An Ounce of Prevention Equals More Than a Pound of Cure.

Heartbreaking is a strong word but it isn’t adequate to describe the collective grief we all feel when viewing the devastation in the aftermath of the massive tornado that swept through the outskirts of Oklahoma City recently. Your heart goes out to the young mother who asks, “Why didn’t we have better protection for our schoolchildren?” Why indeed.

Survivors?

Where were the voices of prevention before the storm? There’s a reason this area of the Midwest is called “Tornado Alley!”

Why indeed weren’t there underground or interior shelters in the schools and pre-schools? It’s a very interesting question and a curious commentary on the workings of the human mind.

Tornadoes versus earthquakes and floods.

I recall vividly a visit I made to some relatives living in Baxter Springs, Kansas, a few short weeks after a tornado tore through the area and took the lives of a few residents, including some of my remote American Indian relatives. My own experience of getting tossed out of my upper bunk bed in 1953 (or was it 1954?) by an earthquake in the Tehachapi Mountains in Southern California had burned into my brain the need to take precautions against the natural risks.

Yet my relatives’ attitude about the tornadoes could only be described as nonchalant. At the same time, I had to wonder about their reluctance to even visit California because of their fear of earthquakes!

These same people chose to live with the yearly risk of tornadoes . . . the natural disaster risk they’ve become accustomed to. Their fatalistic attitude (“. . . if it’s God’s will,” etc.) seemed to work for them with tornadoes, but not with earthquakes.

I guess it’s a lot like buying insurance.

Would we agree that “responsible people” purchase insurance against recognized risk? Many responsible people who live in flood prone areas do seem to take out flood insurance . . . but not all. And the fact that less than 20% of California residents have earthquake insurance – despite the near 100% probability of a major earthquake over 6.7 on the Richter scale in the next 20-30 years – seems a bit incongruent.

The good news, however, is that 40% say they have taken at least some actions to prepare themselves and, in the case of CERT organizations, have expanded their efforts to include their neighborhoods and businesses. Hopefully, we are having some impact on these wider preparations as well.

Joe Krueger

Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Are you a homeowner, property owner, remodeler or home builder, or home energy specialist? Take three and one-half minutes to watch this video showing retrofit steps for protecting a home against damage from earthquake and winter storms.

Click image to see 3 minute video on home remodel

The video was posted on YouTube by the Canadian Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) in partnership with Desjardins Insurance.

Most of the steps are simple and would apply to ALL homes, no matter where they are located. As an owner, you could consider having these changes made to your home or rental properties.  As a member of the construction industry, you might want to recommend these changes to customers.

Some of the work you could do yourself, like installing a fire extinguisher. (The video recommends “at least one in every home.” We think you probably need more than one: in the kitchen, for sure, but in the garage, too, or in the laundry room area.)

You would need a licensed professional’s help for some of the other items, like installing a generator or snow melting system along the roof edge.

Even if you aren’t in an area prone to earthquakes, a number of the suggestions in the video will apply, enhancing your home’s security and safety as well as your ability to function in a number of emergency situations. In some cases, making these improvements might even give you a discount on home insurance costs.

If this video is of interest to you, you may also want to review these more detailed home improvement advisories. Whatever you can do to protect your home will help you sleep better at night. Plus, it may help with the resale value!

• Improving Building Safety – Interior
• Improving Building Safety – Chimneys
• Improving Building Safety – Windows

What other improvements do you think people should consider? Drop your suggestions into the comments box below!

Thanks.

Virginia Nicols
Emergency Plan Guide Team

A Frenzy of Recent Activity!

If you track the news like I do, you will have seen, over just the past couple of months, literally hundreds of cities announcing “Emergency Preparedness Training” meetings. Some of these meetings are sponsored by the local fire department. Some are held in conjunction with the local college. Some are aimed at children; a few have senior citizens as their target audience. Occasionally even an elected official takes the time to make an appearance.

All this activity seems to have been accelerated by our experiencing one disaster after another over the past few years. Lately, they seem to be happening even more frequently: storms, hurricanes, flooding, explosions, bombings . . . the list goes on.

Will these meetings make any difference?

From the standpoint of community preparedness, I welcome all this attention.

From the standpoint of being a trained Community Emergency Response Team member, I realize that a bunch of one-time meetings are just a start. Just a start! It takes weeks and months for people to change their level of general awareness. It takes them weeks and months and sometimes years to get around to taking even the most elementary precautions or preparations.

Which brings me to the point of this article . . .

Our ten-year track record!

Ready and willing to help

Here in our local community, our CERT team has been actively building a plan, recruiting, training, assembling supplies, working with the local authorities – for nearly 10 years now.

Last week was no exception to our regular efforts. We held one of our annual training exercises. It involved Block Captains “discovering” emergencies located around the neighborhood, then taking the appropriate action and recording what they did.

Afterwards, we all got together with cookies and discussed what people had done, and what they might have done better.

While the “emergencies” were ones we might reasonably expect – a train wreck on the tracks next to one row of homes, an earthquake, a live shooter event, a wild fire requiring evacuation – the responses were also what one might reasonably expect.

The important thing – no one really had to think about what to do! After years of talking and writing articles and inviting neighbors in for coffee and a slide show…after a hundred meetings with as few as three people to more like 60 people in the group, it’s all paying off.

Now that’s progress!

We have written page after page of recommendations and suggestions about how to prepare for a disaster. Some of our tips include simple changes in behavior – like keeping a flashlight and shoes next to the bed, or making sure you have extra canned food stored in the back of the cupboard.

Other recommendations involve taking on what I would call home improvement or repair: attaching bookcases to the wall, strapping the water heater, or reinforcing the chimney.

Lately, we’ve spent a lot of time discussing how to assemble various emergency supplies, including water (number one), food (number two) and emergency communications (or is this number two for you?). You can be assured we’ll continue with this theme!

In any case, many of these recommendations involve spending money. Yes, making a deliberate investment in something you really don’t want to have to use!

How can you justify spending money on emergency preparedness?

I’m sure you can come up with several reasons, of course, but the main one is:

You don’t want your family to ask, “Why didn’t you do something to protect us?”

There’s another reason, though, that you may not have considered. And here it is, as a rule of thumb:

Every dollar spent on preparedness saves $4 in recovery costs, according to a widely cited report by the National Institute of Building Sciences’ Multihazard Mitigation Council.

Think “recovery” when you build.

• If you are building a home near the beach, for example, elevate it above the flood line! If you already live in a low-lying area, keep materials like sandbags, plywood, plastic sheeting and lumber handy for emergencies.

• If you live in a hurricane-prone region, invest $3,000 in an underground shelter. (You may even be able to have part of the cost borne by the government.) Make sure your home has an extra strength frame and roof.

• Here in earthquake country, we recommend earthquake bracing for mobile homes, bolting sill plates to the foundation, and anchoring light worktables to the floor and heavy computer equipment to the table.

Everyone has to make decisions about what to spend on preparedness for natural disasters. A $4 savings for a $1 investment is a pretty good return. But if that seems too much for you, consider what a life is worth!

We often get discouraged trying to get people to take preparedness seriously. “It’ll never happen to me,” they say with a smirk. “Too much trouble; I don’t have time!” say others, shaking their heads. “Don’t know how to start,” they complain.

I was glad to hear of some young people who DO have the time and energy to Get Prepared! Here are five youth programs going on right around us!  Do you know about them?

FEMA for Kids

In Middlesex county, New Jersey, FEMA is implementing FEMA for Kids. While it’s designed to come into a community after a disaster, it is directed to children, using them as conduits to their parents with tips and advice on disaster preparedness for the future.

BSA Merit Badge in Emergency Preparedness

Boy Scouts of America

The merit badge in Disaster Preparedness (required for Eagle Scout) helps a Scout learn what is “helpful and needed before, during and after an emergency.” Over 50,000 scouts earn this badge every year. Official materials say that Scouts are “are often called upon to help because they know first aid and they know about the discipline and planning needed to react to an emergency situation.”

Girl Scouts of the USA

In 2009, then Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Girls Scouts of the USA unveiled a Girl Scout preparedness patch, aimed at advancing community preparedness nationwide. Napolitano is a former Girl Scout who says she knows what it means to “Be Prepared!”

Camp Fire USA

Prepare Today – Lead Tomorrow is a teen program developed by Camp Fire USA. Its goals are to engage teens in intensive community preparedness learning experiences, and create opportunities for them to participate in community preparedness efforts.

FEMA Corps

In 2012, the White House announced FEMA Corps, part of the AmeriCorps program. Some 1,600 people ages 18-24 will join teams to learn skills and get community experience in the field of emergency management.

We all know what an impact kids can have on families and communities. It is thanks in large part to kids that parents stop smoking, start using seat belts, recycle … the list goes on. Find out what your kids are learning at school or elsewhere about Emergency Preparedness. Enjoy their enthusiasm as you conduct your own preparedness efforts. Figure out ways to include the local Boy Scout or Girls Scout troop as a resource in your CERT expo, you neighborhood block party, or your family garage sale.

They will probably be able to teach you something valuable!

Home ownership, the standard

Most descriptions of preparing for disaster seem to focus on a single family home and how its residents should prepare. These descriptions include making changes to the building itself, like installing braces or safety glass or reinforcing the chimney or roof. Some families go so far as to fortify their homes or to build totally separate disaster shelters.

Naturally, the family stores large quantities of water and food and perhaps invests in emergency equipment like solar panels or generators. The family also is reminded to include emergency preparations for pets.

But what about renters?

But if you are one of the 35% of all households that live in rented homes and particularly in apartments, options may be different – and limited. You probably have far less square footage to start with. You are not likely to have outside area where emergency items could be securely stored or easily accessed. And you certainly would not be allowed to make any structural changes to make the building any sturdier or safer.

What can apartment dwellers do differently?

1. Be efficient!

Your requirements are every bit as important as those of a family living in a single family home, but you will definitely have to be cleverer in order to store even the basics. The smart apartment dweller will become an expert in high-nutritional-value, low-bulk food and in multi-purpose tools and equipment. Instead of investing in a generator, the apartment dweller may need to invest in storage containers that can be hidden under the bed, stacked 8 feet high in a closet, or converted to use as an end-table.

2. Be creative!

Whereas someone with plenty of space outside can store emergency water in a 55 gallon barrel, you may have to make do with a variety of individual bottles, supplemented with a supply of expandable bottles, to be filled at the last minute. Given your limited ability to store water, you may be putting your filtration equipment to use immediately as you are forced to supplement your original water supply.

3. Make friends!

In an apartment setting, neighbors can make all the difference. A group of people can cooperate in assembling and storing food, tools, and other essentials. (For example, two families could share one stove.) One neighbor may have handyman skills and tools; another might have medical training; a third might be a competent cook. Sharing the burdens and responsibilities may serve the entire community better than each person trying to fend for him or herself.

For a whole lot of ideas about organizing your neighbors, check out Emergency Preparedness for Apartment Communities. It discusses getting your own preparedness act together and then helping neighbors get prepared, too.

Where will your driver be when the disaster hits?

Delivering services to homebound seniors

At a meeting last week at the local American Red Cross, we were discussing a new program aimed at preparing the senior community for disaster.

Most of the people in the room represented companies that deliver services to homebound seniors. There were folks from Meals-on-Wheels, SeniorServ, and a whole group of home health care providers.

Home health care staff members drive from home to home to assist their elderly clients. In the case of an earthquake disaster, these drivers will likely be on the road in their car or in the home of a client when the earthquake hits. The drivers will NOT be at their own home, and they will NOT be at their employer’s office.

Homes with few if any resources

These senior clients are people who, by definition, are not self-sufficient. They may be disabled or frail. This means that the driver, caught in the home with the client, will be faced with taking care of the client as well as him or herself.

If the driver is on the road when the earthquake hits, what is her responsibility? To continue on to the client’s home when possible? Return to the office? Or head for home to join the family?

Responsibility of the employer

This situation raises several issues for the employer that need to be addressed through training or investment in appropriate emergency supplies and equipment. Based on the group at the American Red Cross meeting, there was no one correct answer. But everyone agreed that these questions DID deserve consideration, and a positive answer.

1. Do your drivers all have an emergency supplies kit in their vehicle?

2. Does the kit contain enough to share with a client?

3. Are your drivers clear about their responsibility to their clients in the case of an emergency?

4. Do you know how you will communicate with your drivers in an emergency?

5. Do you have a plan for communicating with your clients’ families in an emergency?

Are you an employer with drivers?

What emergency preparations have you made to cover your staff and your customers?  What liability do you feel you carry as the employer?  Please share!

What does that sign mean?

Think you’re pretty aware?  I’ll bet you’ve seen many, many danger signs, whether in “real life,” on the pages of a magazine or on a movie or computer screen.

But do you REALLY know what the signs are warning about?

Use the quiz below to refresh your memory. Share the quiz with your family at dinner, with your colleagues at work. Use it to start a discussion of what dangers might be present in your local neighborhood or in your region – dangers you really don’t think about.

Match the description to the sign!

We’re starting with the easiest ones first!  (Answers are below the images.)

And the answers:

1. Trip Hazard
2. Alligators in the neighborhood!
3. Don’t drink the water

OK, now it’s on to the REAL signs . . .

4. Laser Beam
5. Radiation or electromagnetic waves
6. Biohazard, contaminated or infectious materials
7. Blasting – watch for more signage or a guard
8. Health hazard
9. Do not microwave your head (Thanks to Dan Wolfe!)

Of course, the image at the very top of this Advisory indicates POISON.

What other signs do you see regularly that warn of danger in your environment?

Action item:  Test your family and neighbors using this article!  It will be a great conversation starter!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S. Later we’ll take a look at the container placards you see on trucks. You know, the diamond shaped ones!

Guidebook to home defense

We’ve said this before and no doubt we’ll repeat it more than once in the future. But the recent school shooting in Newtown has given new life to the continuing controversy about firearms – especially assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, etc. – for self-protection. If you’ve watched any of the “Doomsday Preppers” TV shows on the NatGeo Channel, you may have been shocked by the extent that some people go to for their imagined need for survival in a major catastrophe. Their arsenals look more like preparation for war.

Here are three things to think about if you are truly worried about having to protect yourself and your property in the event of a major disaster event. The first two are, in our opinion, negative approaches to life.  The third is in keeping with our philosophy of taking positive action.

Assault weapons are a terrible choice.

First, as any combat veteran will tell you, few people have the natural ability to calmly shoot people with a handgun, much less a rapid-firing assault weapon. Such weapons require training and discipline if you ONLY plan to hit a specific target while the adrenalin is flowing fast and heavy. The chances of hitting innocent people or things around and beyond the target are usually very high. There’s a reason mass murders use these weapons . . . they kill and destroy indiscriminately.

Shotguns aren’t a whole lot better.

Second, the best firearm in a self-defense circumstance is usually a shotgun. It has a limited range but a “spread” in the shot pattern that makes it more likely to hit the intended target on the first shot. You don’t have to be a marksman or highly-trained soldier to be effective with it. The bottom line, however, is if you find yourself having to use it, it’s still likely to take someone’s life. And, regardless of the situation, even if there is no legal consequence, that’s something you will have to live with.

Trusted Friends — Absolutely Your Best Protection.

Third, and most important of all in our opinion, your best protection in an emergency will be good neighbors – people you know and can trust immediately, instead of mistrust. We have seen over and over again the natural tendency of people to help one another following a catastrophic event. And, the more your neighbors are trained and prepared to survive themselves, the better equipped they will be to help you and vice versa. Unlike the first two means of self-protection, you can count on having enough friends if you have allowed for them.  And unlike the first two means of self-protection, this is one that saves lives instead of taking them.

Programs like the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training are excellent examples of the best way to prepare yourself and to work along the side your neighbors as an effective team. CERT neighborhoods will not only have a better chance of surviving, but will emerge as a true community with pride in having known what to do in advance . . . and possibly having saved lives and property because of their training.

Practice ahead of time!

Virginia asked me to write this Advisory. It was prompted because of a blog post she read recently. Seems someone was trapped on his way home during Superstorm Sandy. By phone his wife reported the power was out and temperatures were dropping rapidly. He was proud and relieved to remind his wife that they had a back-up generator. The problem? His wife didn’t know how to turn it on!

Uhhh – confused?

This led us to take a look around our place at some of the emergency equipment we have to see what we really haven’t tested. Here’s my report.

Generator – Yes, we have a generator, a compact one, highly rated. It is still in the box and Virginia has never really seen it! (Two months ago our CERT organization set out to test its large new generator, and the starter did not function. So back it went to the store where we had bought it.)

Camp stove – Virginia and I have camped for years, both in tents (a LONG time ago) and in our RV, so we are familiar with propane stoves. The glitch – where are the gas canisters? And is there any trick to attaching them? If there is, we could waste a valuable resource trying to figure it out.

Water barrel – Last year we purchased a 55 gallon water barrel. (We wrote about our water barrel earlier.) It came with a pump to be inserted when the water is needed. OK, we haven’t needed the water yet. So, where is the pump, and how difficult is it to attach to the barrel? We haven’t tested it yet.

Solar panel back-ups for computers and phones – This one we’re good with. But if you have purchased panels yourself, be sure you have the right connectors that go between the panels and your device. Surely you have noticed that every mobile phone has a different plug on the end. Test NOW to be sure you have what it takes to take advantage of your solar back-ups.

Emergency radios – When we wrote the review of the best emergency radios, we tested all of our radios, so we know how to crank them, where the batteries go (if there are batteries), what connectors they require, etc. I recommend that you use your emergency radio daily. (It gets music or news, not just emergency alerts!) That way you’ll know it it’s ready to go.

How to Send a Text –– You may need grandchildren to help you out, here. But learn!

Turn on the Power — Again, something as simple as knowing where the fuse box is, and how to reset the switches, could make a difference. Everyone in your family needs to know this.

I think this list could go on. But the message is, “Test and practice.” Our plan is to set up a schedule to test one thing every week. You could set up the same action item — and include your children in the exercise. You won’t all be home when the emergency hits!

The more trained family members, the safer you’ll all be.

Joe Krueger
Emergency Response Team

Tell the truth.  Do you agree that an Emergency Kit is a good idea?

Do you need one for the car/s as well as for the house?  Do you need one at work as well as at home?  Do you need to protect all the members of your houslehold in an emergency and not just a few?

All reasonable people must answer YES!

So putting together an emergency kit makes sense …

But it’s just not simple!

Kits packed and ready to go!

First, you have to pull together a list of what is needed. That list starts with basics: water and food. From there, it varies quite a bit depending on where you live, the make-up of your family, your commute patterns, etc.

Second, you have to shop for and/or assemble all the items on the list. This may take several days or even weeks, depending on how much stuff is required and how much money you will have to devote to this action. Many people build a plan and then lay out a purchase schedule to fit their budget.

Third, you need to get the right size container for each kit. The family kit is likely to be the largest; car kits, smaller. A child’s kit, smaller yet.  A workplace kit could be much larger, depending on how many people it is meant to serve. Of course, your kits need to be manageable; a backpack or rolling cart seems to be the favorite container.

Can you do all this? Of course! But will you?

If you haven’t done it up ‘til now, what would make a difference for you?

Consider this game-changer: Invest in a ready-made kit!

Then, improve it or personalize it as you go.

Yes, there’s an upfront cost, and it may be more than you would like. And yes, you could probably save money by assembling the kit on your own. But frankly, if you value your time at, say, $20/hr. you will save money by simply taking action now to buy a ready-made kit!

So consider getting a kit without further delay.

Five popular kits compared.

We have taken our time to look closely at five of the best-selling family kits on the market. We compare them as regards to contents, quality and price.

• We start with the “basic” list of necessities, and note extras that some kits include.
• Quality is sometimes not the best because these providers are competing on price. But some kits are better than others, and we’ll point that out.
• Price ranges from $50 to $250 for a kit. Mostly the price depends on how many people the kit is meant for.

In our estimation, it doesn’t matter whether any given kit is perfect. What’s important is to have one for basic necessities, and then improve upon it when you can.

No more excuses.

If you haven’t put together your kit by now, you’re not going to…so be realistic! “I had it on my list of things to do…!” or “I was just trying to save money!” will be weak excuses when your family looks to you for help.

Check out our review of the Best Emergency Kits right now, pick the one that’s best for you, and get it. You will have taken a big step toward sensible preparedness.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

When you buy your kit, let us and all our readers know what you got and how you found it, OK?? We appreciate your feedback!

Timing is everything. Where will you be when the disaster hits?

You can almost assume that when an emergency hits, your family will not be together. Depending on the circumstances, you may not be able to get back together for some time. And whether you get together at home is yet another question.

• Students and teachers may be held in school, perhaps in a locked-down situation.
• Employees may be required to stand by to help protect co-workers as well as the business itself.
• City employees and First Responders are likely to be called into action and kept away from home for hours or days at a time.
• Any family member could be away from the home on travel, shopping, or vacation.

Immediately following the disaster, your concern will be to find out where everyone is, their condition, and the condition of your home. This is natural and normal . . . and without a plan, this difficult period may be far longer and more painful than necessary.

A Plan Speeds Communication

Your plan could contain a number of important steps.

1. Sign up to receive emergency communications from your local police department via email or phone. This could give you an important head start.
2. Set up an Out-of-Town Contact , someone who:
   • Lives out of the immediate area. If local phones are out, getting through to someone via a long-distance connection may be easier.
   • Owns a smart phone that can receive a text or SMS message. (SMS = Short Message Service). Of course, any phone is better than no phone.
   • Is able to keep track of calls that come in and share info with others. Not all family members are able to do this.
3. Create Emergency Contact Cards for every member of the family.

Everyone needs a wallet card that can be carried for identification and that will have the Out-of-Town Contact’s number.

Below is a sample Emergency Contact Card.  Include a similar card in backpacks, briefcases and purses.

Sample Front of Card

 Special for Families with Children

Being separated from parents during an emergency will be an emergency itself for many children. If you have small children, your family plan needs to be more extensive than simply an Out-of-Town Contact name and number.

We recommend that you:

1. Review the list of “approved people” that is on file at your child’s school. Should it be expanded?
2. Confirm with neighbors or relatives that they are on the “approved list” and be sure they agree to be there.
3. Go over the list with your children so they know what to expect in an emergency.

Update your information

Like all contact information, your emergency contact information needs to be regularly updated. Reaching an old, disconnected number may be more upsetting than not having one at all!

NOTE:  This Advisory is only an overview. You can find more on what happens to phones in an emergency, which ones are best to have, where to look for missing family members in a wide-spread U.S. disaster, and a suggested agenda for a family meeting about emergency communications on our website.  Click here to jump to the three-page Family Communications Plan.

Your Business Continuity Plan is drafted.  Now what?

Once you have created a Plan Draft, you may want to turn to outside experts for review and confirmation. These experts could be your local fire department, county emergency management or disaster response team. The list could also include a Business Continuation consultant that specializes in your industry.

The right expert could add detail to your plan as well as validate what you’ve put together. For example, the right expert could:

1. Review your list of threats and suggested actions and add to it, if appropriate.

2. Suggest costs for implementing these recommendations.

3. Make sure your plan is meeting any legal requirements for your industry and your size business in your state.

Get the full plan approved by management.

This should be a formality, since we assume management has been included all along the way.

Turn the plan into a useful tool for your co-workers.

Only SIMPLE steps can be followed.

A Plan is one thing.  If it’s well done, it’s a big binder full of stuff.  But your co-workers have no interest in reading or storing a binder!  What they need is simple instructions of what to do in an emergency.  Draft ACTION STEPS for workers as a series of one-page instructions.

A one-page set of instructions, written in large text and in simple language, is all they will be able to follow in the excitement of a real situation!

You or someone in your organization is likely the best candidate to draft those instructions. You know your people, their language capabilities, their familiarity with various processes, what emergency equipment you have and where it is located, etc.

Practice following the ACTION STEPS.

Schedule a series of “emergencies” over the course of the year. Be sure each person has an alternate to perform his or her job, since in a real emergency some people will be gone.

In the case of a real emergency, people are often shocked to inaction, or frightened into dangerous reaction. People who have practiced will be able to take action immediately and will be better able to make good decisions.

Improve the plan with new information.

The Pan will no doubt have to be updated on a regular basis. But keep the ACTION STEPS to one page, and keep practicing! It’s your people who will save themselves, save each other and save the business.

Disclaimer: This is a very simplified outline of how to build a Disaster Preparedness or Business Continuity Plan. Depending on your business, you will want to expand it as necessary. Still, if you see that the plan you now have is missing some components, or if you have no plan at all, this is a good place to start.

If you would like a copy of our full 6-page Report: How to Build a Simple Business Continuity Plan, you can sign up here to get your free copy.

Developing your Business Continuity Plan In-House

If you are the person who has been placed in charge of developing a Business Continuation or Disaster Recovery Plan from in-house, take a deep breath — and then relax.  You won’t be responsible for finding all the things that need to go into your Plan — your co-workers will be providing most of it!

Step One:  Identify a core group of co-workers.

Your first task will be to identify a core group of co-workers – people who are interested in planning, know something about responding to disasters, etc. The members of your core group could come from anywhere within the organization, and may not be from the ranks of management. For example, your team might have someone with medical training, someone with military experience, or someone who is a retired First Responder.  You can work with HR to identify some of these people, or maybe send out a brief email questionnaire, or simply talk it up in the coffee room.  The key is to get people who are interested in the topic, not people who are “assigned” it!

Step Two: Provide your core group with training.

Training may be available locally, in person, as classes offered by the Red Cross or CERT training offered by your City. Training is also available online. Check out the American Red Cross’s Ready Rating program for business, and Citizen Corps Online CERT training. These programs also offer suggestions for procedures and sample forms you may find useful. Dig deeper and review from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System, so your core group will be comfortable communicating with other professional organizations.

People who are genuinely interested will value this training, particularly if the company provides them some time to get it, and recognizes their progress.

Step Three: Now, involve the rest of your co-workers.

With your core group in place, now you can involve others. After all, if you want your co-workers to understand the risks faced by the business, they need to be involved in identifying them.

And if you want to find the best ways to prevent emergencies from turning into disasters, again, just ask your co-workers! They will know more than any outsider about the equipment and materials they use, the state of the building, the potential for fires or floods, and the challenges associated with an evacuation.

The missing piece in most Plans.

We have seen a lot of plans and nearly all of them are missing one key component that dooms them to failure! It is a consideration for the peace of mind of employees regarding their own families. Until that is assured, you cannot count on employees paying attention to their responsibilities at the business! Be sure to include a family communications plan and invest in whatever it takes to make it functional.

Step Four:  Develop the content of the plan.

1. Lay out a schedule for “building the plan,” starting with a series of brainstorming sessions. (Remember the definition of brainstorming: coming up with as many ideas as possible, without any attempt to judge them!)

2. Hold these brainstorming sessions and their logical follow-up sessions. Here are some of the topics you would want to cover. Each could be covered at a different meeting. Some input might even be assessed via email or questionnaires.

a. Identify threats to the business

 b. Rate threats based on likelihood of risks

 c. Rate threats based on impact on the business (hours, days, weeks or longer to recover?)

 d. What can we do to avoid these threats altogether?

 e. What can we do to mitigate/lessen the impact of these threats?

f. What response procedures work best for our business?

 g. Special procedure: How will we manage communications with families of employees?

 3. Document the threats, the avoidance or mitigation measures, and the response procedures that have been suggested.

4. Set out a list of recommendations that result from the brainstorming session.

5. Draft the first version of the Plan.

Step Five: Now, ask for input from outside experts.

Having put together the guts of your Plan, you can be confident that it is meaningful for your co-workers and for your business.  Still, it is important that the Plan pass whatever “official standards” it may be held to.

The next installment of this series will discuss who should be invited to take a look at your Plan before you consider it finished.

Here’s the link to Installment 3 – Validation

If you’re in a hurry to get all this information in one convenient package, check out our free, 6-page Report: Simple Business Continuation Plan. 

More words to know!

The more you read about Disaster Recovery and Emergency Preparedness, the more abbreviations and acronyms you come across. Many of them are already in use in business – like KISS , or Keep It Simple Stupid. But as in every industry, some words creep in that are not explained, and that you are simply expected to know. If you don’t know them, you feel stupid or confused or both.

Here are some of the common words I’ve come across in dealing with preparedness in the workplace. (It’s a companion piece to our earlier list of emergency preparedness vocabulary.)

This is by no means a complete list, but it’s a good start for talking with or or writing to industry professionals!

Simple tool for assessing risks facing the business

Business Acronyms and Definitions

BAU – Business As Usual. If this is the state you want to return to AFTER the emergency, then it’s considered something positive. However, BAU is often used when projecting what the future will be like if we go on with BAU instead of making suggested changes.

BIA – Business Impact Analysis. One step in the process of building an Emergency Preparedness Plan. It describes and measures what would happen to the different business functions in the event of an accident, disaster or emergency. The analysis covers both financial impacts as well as non-financial impacts, such as loss of customer or supplier confidence, etc.

BP — Best Practices. Methods or techniques that have shown the best results over time and around the country (or world) and that have become the standard for the industry.

CBCP – Certified Business Continuity Professional. This is the most well-known certification in the industry. It is offered by DRI International (Originally the Disaster Recovery Institute). The certification requires more than two years of experience, with proven expertise in five different subject areas, and requires continuing education.

DR/BC — Disaster Recovery/Business Continuation. These two expressions are often used together, but DR seems more closely tied to the protection and restoration of data and information technology systems, whereas BC refers to the whole business.

KISS — Keep It Simple Stupid. A classic reminder for educators, salespeople and for those who design Emergency Plans!

RA – Risk Analysis. Risk analysis is one of the first steps to building an Emergency Plan. Risks are identified and rated by likelihood and by likely impact, often using a matrix showing frequency/importance.

RM – Risk Management. This is closely tied to Risk Analysis, and typically covers actions the organization can take to prevent or lessen the risks identified in the analysis.

SME – Subject Matter Expert.  You? Your local Fire Chief? Head of a department? Facilities manager? Whoever knows the most about the topic/risk/equipment/impact under discussion!

SOW – Statement of Work. If your organization decides to hire a consultant to help in developing your Emergency Plan, you’ll likely ask for, or actually provide yourself as part of the consulting contract, a statement of work that outlines exactly what is to be done by the contractor.

Action Item: This is a list that can easily be shared with co-workers or with your boss. It will give everyone a sense of confidence in dealing with Emergency Preparedness, particularly if it is a new subject.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Getting press coverage has a dual purpose.

Of course, it’s always gratifying to find yourself in the news – as long as the story is a positive one, of course. But when it comes to pulling together a neighborhood team, there’s a lot more to getting an article than simply a “feel-good” moment.

Article about fire rescue

Your main objective is to inspire others to form their own neighborhood CERT program. Why is this so important? Simple. The more people in your community are prepared and organized for survival, the less pressure on your community’s First Responders and the less danger to you personally.

Remember the fire?

I wrote about the fire that happened here in our own neighborhood several months ago. The older woman living in the home was pulled to safety by the mail carrier, but the house burned to the ground. It was dramatic and scary for all concerned. We got a photo in the news that time, too . . .

Four months later, more news

Last week I was invited to attend a special breakfast held at the local post office. It was to recognize the mail carrier’s quick action in saving our neighbor’s life. Once again, an article appeared in the newspaper. Definitely a “feel good” article that was a change from the negative news that seems to proliferate.

But there was a lot more to the event. Before the presentation, I had the occasion to talk to the local fire authority, in the person of the Division Chief. Here are some highlights of that conversation:

• I talked to him about the fast action of his people, but more importantly, he and I had the chance to confirm a number of fire safety issues that apply specifically to the people who live in older homes.
• The Chief reiterated that the 5-minute response time to the fire was in part possible because of the actions of our local Emergency Response Team. (We have just under 100 Members.) Not only did several of them call 911, but team members jumped into action at the site of the fire, pushing curious by-standers away from the home and clearing the streets so the fire engines could access the fire without delay. The real key is that, because of our training, everyone knew what to do without dithering around! One team member’s nearby home became not only a refuge for the lady whose home burned, but also a headquarters of sorts for the incident.
• The Chief had heard about our Emergency Response Team before, but was very interested when I mentioned that we were holding a training meeting in February to discuss the high-pressure gas line that runs near our community. In fact, he immediately invited himself to attend.

What’s the value of all this to our organizing efforts?

First, our entire team and their work have been validated! They were mentioned in the Chief’s remarks to a large gathering of community leaders, and briefly mentioned in the newspaper article. (We have heard from readers across the state who saw the article!)

Second, having the Chief attend our upcoming meeting will reinforce the sense of cooperation and coordination with authorities that we work so hard to build. Not only will the fire department be represented, but our invited “experts” are from the local police department and the city’s emergency preparedness division. We will all become more knowledgeable about the risks posed by this particular pipeline.

Our future requests for resources – whether for guest speakers, or exhibits, or for invitations to local or county-wide Red Cross and/or FEMA trainings – are much more likely to be welcomed by these official First Responder organizations.

Finally, are we serving as a role model for other neighborhoods?  YES!  That is the real bottom line.

Our local neighborhood is adding a distinct layer of safety and security to our wider community. It is gratifying and encouraging that this effort be acknowledged and appreciated.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S. What press coverage has your group received? Any suggestions for the rest of us?

High pressure lines are closely monitored by a number of agencies.  Your local utility or city will be the most familiar with the state of high pressure lines in your area, and with the monitoring guidelines and records.

Gas fire erupting through LA street after Northridge earthquake. (photo by M. Rymer)

No matter how carefully lines are monitored, however, leaks and breaks can happen.  Most often, they happen when construction equipment accidentally punctures a line.  They can result from a natural event like a storm, earthquake, tornado, or ice storm.  Sometimes an over-loaded, aged infrastructure is to blame.

Leaks could happen at any time.

How do your local gas lines stack up?

An online search using the National Pipeline Mapping system is a good place to start. Dig deep on that site to find the names of the various operators of the different lines in your area. Contact them to get more details about the age and condition of their lines, their monitoring and safety policies and plans, etc.

If you think you have an emergency…

If you see or hear any of these near a pipeline right-of-way, it could signal a leak:

• A hissing, roaring sound
• Dirt or dust blowing
• Water bubbling or spraying
• Dead or brown vegetation
• Flames coming from the ground
• “Rotten egg” smell

(Typically the “rotten egg” smell is added only to smaller distribution lines. It won’t appear in major transmission lines.)

What’s the right response to a potential gas leak?

Get out! But do it intelligently.

• Turn off any machinery or motors.
• Don’t turn on or use any electrical equipment that could create a spark. This includes turning lights on or off, making a cell phone call, closing a garage door, or using a battery-operated radio!
• Do not allow any open flames, including matches, cigarette lighters, welding equipment, etc.
• Evacuate the immediate area. If exiting a building, leave the doors open.
• Keep bystanders away.
• Do not try to find the source of the leak.
• Do not operate any valves or other shut-offs.
• Do not attempt any repairs.
• Do not attempt to put out any fires.
• From a safe distance, call 911.

Emergency Preparedness Training

Action Items: Train your Emergency Response Team to recognize this hazard and to respond accordingly. Invite an expert as guest speaker to one of your neighborhood meetings. Prepare a flyer (taken from this Advisory?) and include it in your “Welcome Wagon” handouts for new neighbors.

We consider gas line leaks and the potential for fire resulting from them as the number one threat to our neighborhood! Where do they fit in your list of top threats?