Reasoning Blog

The Miami-Dade Surfside Building Collapse: What to Expect

When managing the response and recovery of a collapsed building it is perhaps a bit easier to think of the overall process in functional areas.  Before that, it is key to remember that there will be many different responding agencies and political staff at the local, state, national and international level involved, as well as

Read More »

What to Expect in the Next Six Months

Many organizations have restarted operations and soon more will join them. What can these organizations expect in the upcoming months regarding COVID-19, crisis management planning and incident response? Kenyon Chairman Robert A. Jensen explores these topics as well as shares updates on Kenyon’s current operational status.

Read More »

What is Next?

Family, friends, employees and clients ask me what is next and how to manage so many unknowns? This is what I tell them, and what I am planning for the rest of 2020 and going into 2021. I start any discussion with three key points: 1.    You can’t force a schedule or timeline on something like

Read More »

COVID-19: Getting to the New Normal

How we transition from the “Safer at Home” policies to the restarting businesses, schools, and for many life in general. Good crisis management and response focuses on both responding to the crisis (managing the consequences) and on planning the recovery (transitioning to the new normal). For many the response to COVID-19 seems to be reactive

Read More »

Construction of a Temporary Holding Area

I made a short step-by-step walkthrough of the construction and operation of a temporary holding area. In addition, a companion guide with the key points made in the video as well as visual references has been made available and can be found below. I understand that you may have more questions. Please do not hesitate

Read More »

COVID-19 Planning Factors and Considerations

Due to the amount of telephone calls Kenyon has received regarding the establishment of temporary mortuaries, I found it prudent to provide key planning factors and expectations with regards to COVID-19. I hope this answers some of your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact Kenyon should you have more questions or concerns. [vimeo 399292057

Read More »

Coronavirus II Q&A Webinar

This webinar is a continuation of the coronavirus webinar held on 13 February 2020. We gave people the opportunity to ask the questions that were not previously answered and any new ones that had arisen since the first webinar. If you have not seen the previous webinar, we recommend viewing it first.  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsCPlWD51Iw]

Read More »

Coronavirus Webinar and Resources

Novel-Coronavirus is the most recent example of a medical event to impact the global system, and whilst different from other similar events, is not unprecedented if we learn from previous cases. The amount of available information on the Novel-Coronavirus can seem overwhelming, so using recent examples, Kenyon Chairman Robert A. Jensen summarised this information and

Read More »
mh370 memorial site perth

Will we ever stop making it worse for the families of MH370?

Today, I saw that the Australian Government is making plans to build a memorial in Perth for MH370. I am sure it is a very well-intended action. However, I am dumb struck by it and wonder if these families will ever catch break.The best that the governments and companies involved could do was not make

Read More »
ITCMS recap video

International Travel Crisis Management Summit

This past November I had the opportunity to participate in the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) at Haberdasher’s Hall in London. They’ve produced a nice video with some key takeaways from the conference – take a look.

Read More »

Crisis Communications and Family Assistance

Today many companies plan for and manage crisis communications as a public relations action and the family assistance activities as purely psychological support, often not connecting the two. In our experience, both activities are closely related and tie into each other. To begin with, identify the audience – e.g., families, employees, partners, governments and investors.

Read More »

Brazil tribe gets compensation from 2006 airplane crash

There are 12 principle areas to manage when responding to a crisis.  The eighth principle area focuses on “Community and Government Affairs.”  When I talk about this, I tell people the story of working in Angola in 2005. I was there with a team to try and recover what we could from the wreckage of

Read More »
Robert A. Jensen

Loss of ACT Airlines Flight TK6491

My thoughts and prayers are with the families and the community affected by the loss of ACT Airlines flight TK6491. I’ve shared some thoughts on the family assistance ramifications of the accident and on the larger concept of consequence management in a short video below. Please watch, and share your questions or comments with me.

Read More »
Robert A. Jensen

Suspension of Search for Flight MH370

I’ve taken a few minutes to share my thoughts on the recent suspension of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Just like the families, I am dismayed at this decision. Please watch this quick video and share your thoughts in the comments. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ASskjZDAY]

Read More »

Payments to families, what are the challenges and who does what?

My recent post on the potential disparity of payments to families from recent incidents has generated several questions about how payments are made and could the Special Assistance Team (SAT) members be the ones to start the discussion. Questions about payments to crew families have also been raised. From field experience, this is a prime

Read More »

CEO, Airline Comms, and Insurer, how would you answer this headline?

  AirAsia families offered half the compensation given to MH370 relatives | via @Telegraph Higher initial payments aren’t the answer. The answer is consistent incident management, treating families equally, and treating them well from the start. The answer is the insurers, solicitors, brokers, and airlines working together with the airline taking the lead. In the

Read More »
Robert Jensen examines where ICAO and IATA standards for aviation crisis management overlap.

Standards – ICAO and IATA are they in unison?

Another question I am often asked is, “Do you feel ICAO’s regulatory framework has kept pace with today’s consumer expectations and communications technology?” My answer to this is that good crisis management programs address all aspects of consequence management, communication being one of those. As it stands now, ICAO has moved their single crisis management

Read More »
Comparing traditional media and social media.

Impact of Social Media

I am often asked, “Bob, there is a lot of discussion regarding the impact of social media in a crisis situation. Can you please throw some light on the impact vis-a-vis that of the traditional media?” Also, “Do you think that in the long term the viewer/reader better remembers/recalls the news items that the traditional

Read More »

How do you test coordination in crisis communications exercises?

Here is how we do it. During the IATA Crisis Communications in the Age of Social Media Conference in Istanbul, Kenyon hosted an interactive exercise in which the attendees were divided into eight groups. The eight groups represented the following: 1. First Airline – in this case “Braniff” 2. Second Airline – in this case

Read More »

Crisis Communications and Coordination

Two weeks ago I was in Istanbul, at the IATA Crisis Communications in the Social Media Age Conference. I, along with other Kenyon staff, were there to speak on a panel and conduct an interactive exercise. These are great conferences because they provide an opportunity to share lessons learned and further develop best practice guidelines.

Read More »
Haiti Earthquake Kenyon Team Members 2010

Part 12: Crisis Leadership

This is part 12 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 12 Large-scale loss of life events are a direct challenge to our ability

Read More »

Part 11: Business Continuity

This is part 11 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 11 An immediate business disruption occurs that affects the entire company, often limited

Read More »
personal effects operations

Part 10: Personal Effects Operations

  This is part 10 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 10 There are potentially thousands of personal belongings that need to be

Read More »
Tsunami Thailand 2004

Part 9: Fatality Operations

  This is part 9 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 9 There are deceased people who need to be recovered, identified and

Read More »
Robert Jensen meets with local officials in Angola

Part 8: Government and Community Affairs

  This is part 8 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 8 There are multiple government agencies and other national governments demanding information,

Read More »
Janie Moreno trains clients on Kenyon Response

Part 7: Data Management

  This is part 7 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 7 There is a vast amount of unorganized, but very important information

Read More »
Tom Garner meets with insurance representatives

Part 6: Insurance and Risk Management

  This is part 6 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 6 There is an immediate need for funds to pay for the

Read More »
Accident Investigations - Cockpit Voice Recorder fragment

Part 5: Investigations

  This is part 5 of a 12-part series describing the consequences of a typical large-scale loss of life incident. Following the framework of the 12 Principles of Crisis Management, I describe these consequences and offer best practice solutions for each consequence. Consequence 5 There are numerous unanswered questions about what happened to cause the

Read More »
MH17

Immediate Humanitarian Needs for MH17

Kenyon has very strong opinions regarding mass fatality operations. While Kenyon is not involved in the investigation or recovery operations of MH17, I’ve written an open letter to the leaders of this process. Below, I’ll discuss how the situation developed and information on the path forward. Why There are 3 complex issues here and they

Read More »