March 28, 2007
These NewsBriefs are produced and delivered weekly by
Attainium to keep our friends and clients
current on topics relating to Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery and Crisis Management.
If a survey of your employees finds they cannot answer these questions, you'll immediately understand
why training and testing of your disaster/emergency response plan is necessary. Who has authority to
call 911? Do you know who to contact to report an emergency situation? Where are copies of the
DR plan located? How can you contact management during/after an emergency? One solution to this lack
of knowledge is practice, practice, practice! The articles below can help with your training and testing activities.
A resiliency strategy will enable employees be able to respond effectively after an incident
to apply these skills to workplace challenges. (Item #1) An emergency response plan
will not work properly unless realistic training is provided and it is thoroughly
tested prior to implementation in an actual emergency (Item #2). (Item #3) contains
training and testing tips for business from ready.gov.
FEMA offers basic considerations for developing a training plan. (Item #4)
A new American Red Cross program trains corporate employees to help in disasters. (Item #5)
Don't forget your IT plan - organizations should consider having a test, training,
and exercise (TT&E) program in place as a way of identifying deficiencies in IT plans,
procedures, and training. (Item #6)
As always, we look forward to hearing about your concerns
with regards to business continuity. If you have a topic
you'd like to see covered, please email me at
[email protected]
Best Regards,
Bob Mellinger
President
Attainium Corp
Quote of the Week
"Do every day or two something for no other reason than you would rather not do it,
so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test."
- William James, American Philosopher -
and leader of the philosophical movement of Pragmatism
Articles
1. Developing a Resilient Workforce through Disaster Preparedness
Since the unthinkable terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 there has been a dramatic increase and interest in workplace security
and the well being of employees. Survival, of course, is a number one priority but learning to thrive following a disruptive incident
is a benefit requiring planning that most businesses don't have in place.
http://www.disaster-resource.com/newsletter/subpages/v74/meet_the_experts.htm
2. Emergency Response Training and Testing
Testing the plan helps to identify problem areas, as well as inherent weaknesses, that must be corrected in order to ensure
that the plan will work as designed. Training and testing thus serve to identify areas in need of improvement thereby enhancing
coordination and communication among emergency response personnel.
http://ifpo.org/articlebank/emergency_response.htm
3. Ready Business
Ready.gov's business information includes two articles to help businesses prepare employees for disasters.
The first deals with planning for employees in emergencies; the second discusses rehearsing the plan. Links follow:
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Emergency planning for employees
Your employees and co-workers are your business's most important and valuable asset. There are some procedures you can
put in place before a disaster, but you should also learn about what people need to recover after a disaster.
http://www.ready.gov/business/plan/emerplanning.html
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Practice the Plan
Go beyond planning and frequently practice what you intend to do during a disaster. Just as your business changes
day-to-day, so should your plan. Drills and exercises will help you prepare.
http://www.ready.gov/business/talk/practice.html
4. Conduct Training, Drills and Exercises
Everyone who works at or visits a facility requires some form of training. This could include periodic employee
discussion sessions to review procedures, technical training in equipment use for emergency responders, evacuation
drills and full-scale exercises.
http://www.fema.gov/business/guide/section1d.shtm#header2
5. Ready When the Time Comes
Ready When the Time Comes (RWTC) is a program of the American Red Cross that prepares teams of corporate employees
to be ready immediately to help in a time of a local, large-scale disaster. RWTC volunteers serve as "reserves" that
can be called when disaster response requires more than the normal corps of chapter volunteers. A side benefit
of this program is a group of experienced, well-trained employees who can act as a resource to your organization.
http://www.redcross-cmd.org/Chapter/RWTC.htm
6. Guide to Test, Training, and Exercise Programs for IT Plans and Capabilities
Organizations have information technology (IT) plans in place, such as contingency and computer security incident
response plans, so that they can respond to and manage adverse situations involving IT. These plans should be maintained
in a state of readiness, which should include having personnel trained to fulfill their roles and responsibilities
within a plan, having plans exercised to validate their content, and having systems and system components tested
to ensure their operability in an operational environment specified in a plan.
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-84/SP800-84.pdf
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