Facility Safety & Continuity

We always say that you have to think of people first in any disaster or disruption, but we also need to remember that we have to protect the facility - our building, our offices. This week's articles will provide food for thought as you consider if you've covered all you can do in this area.

Dealing with an incident within the first few hours may reduce the total time of the disruptive event by weeks. (Item #1)   Facility management is often overlooked when it comes to business continuity planning, but this group is vital to your safety and recovery success. (Item #2)   How do you protect your critical documents in a disaster? (Item #3)  

Prudent professionals must ensure that their properties, employees, and guests are well protected and prepared for any contingency. (Item #4)   Don't be destroyed by an it-can't-happen-here mentality. (Item #5)   This generic planning guide for facilities can help you ensure that your plan addresses all the necessary concerns. (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp



1. Managing facility disruption

It is a fact that a better risk managed facility leads to significantly reduced volatility of earnings for an enterprise and yet we continue to see little evidence of organizations implementing plans and measures to recover the temporary loss of their facility following an incident.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0820.html


2. Make the facilities management staff part of your disaster recovery planning

Disaster Recovery (DR) planning is more a symphony than a solo when it comes to the roles of various departments in your organization. From working with management to identifying the assets to figuring out the best blend of technologies, no department is an island. This article looks at facilities management and its role in the successful implementation of a DR plan.
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/make-the-facilities-management-staff-part-of-your-disaster-recovery-planning/5830531


3. How to Prevent a Document Disaster from Crippling your Institution

Our focus here is disaster preparedness and the critical role documents play in determining the success or failure of your plan. Here is a question we often pose to facility managers. "Are you prepared for the disaster that could cripple your facility?" The answer we receive in most cases is a resounding "Yes." However, our research shows critical areas of the disaster preparedness model being overlooked.
http://facilitymanagement.com/articles/maintenance2-1208.html


4. Auditing contingency plans

Implementing a comprehensive contingency management plan may seem daunting, but it is simply an exercise in commitment-with continuous assessment and revision. Where many facility managers err is when they place the plan up on a shelf, never to be looked at again...until years later during a crisis, when they find the plan to be obsolete and useless.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0521.htm


5. A Facility Blueprint for Survival: Plan for the Unexpected!

Loss Control is about staying in business, no matter what. Have you done what you can do at all of your facilities to improve your chances for uninterrupted operations? This article addresses some of these issues, and suggests strategies to make your company the one that bounces back quickly. "It won't happen to us" has destroyed too many companies; don't let yours be the next!
http://www.disaster-resource.com/cgi-bin/article_search.cgi?id=%2723%27


6. Disaster Preparedness Planning Guide for Facilities

This preparedness planning guide is directed to facility managers and administrators and is intended to provide assistance in meeting the planning requirements necessary to protect employees and clients who may be conducting business within the facility. It is intentionally generic in nature, so that it may apply to a variety of public buildings and large facilities where resident or worker populations may be at risk as a result of natural or human-caused disasters.
http://www.tredyffrin.org/pdf/emergency/disaster-pp-guide.pdf


Quote of the Week:

"It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared."
-- Whitney M. Young Jr.


Contact Us:

Attainium Corp
15110 Gaffney Circle
Gainesville, VA 20155
www.attainium.net