Section 1: Step 2 – Analyze Capabilities and Hazards

This step entails gathering information about current capabilities and about possible hazards and emergencies, and then conducting a vulnerability analysis to determine the facility's capabilities for handling emergencies.

Other Sections

Where Do You Stand Right Now?

Review Internal Plans and Policies

Documents to look for include:

Meet with Outside Groups

Meet with government agencies, community organizations and utilities. Ask about potential emergencies and about plans and available resources for responding to them. Sources of information include:

While researching potential emergencies, one facility discovered that a dam -- 50 miles away -- posed a threat to its community. The facility was able to plan accordingly.

Identify Codes and Regulations

Identify applicable Federal, State and local regulations such as:

Identify Critical Products, Services and Operations

You'll need this information to assess the impact of potential emergencies and to determine the need for backup systems. Areas to review include:

Identify Internal Resources and Capabilities

Resources and capabilities that could be needed in an emergency include:

One way to increase response capabilities is to identify employee skills (medical, engineering, communications, foreign language) that might be needed in an emergency.

Identify External Resources

There are many external resources that could be needed in an emergency. In some cases, formal agreements may be necessary to define the facility's relationship with the following:

Do an Insurance Review

Meet with insurance carriers to review all policies. (See Section 2: Recovery and Restoration.)

Conduct a Vulnerability Analysis

The next step is to assess the vulnerability of your facility -- the probability and potential impact of each emergency. Use the Vulnerability Analysis Chart to guide the process, which entails assigning probabilities, estimating impact and assessing resources, using a numerical system. The lower the score the better.

Vulnerability Analysis Chart

Rate each criteria on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being low and 5 being high.

Type of Emergency Probability Human Impact Property Impact Business Impact Internal Resources External Resources Total
               
               
               
               

List Potential Emergencies

In the first column of the chart, list all emergencies that could affect your facility, including those identified by your local emergency management office. Consider both:

Below are some other factors to consider:

Historical -- What types of emergencies have occurred in the community, at this facility and at other facilities in the area?

Geographic -- What can happen as a result of the facility's location? Keep in mind:

Technological -- What could result from a process or system failure? Possibilities include:

Human Error -- What emergencies can be caused by employee error? Are employees trained to work safely? Do they know what to do in an emergency? Human error is the single largest cause of workplace emergencies and can result from:

Physical -- What types of emergencies could result from the design or construction of the facility? Does the physical facility enhance safety? Consider:

Regulatory -- What emergencies or hazards are you regulated to deal with?

Analyze each potential emergency from beginning to end. Consider what could happen as a result of:

Estimate Probability

In the Probability column, rate the likelihood of each emergency's occurrence. This is a subjective consideration, but useful nonetheless. Use a simple scale of 1 to 5 with 1 as the lowest probability and 5 as the highest.

Assess the Potential Human Impact

Analyze the potential human impact of each emergency -- the possibility of death or injury. Assign a rating in the Human Impact column of the Vulnerability Analysis Chart. Use a 1 to 5 scale with 1 as the lowest impact and 5 as the highest.

Assess the Potential Business Impact

Consider the potential loss of market share. Assign a rating in the Business Impact column. Again, 1 is the lowest impact and 5 is the highest. Assess the impact of:

Assess the Potential Property Impact

Consider the potential property for losses and damages. Again, assign a rating in the Property Impact column, 1 being the lowest impact and 5 being the highest. Consider:

A bank's vulnerability analysis concluded that a "small" fire could be as catastrophic to the business as a computer system failure. The planning group discovered that bank employees did not know how to use fire extinguishers, and that the bank lacked any kind of evacuation or emergency response system.

Assess Internal and External Resources

Next assess your resources and ability to respond. Assign a score to your Internal Resources and External Resources. The lower the score the better. To help you do this, consider each potential emergency from beginning to end and each resource that would be needed to respond. For each emergency ask these questions:

If the answers are yes, move on to the next assessment. If the answers are no, identify what can be done to correct the problem. For example, you may need to:

Add the Columns

Total the scores for each emergency. The lower the score the better. While this is a subjective rating, the comparisons will help determine planning and resource priorities -- the subject of the pages to follow.

When assessing resources, remember that community emergency workers -- police, paramedics, firefighters -- will focus their response where the need is greatest. Or they may be victims themselves and be unable to respond immediately. That means response to your facility may be delayed.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 05-Apr-2006 16:08:48 EDT