The hurricane and tornado season is upon us, and even though the weather has remained relatively quiet since Katrina, remember that it’s the “calm before the storm” that you have to worry about!

 

We must not lose sight that there are other types of disasters: floods from burst pipes, equipment fires and even computer system crashes can be classified as disasters. Every business and organization can experience a serious incident which can prevent it from continuing normal operations. The importance of having a Disaster Recovery Plan in advance cannot be stressed enough. A disaster can happen any day at any time. Management and staff should be involved in the development of a disaster recovery plan in order to ensure that essential functions of the organization are able to continue in the event of a major incident. The advanced planning for these emergencies will help reduce both the risk and impact should the worst occur.

 

In broad strokes, a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is widely understood as a documentedaction plan, designed for enabling businessresumption after catastrophic failure. There are numerous, compelling reasons forcreating a DRP that gets your business orproject back into operation as quickly aspossible:

 

• Minimize potential revenue loss

• Decrease potential exposures to disasters

• Reduce disruptions to operations

• Ensure organizational stability

• Provide an orderly recovery

• Minimize insurance premiums

• Protect the assets of the organization

• Ensure the safety of personnel and customers

• Enhance decision-making during a disastrous event

 

A proper DRP Plan will assist by analyzing your business and ranks your business risks in order of priorities: What business needs have to be back up and running withinminutes or hours?

 

What can be down for 24 hours?

 

What services or functions could be down for a week or two weeks?

 

The matrix created by the DRP allows your team to identify and prioritize risks, such as natural disasters, company insider threats and external physical, or cyber terrorist attacks, to develop plans and policies to lessen those risks. The DRP puts together recovery teams with defined personnel, roles, functions and hierarchy. The DRP identifies the biggest overall potential failures; power, internet access, a critical building or phone lines. It also identifies the location of workers including contact information for them and their families. The DRP sets up notification procedures for business partners, contractors, consultants and vendors. For life safety issues, the DRP identifies escape routes for your buildings and makes sure employees are familiar with them.

 

An effective Disaster Recovery Plan includes provisions for some level of operating stability, for any business, before, during, and after crisis situations. The plan dictates the actions taken during these three phases. Failing to create a DRP or neglecting to periodically update and test an existing DRP could have substantial negative impact on business profitability, or could even lead to the collapse of the entire enterprise, should an actual disaster occur. Risk assessment, risk management, and contingency implementation are the foundation of each plan. Catastrophic failures can be separated into two categories; Direct Loss of Normal Operability, and Indirect Loss of Normal Operability.

 

There will be some points of failure that are arguably interchanged; however, for the sake of clarity we will further define them below.

 

Direct Loss of Normal Operability can be defined as any process, element, action, or infrastructure failure that normally is directly related to the facility itself. Catastrophes would include climate and severe weather, however within the facility are included; fire, flood, medical, environmental, life safety, compromised B.I.T. (Business Information Technology) systems, and E.O.E. (Essential Operating Equipment) failure.

 

Indirect Loss of Operability can be defined as any process, element, action, or infrastructure failure that is not normally directly related to the building and structure, and is not under the direct control of the enterprise’s ownership. These failures can be equally as damaging to the enterprise or business as Direct Loss of Operability. Some examples of catastrophes could include; product distribution/transportation failure, utility/communication interruptions, large scale labor force failure (striking employees), civil disorder, criminal acts, and terroristic actions. All of these scenarios need

defined courses of action and remediation.

 

There are three key phases in designing an effective DRP. The three phases for developing a plan are: Planning Phase, Process Phase, and Methodology Phase

 

The Planning Phase is the most exhaustive and time consuming part of the development. The appointed Emergency Planning Team (EPT) of professionals meet with the key decision makers and learn about the specific client’s business process, priorities, operation, needs and financial considerations for measured down time. It’s also during this phase that the EPT analyzes the entire infrastructure of the site, including, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, utility feeders, roof, and structure, site, E.O.E., Life Safety, and B.I.T. systems. The team spends time with the management teams and conducts their own investigations, in order to create the most effective DRP.

 

The Process Phase is built directly upon the intelligence gathered in the Planning Phase. The information is now reviewed, organized, and is constructed as a matrix for the DRP. Contingencies are evaluated, and synergistic opportunities are sought. All of the collected information is now organized for quick retrieval should a disaster occur. It’s during the Process Phase that the template is placed over the “real world” application and is fit tested.

 

The Methodology Phase takes us from concept to reality. The team organizes and “virtually” tests the DRP checking for errors or omissions. Once it has been determined to meet the client needs, the final product is delivered and owner’s instruction and training are conducted.

 

When disaster strikes is NOT the time to ask these questions! Rather, clear, decisive and accurate directives must be predetermined and followed. This can only be accomplished with a good DRP, created and tested in advance. Utilizing the resources of professional disaster recovery organizations that have the ability to respond in a pre-negotiated amount of time, address the disaster, provide quotes for the reconstruction, accomplish the reconstruction, and work directly with the client’s insurance carriers is essential. Furthermore, developing evacuation plans and life safety policies and procedures that would be stamped and approved by local Fire Marshalls is equally important. This coordination and management process enables businesses to select the services that provide solutions to suit their particular situations and needs.

 

Since 1988, Jeff Smith’s experience in facility maintenance, systemimplementation, operational support and customer service, makes him anexpert at developing disaster recovery plans. He has directly managedmechanical and electrical renovations that have exceeded $100,000,000, andacquired exceptional knowledge in developing and implementingpreventative maintenance programs, creating energy efficient operations,and ensuring the safety and security of facilities. As a result of hiscommissioning agent experience, Mr. Smith has a high success rate ofimproving efficiency and reducing costs. Prior to joining the Boyken team,Mr. Smith served as Executive Director of Engineering, Vice President ofEngineering Services, Director of Engineering and Operations Supervisor forvarious mechanical contracting firms based in the southeast.