Use of computer simulation in oil spill response training

Abstract

Response to recent oil spill incidents has shown the need for augmenting the training of oil spill response teams. At the spill site, the On-Scene Commander attempts to correlate all the available information for prompt implementation of the op timum clean-up strategy.

A new technique using Computer-Assisted Learning has been developed for the training of On-Scene commanders, which dramatically simulates the time pressures involved in an oil spill. The Computer-Assisted Learning system will complement ac tual hands-on training field exercises.

A forty-eight hour scenario is simulated in four hours of actual time, during which the On-Scene Commander responds to the spill situation by requesting weather information, spill trajec tories, deploying booms and skimmers, and solving other prob lems in a time-pressured situation. All commands are input through a touch-sensitive screen, eliminating problems ex perienced by users unfamiliar with a keyboard.

At the end of the simulated response, data is provided on the amount of oil recovered, the amount of shoreline oiled, and the total cost of the cleanup. The trainee can then evaluate his actions as recorded by the computer throughout the simula tion and as presented to him in the form of graphs at the end of the simulation.

The Computer-Assisted Learning program has proven to be a useful adjunct to our usual training program; it provides the On- Scene Commander trainee the opportunity to experience the time pressures and decision-making associated with an oil spill.