When Farmington (Connecticut USA) Savings Bank (FSB) staged a mock disaster affecting a branch, back office operations, as well as accounting and lending, the post-mortem on its disaster recovery plan revealed weaknesses the plans’ creators couldn’t have anticipated.
Continue reading DISASTER RECOVERY: Dress Rehearsals Reveal Holes

The Business Continuity Institute has released the results of a survey which looked at the role of human resource departments in Business Continuity Management.

Continue reading Survey: The Role of Human Resources in BCM

Tags: BIA, business impact assessment, human resources

Although companies of every size need to address business continuity and disaster recovery issues, small to midsized enterprises have unique needs, believes Stephen Pollack, vice president of business strategy for Novell’s Systems and Resource Management Division (www.novell.com).

“They need affordable recovery solutions that can be quickly and easily implemented and administered with limited IT staffing resources,” he says. That may seem like a tall order to fill, but here are some tips for putting it all together.

See Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery, by Elizabeth Millard.

Tags: Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery

Most of the time, we use the stairs in buildings—especially in high-rise structures—only as a backup for faster elevators and escalators, but during a fire or other emergency, stairs become our primary passage to survival.   In a new study, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) examined what we know about how stairs work as an emergency evacuation route and found that the answer is—not nearly enough.

Continue reading NIST Stairwell Evacuation Study Published

Tags: building evacuation, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Response, evacuations, NIST, research, stairwells

This DVD video plus training kit is designed to help business, industry and government facilities prepare for and mitigate the almost inevitable impacts of an influenza pandemic.

To sustain operational continuity through the onset of a global pandemic, employees must understand not only the health issues, but also the possible disruptions of essential services and of the organization’s workflow. They must be prepared to learn and to execute strategies and practices to mitigate the effects of a pandemic.

Workplace Strategies for Pandemic Preparedness relates the five topics identified in the Homeland Security Council’s National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza: Implementation Plan to the workplace environment:

• Be prepared
• Be aware
• Don’t pass it on
• Keep your distance
• Help your community

Designed for both management and workers, the program stresses the importance of advanced planning and of flexibility in times of crisis.  It provides common sense steps to avoid infection.

By being prepared and making good choices, organizations can minimize the effects of an outbreak on their workers and their operations.

To sustain operational continuity through the onset of a global pandemic, employees must understand not only the health issues, but also the possible disruptions of essential services and of the organization’s workflow. They must be prepared to execute the strategies and practices that will minimize the impacts on production and human welfare.

Included in the kit are

• Video on DVD: “Workplace Strategies for Pandemic Preparedness” (15 min.)
• Trainer’s Guide
• Employee quizzes & Training sign-off forms
• Two information handouts for trainees
• OSHA’s “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic”

Tags: pandemic planning, pandemic preparedness, swine flu

SunGard Availability Services recently unveiled a Business Partner Program designed to help companies generate new revenue sources by offering customers comprehensive availability solutions.   Business Partners can expand beyond traditional hardware and software offerings by adding SunGard services to existing portfolios to create an information availability solution practice for their customers.

Continue reading SunGard Launches New Partner Program

Tags: business continuity consultants, Sungard

Pandemic Influenza: Emergency Planning and Community Preparedness

New book by Jeffrey R. Ryan

• Analyze the threat of pandemics in general, and influenza specifically
• Identify principles associated with the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza
• Assess factors leading to an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, including its potential effect on the economy
• Evaluate the use of pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical measures
• Determine response actions of various emergency services disciplines as they relate to communications, travel, and quarantine
• Examine the components of service continuation essential for the private sector to remain intact during a severe pandemic

“… an amazing resource … Dr. Ryan has assembled some of the best experts in the field to guide you in understanding the threat of pandemic influenza and how it can affect you and the people you are responsible for. …” – From the foreword by Lynn A. Slepski, Captain, United States Public Health Service

No one is immune to the potential devastation of a mass pandemic influenza outbreak. Yet despite recent small-scale outbreaks and dire warnings from the World Health Organization that such an event is imminent and overdue, our preparedness continues to lag. Part of the problem is that while a national plan is important, all the real action must occur at the local level. Triage, care, and containment, along with maintenance of the infrastructure, are functions that must be carried out by local planners and responders.

Pandemic Influenza: Emergency Planning and Community Preparedness introduces readers to the critical global and domestic issues regarding a potential pandemic. Featuring the contributions of leading experts, this volume arms planners and responders with an understanding of outbreak containment and response planning and provides an analysis of our present capabilities and potential weaknesses.

The first section reviews the history of pandemics and discusses the deadly 1918 Spanish flu. The middle chapters examine the biology of the virus and the clinical aspects of influenza, with special attention given to Avian Influenza. The final chapters examine international and federal programs and discuss response at the local level, including service continuation planning and fatality management.

Public health and emergency preparedness professionals, as well as policy makers at all levels will find a wealth of information to help them create a plan and allocate the proper resources to mitigate the devastation of a pandemic influenza.

Special Offer!

Be prepared! Purchase Pandemic Influenza, along with the Pandemic Preparation and Response Plan Template for Business on CD-ROM for $119.90.

Tags: influenza, pandemic planning, pandemic preparedness, swine flu

“When a fire destroyed the Manhattan office of Atlantis Health Plan, the company was so well prepared it lost just one day of work. But that didn’t make disaster recovery easy.

Continue reading Case Study: Companies’ disaster recovery is emotionally taxing

Tags: case study, small business, SME

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  has posted the 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan [NIPP]. The 2009 plan replaces the 2006 version and includes changes and updates to program elements and concepts.

Continue reading The 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan

Tags: Add new tag, CIKR, critical infrastructure and key resources, DHS, homeland security, National Infrastructure Protection Plan

With the U.S. economy severely shaken, the number of suppliers facing financial peril is on the rise, according to Ernst & Young LLP Transaction Advisory Services (TAS).   Supplier instability is putting added strain on U.S. companies already battling the fallout of the economic downturn on many other fronts.

Continue reading Don’t Forget to Check Your Suppliers and Their BC Capabilities

Tags: Business Continuity Management, Risk Management, supply chain management, Surveys

New book by Jeffrey R. Ryan:

Pandemic Influenza: Emergency Planning and Community Preparedness

• Analyze the threat of pandemics in general, and influenza specifically
• Identify principles associated with the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza
• Assess factors leading to an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, including its potential effect on the economy
• Evaluate the use of pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical measures
• Determine response actions of various emergency services disciplines as they relate to communications, travel, and quarantine
• Examine the components of service continuation essential for the private sector to remain intact during a severe pandemic

“… an amazing resource … Dr. Ryan has assembled some of the best experts in the field to guide you in understanding the threat of pandemic influenza and how it can affect you and the people you are responsible for. …” – From the foreword by Lynn A. Slepski, Captain, United States Public Health Service

No one is immune to the potential devastation of a mass pandemic influenza outbreak. Yet despite recent small-scale outbreaks and dire warnings from the World Health Organization that such an event is imminent and overdue, our preparedness continues to lag. Part of the problem is that while a national plan is important, all the real action must occur at the local level. Triage, care, and containment, along with maintenance of the infrastructure, are functions that must be carried out by local planners and responders.

Pandemic Influenza: Emergency Planning and Community Preparedness introduces readers to the critical global and domestic issues regarding a potential pandemic. Featuring the contributions of leading experts, this volume arms planners and responders with an understanding of outbreak containment and response planning and provides an analysis of our present capabilities and potential weaknesses.

The first section reviews the history of pandemics and discusses the deadly 1918 Spanish flu. The middle chapters examine the biology of the virus and the clinical aspects of influenza, with special attention given to Avian Influenza. The final chapters examine international and federal programs and discuss response at the local level, including service continuation planning and fatality management.

Public health and emergency preparedness professionals, as well as policy makers at all levels will find a wealth of information to help them create a plan and allocate the proper resources to mitigate the devastation of a pandemic influenza.

Special Offer!

Be prepared! Purchase Pandemic Influenza, along with the Pandemic Preparation and Response Plan Template for Business on CD-ROM for $119.90.

Tags: influenza, pandemic planning, pandemic preparedness, swine flu