Promoteur : Prof. Sylvain BROHEZ
Co-promoteur : Prof. Christian DELVOSALLE

Résumé :

As shown by annual industrial major accidents statistics in Europe, despites progress of risk prevention in hazardous companies, disaster still appears and these organization cannot overlook the need to organize to manage such situation. Yet, crisis and emergency management in hazardous industries rely on a particular organization which modifies the companies’ normal operating mode. This kind of organization requires, both from operatives and decision-makers, specific knowledge that cannot be acquired through theoretical course or real-life practice only. Simulation exercises can be a training solution to allow the practice of crisis management. However, developing and implementing adapted exercises for agents and their needs is time and resource-consuming, especially when the system where they operate is complex. Therefore, in order to make these trainings more affordable for companies, their development and exploitation must be simplified.

Between the ends of 2015 and 2018, the Expert’Crise project, funded by the European Social Fund, provided emergency and crisis trainings to 19 hazardous companies or critical infrastructure, including 14 immersive simulation exercises on industrial site. Based on this recurrent exercise development process, a scriptwriting methodology was developed, integrating Expert’Crise project’s experience as well as existing methodologies and literature. During such kind of simulation, trainees play their own role in their usual working place. Hence, only some emergency functions are simulated and, for instance, physical intervention with firefighter’s tool are rarely set up.

Then, because some parts of the emergency organization are not tested, arrangements must be made to isolate trainees from real environment and establish the framework in which participants can interact with each other and with the facilitation interface. Because such organization strongly relates to Live-Action Role Playing Games, with a special focus on interaction between participants, improvements coming from the LARP literature were  integrated in the methodology and contribute in making it more interactive, making such trainings close to serious games.