facilitating the event.
This data reflects growing demand for interactive, high-impact preparedness solutions that help clients move from theoretical risk planning to actionable readiness.
📣”Exercises are not just dates in a diary or rehearsals, they are valuable tools that strengthen resilience, build teamwork, and develop confidence. Importantly, they identify areas for improvement and in so doing embed a culture of preparedness that enables teams to adapt swiftly under pressure and respond with clarity.”
Mark Strand CertEd , Crisis Training Consultant
Thank you for reading. For more information on scheduling an exercise, reach out to our team directly or follow us on LinkedIn for regular updates.
