Implementing an Effective Disaster Management Plan

chillibreeze writer — Sanjeevan Joshi

Our everyday life is full of incidents—some good, and some bad. Whether we are in an urban area or in a rural area, we are prone to accidents. A large number of people die every year in various kinds of accidents.

INTERRUPTION IN OPERATIONS

Any incident, whether natural or man-made, causes an interruption in the functioning of the institution. Most of us pray that the interruption be temporary and cause minimum loss of life as well as property. In all cases, the financial and/or operational capability of the institution is jeopardised.

Most institutions raise emergency services to minimise the effects. It is observed that in most of the cases, the measures taken are inadequate and implemented in a haphazard manner. In some cases, this aggravates the situation. Many a time, we have to call for external help, which has no information or knowledge of the internal working, layout and requirement of the institution.

The situation in cases of natural disaster is even worse. Government agencies are busy helping out the citizens and are over burdened because of the damage caused. The situation in Mumbai during the 2005 deluge is an example in this regard. The Police and Fire Brigade were themselves the victims of floods. Many police stations and at least 4 fire stations were flooded and became defunct.

There was chaos on roads as motorists refused to follow the traffic rules in a hurry to go out of the city area. People lost their lives as they were trapped inside the car in the floods and the interlocking system of the vehicle did not allow them to come out. Really, it was a tragedy. The so- called sophisticated equipments caused deaths.

The entire communication system was over loaded, resulting in a collapse of communication links. The entire city of Mumbai was paralysed for 36 hours. The situation during the Serial Train Bomb blast incident, the 26/11 terrorist attack and the recent motormen strike was no different. They all proved that we were unprepared.

FEW QUESTIONS-

Let us ask ourselves few questions –

How long can we cope if there is a power cut or the phones are cut off?
What can we do if we are unable to gain access to our own premises?
How long will it be before a small inconvenience becomes a major problem?
What would you do if your staff or customers are unable to access the premises?
Can you alert your staff in the event of disruption during working hours and out of hours?

I am sure we are puzzled. In most cases, we are unprepared. On 15th June, the ATC at Mumbai Airport had no electric supply for 21 minutes. The alternate system failed and finally the radio sets were operated on battery back-up. Luckily, though no incident occurred, the situation was disastrous. The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster also occurred only because of the failure of the ‘Safety’ system. There was no back up system and the northern world suffered. .. 2 / -

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The financial loss was tremendous. Similarly, the cities in Ireland suffered for 5 years. The compensation paid to the victims and suffering countries resulted in the down fall of the USSR economy. We do not want history to be repeated. Hence, we have to prepare ourselves.

EMERGENCY PLAN

Generally, all institutions prepare on-site and off-site emergency plans to meet an eventuality. The Government on its part prepares a Disaster Management Plan. This plan includes all measures to minimise the loss of people, property and production. Some of the measures are pre-incident measures, known as Preventive and Mitigation Measures. Secondly, some of the measures are post-incident; these are known as Response Measures. Thirdly, after recovery, certain measures called Rehabilitation Measures are implemented. Combined together they form the base for the Emergency Plan / Disaster Management Plan. In all these plans, the emphasis is on effective and speedy relief operations through a Command and Control system. They describe the system of resumption of business and recovery of assets after a disastrous interruption. It clearly implies the stoppage of critical operations of the institution.

PRO-ACTIVENESS

In other words, these plans are REACTIVE. However, in the present era we have to be PRO-ACTIVE. Every institution must recognise that the services need to be continually delivered without any interruption to the clients. The institution should endeavour to ensure that the critical operations continue and services are available to clients. There has to be a paradigm shift in our approach. This plan is known as Business Continuity Plan. In 2003, the Government of India also adopted this policy for National Disaster Management. Now, the emphasis is on preparedness and mitigation rather than on a response mechanism. However, I must mention that the response mechanism is fully dependent on preparedness of the institution.

BCP LIFE CYCLE

While preparing a Business Continuity Plan, the following five principles should always be remembered –

Risk Assessment
Business Impact Analysis
Strategy Designing
Development & Execution of the Plan
Regular Plan Tests & Review

The above points are referred to as “Business Continuity Planning Life Cycle”. For any institution, a basic risk assessment is essential; only then can we understand the impact of the disaster on our own business and decide the strategy to overcome the problem. The plan can determine the measures to be taken and the role of every individual representing the institution during the crisis period.

Further, every institution should arrange mock drills periodically to test the plan; this would further held develop skills amongst every responder. Even lessons learnt during the mock drills, would help us improve the plan. In addition, after every incident/crisis, it is essential that ‘de-briefing’ sessions are organised to analyse the shortcomings. .. 3 /-

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN

Generally, a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a set of instructions handed down to employees for dealing with any site-based emergencies should they arise. The emergencies could pose a threat to life, health, property and environment in the institution. The instructions in the BCP should be simple so that the employees are able to understand and follow them. They should also be flexible in nature and allow the employee to amend them during any crisis.

It is very important that the BCP be written down, communicated to employees and prominently displayed so as to ensure their implementation. There need not be any ‘confidentiality’ tag, as the individuals at the site are expected to respond to the situation. The training of employees in a business continuity procedure is very important as they need to be aware about the institution’s strategy for meeting the crisis. This will also help in building the confidence of the employees and especially their family members who suffer stress during crises at the workplace. During all mock drills, emphasis should be on adhering to the BCP instructions and testing them so that necessary modifications can be thought of in ‘no crises’ period.

OBJECTIVES

While preparing a Business Continuity Plan, the following should be the Objectives –

Control the event and avoid escalation of the event
Minimise the effects on people, property and the environment
Undertake effective rehabilitation of the victims

Installation/Development of Warning System will minimise the damage. All people should know the warning signals. In fact the warning bell/siren should work as a trigger for the activation of BCP. This would help employees to undertake the job and/or rush to the allocated position for subsequent working. In Mumbai City, Centrally Controlled Siren System (CCSS) is operational to pass on warnings to the general public.

During no-crises periods, proper training should be organised for the staff and a control and command structure should be developed whereby all aspects of the plan are tested time and again. Without naming the institution, let me mention that one of the Airlines Catering Services has standby arrangement with another City Catering Service and this arrangement is tested “Once-a-Week” through out the year. This is how they ensure the Continuity of Operations. The service to the client is most important. The BCP will enhance the image of the institution. Periodically testing the BCP will help to review and update, which is a critical element for the success of the Plan. I may mention here (although it will be a subject for another discussion) that if the institution is handling any hazardous or toxic chemicals and/or any chemical materials, it would be IDEAL to have Isolation Sections for the safety of the staff.

BCP STEPS

For the guidance of all institutions, I list below the steps to be undertaken for preparation of the institution’s Business Continuity Plan –

Decide the governance structure.
Identify mandates and critical aspects of your institution.
Prioritise critical services.

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Identify impacts of disruptions.
Identify areas of potential revenue loss.
Identify additional expenses.
Identify intangible losses.
Identify insurance requirements.
Analyse the current recovery capabilities.
Create continuity plan.
Identify response preparations.
Find out alternate facilities.
Train the staff and arrange mock drills.
Undertake internal review after each mock drill.
Arrange external audit on methodology, accuracy and
comprehensiveness of the Continuity Plan.

CONCLUSION

For every institution, the continuity of operations is very vital. For this, a proper Business Continuity Plan which is based on appropriate strategy as per the institution’s policy is important. It is the right time for diverting our attention from Business Recovery to Business Continuity Planning. Have an Emergency Pack with you, which includes your Business Continuity Plan, Key Telephone Numbers, Spare Keys, Torch, Cash/Credit Cards and some Stationery. This would help you a lot. Let us keep the institution running through your pre-defined Business Continuity Plan.

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in July, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Sanjeevan Joshi graduated from the National Civil Defence College (NCDC), Nagpur, where he specialised in Disaster Management, Fire Fighting and CBRN Terrorism. He is also a graduate of the College of Military Engineering (CME), Kirkee, where he specialised in Bomb Disposal. Sanjeevan has been involved in Disaster Management Planning since 1971. He has been associated with the NDMA and SDMA since their inception. He is also the recipient of six President Medals, including Distinguished Service for expertise in the field of Disaster Management.

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