Facility Safety and Security

There are so many aspects of business continuity planning, sometimes one gets overlooked. Business continuity teams sometimes forget that ensuring the organization's continuity of operations should include the safety of the facility itself. This week's articles talk about the importance of coordinating with facility managers to support your BC plan.

How can your company ensure that it will have priority response following an incident? (Item #1)   Internal partnerships help achieve a comprehensive business continuity program. (Item #2)   Implementing a comprehensive contingency management plan may seem daunting, but it is simply an exercise in commitment-with continuous assessment and revision. (Item #3)  

The best course of action is to start with a multi-hazard facility risk assessment performed by a qualified security professional. (Item #4)   Knowledge, speed, and flexibility are valuable tools for emergency response. (Item #5)   The job of the Facility Security Officer is challenging. (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. A Winning Partnership: Facility Management and Business Continuity

Potentially, there are many roles for facilities management to support the business continuity program. By involving facility management in the BC planning process, BC professionals can strengthen their programs. Here are some ways to incorporate facility managers into that process.
http://www.disaster-resource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=274%3Aa-winning-partnership-facility-management-and-business-continuity&catid=8%3Afacility-issues&Itemid=14


3. Auditing contingency plans

More and more, natural and man-made threats continue to impact citizens and property while federal and state agencies distance themselves from supporting and even responding to crisis events. Prudent professionals must ensure that their properties, employees, and guests are well protected and prepared for any contingency.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0521.htm


4. Multi-Hazard Facility Risk Assessment Strategies with Window Hazard Mitigation Examples

Today's environment of increased risks requires protective design and risk management for most facilities. This article presents an overview of facility risk assessments and focuses on the critical area of window hazard mitigation. Because glass often causes the majority of injuries from a bomb blast, mitigation can significantly reduce those risks for employees or building visitors.
http://www.disaster-resource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=257%3Amulti-hazard-facility-risk-assessment-strategies-with-window-hazard-mitigation-examples&catid=8%3Afacility-issues&Itemid=14


5. The magic formula? Planning + Practice + "Live Fire" Exercises = The Right Approach

Facilities teams rarely have the opportunity to test emergency response capabilities with full scale incident simulations. After all, most HR managers would object to crashing a chemical tanker in the parking lot, setting a few offices on fire, or inviting a disgruntled gunman into the workplace. So beyond emergency response documentation and the annual fire drill, organizations may use table top exercises to rehearse responses to potential situations.
http://www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/articles/business-continuity.php


6. FSO Training: Facility Security Officers Face Diverse Threats

Facility Security Officers (FSO) study their craft and learn ways to counter evolving threats. Threats to enterprises include: theft, vandalism, workplace violence, fraud, and computer attacks. Through a system of identification, analysis, risk assessment operation security and prevention, FSOs can help to mitigate those risks.
http://www.clearancejobs.com/cleared-news/333/fso-training-facility-security-officers-face-diverse-threats


Quote of the Week:

"Guard himself as he may, every moment's an ambush."
-- Horace


Contact Us:

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