Deloitte Malaysia launches Apollo 13 simulation

Helping Malaysian companies prepare for successful failures Petaling Jaya, 11 April 2008 – Deloitte Malaysia today launched the first Governance & Risk intensive simulation, Apollo 13, to give Malaysian organisations exposure to high-risk scenarios. The Apollo 13 is an intensive race in problem-solving, improvisation, teamwork and solution-finding while using limited resources available and the participant’s wits.

Coordinated by Deloitte’s Centre for Risk Intelligence, Apollo 13 comes at a time when corporate failures, IT governance issues, IT security breaches, and complacency have highlighted the range of scenarios local organisations are exposed to and unprepared for. Based in Malaysia, Deloitte’s Centre for Risk Intelligence is a platform for collaborative thought-leadership on risk management in the Asia Pacific region.

The simulation is named after the Apollo 13 mission to the moon, which was launched April 11 1970 - 38 years ago, and is designed to replicate the real events faced by the crew in space and on ground. Two days later, the famous words, “Houston, we have a problem” were uttered as an explosion critically crippled the spacecraft. From that moment, the mission was about survival, solving unforeseen problems under challenging and unexpected conditions.

“Today, organisations face similar challenges in solving unforeseen problems. In Apollo 13’s case it became painfully obvious that the crew could only be saved by good teamwork, sound procedures, clear support structures and quite a bit of creativity. The Apollo 13 simulation offers an ideal ‘pressure cooker’ to experience ingredients such as insight, team work and structure which are essential for achieving better results; an ideal start for process improvement programs,” said Martin Ng, Head, Centre for Risk Intelligence.

Participants reprise critical roles in the simulation and are subject to similar conditions as in the Apollo mission. They and their support team back on earth must work fast to save the astronauts from a slow death. Participants have to work together as a team, make critical decisions, agree and apply their working practices aimed at ensuring that business risks are mitigated, business continuity is achieved and performance targets met.

The simulation, which is coordinated by Deloitte’s Centre for Risk Intelligence, will be a key workshop positioned throughout Asia Pacific. Working with the business community and academia, the Centre aims to encourage a deeper understanding of the nature of risk and to develop risk response solutions through research, publications and education courses. As a critical action-learning activity, simulations will be forefront within the Centres education portfolio.

The Apollo 13 simulation has received strong reviews in Europe, where it was first developed and played. In Asia Pacific, the Apollo 13 simulation has already been conducted in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Apollo 13 will be available for interested organisations in Malaysia from May 12, 2008 and will be available in Singapore from May 15, 2008.

“The Apollo 13 mission was described as a “successful failure”, in that the astronauts failed to land on the moon but were successfully brought home. Are you ready for the Apollo 13 challenge?” said Martin Ng.

For more on the Apollo 13 simulation, please visit: www.deloitte.com/my/CRI