Committed to emergency response preparation

Tabletop exercises and live drills are just some of the ways our emergency management team helps ensure we are properly prepared for any emergency.

These planned exercises are an important part of Cenovus Energy’s commitment to emergency response preparation—and are executed on a regular basis across all Cenovus locations.

Scott Andrews, Senior Emergency Management & Business Continuity Advisor, is part of a specialized team at Cenovus that leads response preparation. The Emergency Management team spend much of their time at our sites – building response capacity, helping on-site emergency response staff and employees practice response efforts, and developing relationships with local emergency management officials and first responders.

“Safety will always be our top value, and that guides our decision making,” says Scott. “Despite the processes in place at our operations, things don’t always happen the way you would like them to, and we have a responsibility to have the right preparedness in place and the right capabilities to respond.”

Preparing for an emergency response is a collaborative effort. Both those who would respond at our field locations and our corporate Incident Support Team regularly participate in tabletop and live drill exercises that allow participants to think through scenarios and ask questions.

“We work with all levels of the organization to improve capability,” says Scott. “Our job is to make sure sites are prepared and that everyone goes home safe, even if we have an unforeseen event.”

Along with planned exercises, technology is helping Cenovus be more proactive and effective. New software provides the emergency response team with a bird’s eye view of each of our sites and combines that live mapping with a communication system. The dual tool allows us to identify nearby stakeholders and provide those at site with real-time, on-the-ground information such as the potential of a serious weather event.

When asked about his role, Scott says after 20 years in emergency management, the work continues to be rewarding, especially being a part of an experienced, professional team that drives continuous improvement.

“Our hope is we never have to deploy emergency teams, but if we do, through planning, training and practical exercises, we will have skilled and capable responders to protect what matters most, our people and the community,” says Scott.