05/ 30/ 2008
by Tami Kamin-Meyer
Disasters are like coincidences—they can happen anytime. Some occur without warning while others are the result of unforeseeable and unpreventable forces of nature.
But whether the disaster is weather-related, man-made or due to some other occurrence, creating, implementing and supporting a disaster-preparedness plan could spell the difference between saving your business and losing it all.
A man with a plan
"One of the first steps that must be taken, while sounding simplistic, is a disaster or emergency plan that is simple and effective while allowing each employee to read and understand their role in the emergency," says James Hodge of Colley Intelligence, located in Columbus, Ohio and St. Helena, South Carolina.
While Hodge, who heads Colley's undercover investigation unit, cautions that a disaster plan should be created and implemented prior to its need, it should also be flexible enough to be adjustable "to ensure service continuity to customers and suppliers."
With 14 employees at Colley's Columbus headquarters, where springtime tornados and wintertime snow and ice are the most likely weather-related threats, and four employees in South Carolina, where hurricanes are common, the company's weather-related disaster plans simply can't mirror one another.
However, both places of business share some commonalities, such as the need to protect company hardware, should disaster strike. Hodge says companies should consider the following when plotting their plan:
- The placement of valuable hardware in a building's structure
a. Hardware should be placed in a central spot of the building, preferably not on a ground floor or in a basement
b. Place hardware in a cement-encased room to help protect it from damage
c. If the building does not offer these safe refuges, place the hardware up off the ground, so at least it's protected from flood - Protecting hardware from electrical power damage
a. All hardware should have Uninterruptible Power Supplies connected to it
b. Surge protectors should be standard throughout the facility
"Flying by the seat of one's pants in times of disaster can prove costly and dangerous," cautions Hodge.
What's next?
Columbus lawyer Brad Frick, who owns the Victorian home that's been restored to house his law firm, also owns Safelift Transportation, Inc., a small company that provides transportation for seniors and the infirm. Frick says one of the first things to do after disaster strikes is to "contact your customers." It's important to reassure them that the company is doing everything it can, including following its prepared disaster plan, to cope with the situation. Attorneys should contact all courts in which they have cases if a fire destroys their office building, says Frick. If a tenant, rather than the building’s owner, takes the necessary actions to be certain a landlord plans to repair structural damage or whatever else needs to be done, your company can get to business.
"I would push my insurance company for a payout as quickly as possible, and contact all creditors to ask for a reprieve or deferral" on paying certain debts right away, says Frick.
While Hodge agrees with Frick that expediently securing an insurance payout should be a priority for disaster victims, he offers recent disasters in American history as examples of how the ideal does not necessarily coincide with reality.
For example, in 2004 dollars, Hurricane Katrina caused an estimated $125 billion in damages. Certainly, that level of devastation translates into delayed payouts that often proved to be too little, too late.
Four steps to follow
Hodge offers small business owners a four-step plan of action to aid them in preparing for disasters. The steps are preparedness, redundancy, implementation and "perfect plan" flexibility.
- Preparedness – Company heads must prepare a report of possible or likely disasters based upon their geographic location, and the stability of the business and its infrastructure, should disaster strike.
- Redundancy – It's imperative to train employees on the roles they are to assume during a disaster and in its aftermath. They should also know about and be trained in their co-worker's roles, in case someone is unable to fulfill their duties, he says. "All employee responsibilities need to appear like a web," says Hodge.
- Implementation – "A company can have the perfect plan for a disaster, but if it's not implemented, the company will be crippled," says Hodge. He also advises businesses to make backup copies of the plan and keep a few offsite; and
- "Perfect Plan" flexibility – Even if a business has created the ideal disaster preparedness plan, trained its employees and provided Life Safety training, "has anyone ever heard of a perfect disaster?" poses Hodge. He urges employees and companies to "have the knowledge and ability to adjust and change their plan, based on circumstance."
After a small business contemplates and institutes its disaster preparedness plan, Hodge says it's important to keep one more thing in mind: "Reiteration." A plan must be set up prior to the disaster, because a "proactive approach to disaster planning and recovery is the only approach," says Hodge.
Tami Kamin-Meyer is an attorney licensed in Ohio, federal and U.S. Supreme Courts. Her byline has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines such as Ohio Lawyers Weekly, Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Magazine, The Rotarian and Utah CEO. She is also the Ohio correspondent for www.legalnewsline.com, a web site about all state attorneys general and state Supreme Courts.
