What may be used to assess the effectiveness of an emergency response plan?

Drills and exercises are essential tools for assessing the effectiveness of an emergency response plan because they provide practical, hands-on experiences that simulate real-life scenarios. By conducting these drills, organizations can evaluate how well personnel understand their roles, follow protocols, and respond to emergencies in a controlled environment. This helps to identify strengths and weaknesses in the plan, allowing for necessary adjustments and improvements.

While inventory checks and staffing evaluations might also provide relevant information regarding the resources available and personnel readiness, they do not directly simulate the response process to an emergency situation in the way that drills and exercises do. Thus, they contribute to the overall preparedness function but are not as effective as drills and exercises in evaluating the specific response capabilities of an emergency response plan. Therefore, using drills and exercises as a primary measure offers a more direct insight into how the plan will function in real-world emergencies.