When a major incident develops on an installation or industrial facility, somebody has to take charge of it. Not eventually: immediately, from the moment the alarm is raised, with incomplete information and a situation that keeps moving. MEMIR exists because that job can be trained for, and because the industry decided it should be trained for to a common standard.
Who MEMIR is for
MEMIR is for personnel who are designated as being in charge of an emergency management team, who are members of one, or who provide support to one. It also serves as the initial emergency management training for people working toward an emergency response manager role. There are no prerequisites, so it suits both experienced personnel formalising their training and people stepping into emergency management for the first time. Because practical exercises can be demanding, learners complete a medical screening declaration before taking part.
What the training covers
The programme trains learners to prepare for, respond to and maintain control of an emergency as it develops or escalates; to manage communications, information and predetermined plans from the raising of the alarm to the point the emergency manager is assured the emergency is over; and to understand how stress affects individuals and teams under emergency conditions.
The defining feature of MEMIR is that most of it is practical. Of the programme's 26 guided learning hours, delivered over consecutive days, roughly 35% is classroom work and 65% is spent running emergency scenarios and debriefing them. Every learner takes the emergency manager role in at least two different types of emergency scenario, with structured feedback from the instructional team. You do not sit through MEMIR; you perform it.
What the certificate means
Successful completion earns the OPITO Major Emergency Management Initial Response certificate, which has no expiry date. Separately from any OPITO requirement, employers and duty holders often apply their own refresher expectations as a matter of professional practice, because emergency management is a perishable skill even when the certificate is not.
Where MEMIR can lead
OPITO lists OIM Controlling Emergencies (product 7025) as a product MEMIR may lead to. It is worth being precise about what that means: OIMCE is a formal competence assessment with its own employer-readiness and evidence requirements, so completing MEMIR does not by itself qualify anyone for OIMCE assessment. If the distinction matters to your role or your team, we have written about it separately.
Attending MEMIR with Poseidon
Poseidon delivers MEMIR at our training centre in Thailand, and through an online delivery option for eligible learners. Course details, dates and the booking process are on the MEMIR page.