Feature
by Ray Floyd
- nature of the disaster
- safety of the employees
- protection of company assets
- customer and supplier commitments
At the start of the planning process, at least two members from each functional area should be identified as the representatives and given the responsibility for developing area specific responses and plans, all of which will be gathered to form the overall Disaster Recovery Plan for the company.
Examples of areas that would participate include the following:
- Accounting
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
- Engineering
- Customer Service
- Manufacturing
- Purchasing
- Field Service
- Quality Assurance
- Marketing/Sales
- Site Safety
- Plant Maintenance
Your company might have other functional areas.
It becomes obvious that this is a large effort in terms of the people involved.
The Disaster
The team needs to explore scenarios that identify the nature of the disaster, the extent of damage, and the on-going interruption of services. The disaster may be as simple at the loss of power or water services for an extended period, or as complex as mass destruction caused by hurricanes, tornados, fire, vehicle crashes, and personnel attacks.
In each scenario, the team develops a plan that provides the following information:
- assess the extent of the damage
- plan for employee needs
- protect company assets
- notify customers and suppliers
- determine the immediate needs to return to production
In some cases, the disaster may not be one that directly affects the company property, rather it is a disaster impacting the company employees, for example, the loss of homes or cars due to hurricanes and tornados, or personal injury from any cause.
Another aspect of the recovery plan may be that of prevention. For example, knowing that the facility is located in the path of frequent tornados, what type of weather alerts are available to site safety personnel and what type of shelters are available to employees?
In some cases, you might have sufficient time to alert the employees, releasing them from work so they can go home or to public shelters. At the same time, such alert time might also allow for manufacturing processes to be safely shut down, and for power to be removed at the site source.
After the Disaster
After the disaster has struck and once it is safe to venture into the facility, ta small team, usually led by Plant Maintenance and Safety, needs to assess the immediate safety of the area. The team works in conjunction with local authorities to ensure that it is safe for others to move in, to determine what losses have been inflected, and to ensure any injured personnel are taken care of.
Once the site has been declared safe, the other members of the recovery team can move into their respective areas to assess the extent of the damage, and to determine which of the plan steps are needed to return to production. While that assessment is being made, the Human Resources team can check on the welfare of employees, and inform them of the actions needed for the next few days or weeks.
The recovery team can also implement equipment ordering, activation, or movement to an alternate location, all based on the planning put in place earlier. In many cases, recovery does not mean the purchase of all new equipment or buildings, but rather the repair of damaged goods.
The recovery team can look to the plan for guidance on what steps must be taken to return the facility to production as quickly as possible, placing orders for that minimum set of tools, computers, supplies, etc., needed to resume business. They may also place orders for special equipment that has long lead times, but is not necessary for immediate production.
Conclusion
Disasters can take many forms. The ability of a company to recover as quickly as possible depends on the foresight and effort the company has made in preparing for most eventualities, regardless of the type. It boils down to preparation, the work of planning, planning, and planning. It is a difficult task, but the reward is in the ability to survive the disaster with minimum loss, both in terms of employees and equipment.
One hidden benefit that a disaster recovery plan may have for a company is that they may find their insurance rates reduced, simply because they have thought through the process and are prepared. If you are called upon to act as part of the disaster recovery plan team, do your best; others may survive because of your effort.
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Ray has 45 years of industrial experience, and has been part of teams responsible for the development of disaster recovery plans.