Shelter-in-Place Tabletop Exercise for Facility Management

This exercise is part of our catalog of tabletop exercises for facility management.

Scenario Overview

Participants work as the facility management team for a fictional company when a sudden explosion shakes the building and a news report announces that all area buildings must immediately shelter in place. With little warning and limited information, the facility is thrust into a tense and uncertain situation.

As the incident develops, chaos spreads among employees and guests. Occupants become unsettled and angry, radiation is reportedly detected nearby, and some people require medicine or other urgent support. Facility management must make difficult decisions about how to keep occupants safe, maintain control of the site, and respond to evolving conditions while everyone remains confined inside.

This exercise challenges facility management teams to handle a prolonged shelter-in-place emergency involving occupant needs, access control, building operations, and communications in a high-pressure environment.

Why This Scenario Matters for Facility Management

Facility management teams are responsible for maintaining safe, functional environments for employees, guests, vendors, and critical services. A shelter-in-place order can immediately affect building access, occupant safety, security posture, and the ability to maintain operations inside the facility.

This exercise helps facility management leaders evaluate how they would respond when an external threat forces occupants to remain in place for an extended period, requiring strong coordination across life safety, access control, communications, and day-to-day operations.

Exercise Objectives

• Evaluate leadership decision-making during a building-wide shelter-in-place emergency.
• Discuss access control, occupant management, and facility security during a prolonged incident.
• Review occupant support needs, including medical and special assistance requirements.
• Assess communications with employees, guests, responders, and stakeholders.
• Examine how building operations are maintained during restricted movement and heightened tension.
• Identify opportunities to improve shelter-in-place planning, emergency coordination, and operational resilience.

Typical Participants

• Executive leadership
• Facility management
• Operations leadership
• Environmental health and safety personnel
• Security or safety personnel
• Human resources
• Communications or public affairs staff
• Business continuity or crisis management team members

Exercise Format

Conduct-It-Yourself Tabletop Exercises are structured, discussion-based simulations designed to help organizations test their response to disruptive events without the time and cost of a fully facilitated exercise. Participants are placed in the middle of a realistic scenario as it unfolds and must work through decisions, priorities, and consequences as a leadership team.

Each downloadable exercise package includes everything needed to conduct the session internally, including facilitator instructions, exercise overview materials, participant forms, a detailed scenario script, and a ready-to-run PowerPoint presentation that guides the scenario and discussion. The materials are designed so organizations can conduct the exercise as delivered or customize the storyline and supporting materials to reflect their own facilities, operations, and emergency planning objectives.

Most exercises are designed to be conducted in approximately 2 to 4 hours. A typical agenda includes an exercise overview and scenario briefing, the facilitated disaster simulation discussion, group review and preparation for debriefing, and a structured post-exercise discussion to capture lessons learned and improvement opportunities.

Exercise Focus

• Emergency Response
• Shelter-in-Place
• Building Operations

Related Tabletop Exercise Scenarios

Organizations exploring this scenario may also find these exercises useful:

• Earthquake Tabletop Exercise for Facility Management
• Multiple Disruptions Tabletop Exercise for Facility Management
• Train Wreck Tabletop Exercise for Facility Management
• Gas Main Explosion Tabletop Exercise for Facility Management

Purchase & Download

This exercise is delivered as a downloadable package that includes facilitator instructions, scenario materials, and structured discussion prompts to guide the exercise.