Managers and supervisors 

I find that good contingency management skills are vital for the success of managers / supervisors, because it keeps them flexible and it really is a matter of personal survival in the business place.

Another example of the original subject, would be when we / I have a task or project to complete - for example: Building works that require security personnel to be a security (insurance) presence, also these personnel need to be able to direct outside contractors, and be able to have enough experience on this site in terms of building knowledge, building security system knowledge, and be trained in fire management systems etc.

I may organise, have a brief ready, and plan to leave a specific supervisor or security officer to manage the given project or task. But then at the final hours that supervisor / officer may not be available for any given reason.

Then I may need to identify another security officer / supervisor who possesses these skills, and because this is not as easy as it sounds, I may then need to change the security plan, briefing structure, and even the contractor may need to be changed to another contractor. This contractor needs to be trusted, and may possess very good knowledge of the site, so they can assist the security officer in their duties in regard to completing the task.

If this example does happen, we again as described need to meet this head on with a solution, flexibility, and consistency so again we are not found deficient in any way. Again, only very good personal performance, planning and good contingency skills would get this example back on track.

The last example I have in relation to these subjects, is in reference to prioritisation in the workplace.

For example I / we (I say 'we' as I believe in teams working together to accomplish tasks as I find it is always the most sufficient and successful way), may have a task to complete, being that we may be planning security and risk management, for an upcoming event, or other site works that may need final touches and a strict timeline is in place - as this is important to insurance and our providing of the contract service.

Then in the middle of this planning, we may have a crisis where we may have a building / security problem that requires solutions, quick plans, meetings, and liaison with the client and outside contractor services. We then have varying work conditions and contingencies that must be addressed.

We do this using prioritisation. We immediately put the security planning on hold (knowing we may not have time for any time extensions from the client/ employer), and throw ourselves into solving, helping solve the crisis at hand.

When the initial crisis is over and being monitored and managed, we may be then able to do both tasks simultaneously so we can achieve positive results all round.