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First Things First! In today’s highly competitive environment, companies are struggling to stay on top by finding ways to both limit expenses and increase profits. No company can afford the loss of property and productivity from destruction caused by fire or natural hazards. Although insurance helps to alleviate some of the costs of such disasters, intangibles—loss of time, customers, goodwill and trained employees—add other costs that generally are not covered by insurance. Equipment damaged within minutes can take months to repair or replace. In the meantime, skilled employees find new jobs. If that happens, time must be taken to train new personnel and to obtain and set up new equipment. Key executives will spend their time dealing with the loss rather than next year’s business plans. What’s the impact? Market position may be lost. Inflation and material shortages may make rebuilding difficult and costly. The first step should be to determine what events can be prevented and what events can be controlled. By making these determinations, and implementing adequate loss prevention and control measures, a contingency planner can reduce the cost and effort of recovery. PREVENTION AND MITIGATION 1. Management Commitment to Loss Prevention RESPONSE AND RECOVERY In many cases a thorough site or damage assessment is not immediately possible. Access to, and assessment of, the facility and its contents may be delayed due to the possible loss of structural integrity, necessary forensic investigation, or existing/potential toxic contamination. Physical property and content restoration procedures are highly specialized and dependent on the type, cause and degree of damage. Incorporating the following steps into your facility plan will greatly help in the recovery process. 1. Establish pre-loss communication with your municipal
authorities. For more information:
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