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CONTINGENCY PLANNING ADVANCES
Disaster recovery, emergency management and continuity planning professionals in both the public and private sectors worldwide continue to face many challenges as they strive to do their jobs in a rapidly changing business and service environment. In recent years our industry has seen downsizing, re-engineering, outsourcing, changes in technology, lack of uniform standards, globalization, worldwide demand for disaster-resistant communities, and constant requirements for ongoing dialogue and cooperation between public and private sectors. PARTNERSHIPS BRING PROGRESS Recognition of the increasing danger of long-term business and service interruption due to natural, manmade, and technological disasters has forced private sector corporations and public sector institutions to expand the scope of their recovery planning. In addition to the life safety, emergency response and data center recovery issues, they now ‘partner’ with each other long in advance of a disaster occurrence to ensure continuity of business and service operations and protection of our critical infrastructure. As our businesses and government face more scrutiny of how they manage risks and protect assets, executive management has been presented with the challenge of providing ‘value added’ services to their clients and communities. It is an accepted fact today that no service is more important than the ability to deliver what was promised, and in a timely manner, disasters not withstanding. Chief executive and operating officers, including the President of the United States, expect a plan to accomplish this. Regulations concerning the maintenance of the critical infrastructure of the United States, industry quality and contingency planning standards and class action suits addressing potential lack of "duty of trust" and "due diligence" increasingly appear on the scene in the United States. Responsible chief executives, within small to large companies and institutions, seek to conduct their own review of disaster preparedness within their organizations and among their suppliers, and mandate planning for recovery and continuity of operations at all critical levels. PUBLIC/PRIVATE SECTOR INDUSTRY
INITIATIVES Other successful mitigation, emergency management, preparedness, response, recovery and continuity partnerships and initiatives include**: • Public Private Partnerships 2000 (PPP 2000) is a cooperative effort of the 19 agencies comprising the Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction, part of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources, and a number of other private sector organizations. The goal of PPP 2000 is to "seek new and innovative opportunities for government and nonprofit, private sector organizations to work together to reduce vulnerability to and losses from natural hazards in communities across the Nation." • The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) sponsors the development of Showcase States throughout the nation to demonstrate the benefits of taking specific, creative steps at the state government level to reduce deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses and human suffering caused by natural disasters. In December 1998, Rhode Island became the first Showcase State. • The Florida Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH). The Insurance industry, the state of Florida, the federal government, and national nonprofit organizations have formed a statewide public awareness and education campaign for Floridians. Along with IBHS, the FLASH partners are the Capital Chapter of the American Red Cross, Fannie Mae, FEMA, the Florida Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the Florida Department of Insurance and the Florida Insurance Council. • The New York State Joint Loss Reduction Partnership Project, under the leadership of the State Emergency Management Office includes partners with the Contingency Planning Exchange (CPE) and FEMA. This partnership comprises a cross section of the state’s business leadership, along with key federal, state, and local government officials whose initiatives include leveraging the expertise of many companies based in New York concerning actions necessary to make the state’s businesses "disaster resistant". One of their most innovative and exciting programs is the Corporate Emergency Access Program that addresses the needs of businesses to have access to their business in times of disaster. • International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) actively pursues partnerships that advance coordination and support between public and private organizations and constituencies worldwide, and has a Public/Private Partnership Committee as part of its organization. • Disaster Recovery Business Alliance (DRBA) is a nationwide initiative to unite public and private sectors one municipality at a time. • National and Independent Contingency Planning organizations, with public and private sector members, participate in disaster mitigation and continuity of operations educational workshops, mentoring, training and exercises within their communities. • Community Emergency Operations Centers arrange for private sector liaison representatives to have a presence in these centers in times of emergency for better communications and resources. UNIFORM RECOVERY STANDARDS • State’s Capabilities Assessment for Readiness (CAR) helps the individual states to identify their strengths, as well as vulnerabilities, in disaster situations. In addition a local CAR task force has also been established to consider taking this assessment down to the local community level. • NFPA 1600 – the Standard On Disaster / Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs was approved by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) membership in November, 1999. This standard establishes a common set of criteria for disaster management, emergency management, and business continuity programs. The purpose of this standard is to provide those with the responsibility for disaster/emergency management and business continuity the criteria to assess current programs or to develop, implement and maintain a program to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and emergencies. FEMA, the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) are seriously considering endorsement of this standard and NFPA is awaiting their endorsement confirmation. • "Professional Practices for Business Continuity Planners" is the April, 1997 agreement between the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) and the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) which defines the boundaries of the business continuity planning profession and expertise required for DRII certification and BCI membership. EXPANDED ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS
& CURRICULUM • The Joint Commission on Accredited Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has expanded its accreditation requirements beyond the life safety and patient care areas to include "continuity of operations" capabilities in their environment of care. • The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is finalizing proposed standards that include emergency mode of operation planning. At a recent summit, a business continuity planning industry ‘focus group’ was formed to provide their expertise to HCFA for determining the critical elements of an emergency mode operation plan. This plan is a requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). • Numerous academic institutions in the last few years have added business and government recovery and continuity planning courses to their emergency management curriculum as public and private sector individuals seek knowledge and certification within each others’ fields. **Due to ‘space’ constraints, the aforementioned initiative and standard information covered in this article represents only a minimal portion of the progress made in this industry. See full article on-line. About the Author |