When disasters strike, there is an “X” factor that all emergency managers plan for, but have very little control over – “X” amount of chaos.
Guaranteed to happen, there is some time factor of total and complete chaos that, depending on the magnitude of the event, will last from minutes to hours, and in the case of an event like Hurricane Katrina – days. The International Association of Emergency Managers surveyed 1,200 businesses from January to August 2005 and found that nearly one-third of U.S. businesses do not have an emergency business continuity plan.
The amount and level of “pre-planning” has a direct impact on how well, and how fast, your business will recover. The elements of a good business continuity plan are:
- Utilities
- Facilities
- People
- Equipment
- Transportation
- Inventory and Supplies
But incorporating them into a cohesive, functional plan can be a challenge and not every company has the talent or the time needed to develop and maintain a business continuity program. Whoever writes your plan should have a good understanding of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), internal resources and company needs. If your in-house resources are not adequate for this task, you will find yourself looking for a consultant. Some critical issues to consider when selecting a consultant follow.
References
“Trust but Verify.” A lot of firms out there claim to be emergency management planners, and say they have the required talent, but do not. A firm should share references with you and you should check them. Next, evaluate the consultant’s approach. Emergency Management and Business Continuity are not exact sciences. If the proposal looks and feels like your basic cookie cutter review, you will probably get a basic plan.
Pre-Planning Assessments
A good business continuity consultant will perform a site visit before submitting a proposal and price. If the consultant doesn’t walk the site, review operations and supporting documentation before submitting the proposal to you – show them the door!
Plan Content
The “Plan” content is, for the most part, pre-determined. There is one objective – How do we get back up and running? However, there are specific thresholds that must be met, including: does it address all of the planning elements (see above) and is the plan functional, either by way of procedures, orders, or checklists. Ask to see an actual plan the consultant has produced. It is standard procedure for a consultant to have real plans available for you to browse. Within those first five pages you should be able to determine: Who is doing What, Where, When, and most of all How.
Project Timeline
Depending on the complexity of your company and the products it produces, the project could take anywhere from four to six weeks to months. Once the plans and procedures are developed, the next essential step is to exercise them in real time. This can be accomplished via a tabletop drill or full-scale exercise. The drill and exercise process is always followed by program updates. The testing and update process should be included in your proposal.
Budget/Costs
Typically, plans are drafted based on the operational specification, i.e. refineries, manufacturing, chemical, administrative, etc. Tailoring is important – planning for a restaurant chain is very different from the planning for an oil refinery. Costs also vary by the type and level of regulatory requirements and desired end results. The cost of a plan can range from $20,000 to $1,000,000, depending on its application…and will cost $10,000 to $50,000 per year to maintain.
David Hagerty is a former White House Appointee, where he helped establish and manage the Office of Nuclear Safety within the US Department of Energy. In 1993, he went on to form his own consulting firm dedicated to crisis and emergency management, which recently merged with CRA. Both have been involved in the Emergency Management field for 15 years.
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