Resources for Disaster Proofing Your Business & Community
Why Prepare?
Disasters can be devastating to businesses. Short term losses may include physical damages to premises and contents in addition to revenue loss due to interrupted service, and a loss of wages for temporarily displaced employees. Long term economic impacts could include the complete loss of the business resulting in a loss of jobs and a weakened economy in the local community. This can be especially problematic where a community may only have one major business that provides employment for much of the population.
Business owners have a duty to their employees to insure a safe workplace. This includes taking appropriate steps to be prepared to deal with any potential emergencies or disasters that might impact the workplace. Developing a good plan first entails assessing the risks to your business. What hazards either natural, manmade, or technological could impact your business? What is the probability of certain hazards occurring? What impacts could they have? Answering these questions will aid you in developing an appropriate contingency plan. Assessing the potential impacts will also help justify the cost of developing a contingency plan.
Starting places
Business owners are encouraged to use the links below to learn more about being prepared to deal with disasters. Many sample plans are available on the Internet (try searching on “disaster recovery plan”). Perhaps your business already did some disaster planning related to Y2K or after 9/11. Consider saving some money and effort by converting these plans to a business continuity plan.
Click here for a list of considerations when planning....
Business disaster related information preparedness links
Funding for business preparedness planning:
U.S. Department of Commerce
Economic Development Administration
Regional Office 1244 Speer Blvd., Suite 670
Denver, CO 80204-3591
303-844-1416
local contact : Thomas Cummings, P.E.
http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/CourTopics/ResourceGuide.asp?topic=BusDis
Preparedness and Mitigation
Government sites:
From the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Mitigation Information for Businesses
www.fema.gov/rebuild/mitigation.shtm
Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry
www.fema.gov/business/guide/index.shtm
Discusses steps businesses can take to implement mitigation measures.
Also contains a “How to” series on protecting building structure and contents and business records from disasters.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
www.sba.gov/index.html
Contains disaster preparedness considerations for businesses.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
www.fema.gov/business/nfip/
The Disaster Center Bookstore
A very thorough list of books and publications related to business continuity and recovery. Books can be ordered online.
www.disastercenter.com/abrgoals.htm
Disaster Recovery
U.S. Small Business Administration
www.sba.gov/co/CO_DISASTER.html
Contains information on disaster assistance for businesses.
Associations:
Association of Contingency Planners
www.acp-international.com
Colorado Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Association of Contingency Planners
http://www.crmc-acp.org/
Business Continuity Planners Association
www.bcpa.org
Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBES)
Has an excellent planning aid titled “Open for Business”.
Other resources:
Contingency Planning & Management magazine
www.ContingencyPlanning.com
Disaster Recovery Journal
The first publication dedicated to the field of disaster recovery and business continuity
www.drj.com
Disaster Resource Guide
Online resource that consolidates educational, organizational and vendor resources.
www.disaster-resource.com
Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI)
DRI International was founded in 1988 to provide a base of common knowledge in contingency planning
www.drii.org
Business Continuity Planning / Disaster Recovery Planning
An Online Guide
www.yourwindow.to/business-continuity/
Disaster Recovery World
Directory of business continuity planning and
disaster recovery planning software and services
Sample business continuity & disaster recovery plans
http://www.disasterrecoveryworld.com