Emergency Preparations – are they worthwhile?

Are emergency preparations worthwhile? This is a question many companies struggle to answer. The following questions are commonplace:, “Why invest so much time and money to plan for something that might never happen?”, “We can buy equipment and supplies when we need them so why tie up money now?”, “Won’t our organization simple just know what to do when the time comes?”. Management is masterful when it comes to minimizing the necessity of emergency planning, convincing themselves that nothing is likely to happen and downplaying the effects if it does.

Preparing for the worst is similar to purchasing insurance: investing now so that your company can survive in the future. Planning, documenting, and practicing are smart business. If a business is ill prepared for an emergency, it is possible that its unwillingness to prepare will cause it to go out of business. Viewed from a different perspective, planning for contingencies can have the benefit of improving specific job and process inefficiencies.

Emergencies can happen quickly:

The workday starts normally, as you drive to work, a weather forecast describes a 30% chance of strong storms with the possibility of high winds and hail. However, once at work you follow your routine; get a cup of coffee, check various systems, talk to employees, and prepare for the day.

Time passes quickly with meetings, following up with your team, and office work. A quick look at the weather forecast shows the chance of storms has increased to 60% but you are not concerned and continue with your day.

It is near the end of the day and an updated weather forecast reports the chance of a severe storm is now 90% with an increased risk of heavy winds, rain, and hail. Emergency procedures are now running through your head and you begin think of what you need to do. You assemble your team to discuss storm preparations. While discussing plans with your team the lights go out. People report damaged windows on an upper floor and rain is blowing in through the openings. Winds are blowing at 40 mph with 55 mph gusts.

Your team goes into emergency mode and heads out to start work. Soon you receive reports from your team; the generator did not start, rain is blowing in through the broken windows and they need plywood, the carpet extractors are not where they should be, etc. Unfortunately, you are more familiar with the emergency procedures than anyone else but you are helping with the water leaks. You assign work but you are unable to write down who is doing what.

This metastasizes into an emergency without organization and no one is in charge. People are working but without priorities and some of the work is superfluous. You find you cannot get materials you need because power outages have forced stores to close. When the storm passes, you continue to deal with the aftermath: power outage, water damage, inoperable phones, and computers systems. The next several hours are frustrating and disorganized, you need a list of damages but no one performs an assessment. In the following days, the company suffers lost revenue and productivity, damaged inventory, ceiling & carpet water damage on multiple floors, computers damage and fifty offices and workspaces are not usable.

 

Would planning make it better?

Planning would have started weeks or months before the storm. The day starts the same however, when you arrive at work you check in with you team this time you have some dialogue about the emergency plans. The team goes through the preparations checklist.

When the forecast changes to 60% chance of severe storms, you start tracking the storm and monitor changing conditions. You pull the team together to update them on the storm, establish priorities and assign predetermined tasks, and using a whiteboard you write down the tasks and assignments.   You start laying out the organizational structure of the Crisis Management Team who will manage the emergency, if needed. Contacting each person on the Crisis Management Team (CMT) you confirm their preparedness and confirm that they will contact their teams with the appropriate information. You also use your judgement to fill out additional positions on the organizational structure that may be required as no two emergencies are the same.

The storm hits and the power goes out, the generator starts and the premises is now running on emergency power. Hail breaks the upper floor windows and the team responds quickly. They use wood and plastic to cover the broken windows and minimize amount of water damage. Rapidly deploying extractors minimizes damage and prevents water from flowing to other floors.

The CMT consists of the Public Information Officer, Operations Section, Planning Section, Logistics Section, and Finance Section. When the emergency requires action, the CMT assembles their respective teams. Planning develops the best solution to handle the problem, Operations section proceeds in the plans implementation. Logistics locates needed supplies and ensures delivered. Finance assists with credit issues and continually tracks the costs associated with the incident. The team is mindful to record everything, gathering data and taking pictures for insurance purposes.

When the storm passes, your team establishes a list of damages so Planning can develop the recovery plans. The generator needs fuel, there are three broken windows on the fourth floor, trees are blown down in close proximity to the building, wet carpet needs to be cleaned, the walls need to be tested for moisture content, and the phone service is down. Are there alternative phone services? Are there employees who cannot get to work? And what can you do to help employees who cannot get home.

 

Since the generator started the IT network and phone system continued to operate properly. Only a small area of one floor is wet and there are not any offices or cubicles out of service. Internet based work can continue as usual and your team will be working on repairs for the next couple of weeks. The company has some lost revenue mainly because the storm interrupted all businesses in the area.

In the second example, it is a long day but you leave work with less stress and the company has less damage and revenue loss is minimized. Planning and preparations are necessary if your company is going to survive an emergency. How your CMT is organized it up to you. The FEMA National Incident Management System (NIMS) has developed guidelines to efficiently manage emergencies in an organized manner; it is proven methodology that is used by numerous emergency services. Utilizing this same system allows for easier planning and provides baselines from which to practice. Planning, documenting, and practicing is a time consuming process, but it is a fruitful endeavor. Periodic training is essential for the Crisis Management Team and the response staff. There are many free training options; some states also offer state funded emergency planning classes.

It is up to management to decide the extent of a company’s preparedness. An unwillingness to prepare for emergencies is an implicit statement that a company is willing, in the end, to sacrifice long-term revenues and longevity. Yes, insurance can cover lost revenues but it cannot fix your reputation. If your customers cannot get what they need, they will go somewhere else.