Planning Principles
This page describes the essential structure of any business continuity plan. There are six sections you will need to include in your emergency strategy. Click on the links below for a description of what to cover in each area.
Introduction
The introduction to your plan needs to cover these points:
- The purpose of the plan (to ensure employee safety and resume nomal business as soon as possible).
- A clear statement of support by senior management.
- A description of the premises, facilities and operations covered by the plan.
- The main risks faced by the organisation and the impact these hazards could have on the business.
- Information on who is responsible for managing the recovery.
Implementation
It must be made clear when emergency plans are to be implemented and who has the authority to effect them. Key points for inclusion here are:
- When and how to implement the plan.
- The people responsible for starting emergency procedures, if there is no alarm.
- Special roles for individuals e.g. removal of valuables somewhere safe, calling out external experts or permission to spend up to an increased financial limit.
- Up-to-date call out lists of staff, with their names, position and contact details.
- The location of an off-site headquarters, such as a hotel, with appropriate communication facilities where the response and recovery effort can be coordinated.
- Check-off cards for recovery team, describing their tasks in an emergency.
Damage minimisation
There is a common law duty to minimise loss and this requirement is often invoked under a contract of insurance. So, your plan needs to include instructions for limiting the damage to premises and equipment and the contact details of key experts such as:
- Specialists in the salvage of documents and computer data.
- Smoke residue removal experts.
- Contractors for pumps, generators or heating equipment.
- Experts in decontamination (if appropriate).
- Emergency response teams for your utilities (gas, electricity, telephones, water).
- Local authority engineering services.
- Relevant national authorities (for example, the Environment Agency for flooding)
- Transport and removal companies.
- Building contractors, architects, and structural engineers.
- Computer equipment suppliers.
- Suppliers of office furniture and equipment
- Insurance companies.
- Caterers - staff will need to be fed.
Evacuation
If the fire alarm sounds, everyone should immediately evacuate the building to a pre-allocated point. Evacuation of premises may be required in other situations, however, in which case you need to have a process in place:
- Names of employees authorised to organise evacuation, when there is no alarm.
- Designated sites where evacuated personnel are to muster. You need one nearby (for fire) and one distant (to cater for police cordons).
- Designated personnel to control evacuation and work with the emergency services.
Your evacuation plan also needs to include a checklist of tasks for team members to undertake if it is safe to do so, such as:
- Alert emergency services via a 999 call.
- Turn off utilities.
- Removal of valuable items.
- Lock premises.
- Transfer of telephone calls to pre-designated location.
- Provision of main contact for the emergency services and others.
- Check that premises have been evacuated.
Containment
If there is a need to contain people within a building, particularly in the event of an external bomb threat, plans are needed to prepare for this. They should include:
- Designation of a blast resistant safe area where people should congregate, away from windows and the danger of flying glass.
- Provision of telephone facilities in the safe area.
- Availability of toilet facilities and drinking water.
- Special facilities if old people, children or animals are involved.
- Location of First Aid facilities with list of qualified ‘first-aider’ staff.
If there is a bomb threat, the Home Office publication "Protecting People and Property" provides excellent guidance to managers and security officers.
Relocation
This part of the plan should cover the arrangements which may be needed if the business has to be relocated to other premises. There are several ways the requirement for alternative accommodation can be met:
- Introduce a 'buddy system'. This can function particularly well where two businesses agree to reciprocal facilities in the event of disaster befalling either of them. The arrangements can apply to premises, staff or equipment.
- Purchase/lease alternative accommodation and equip that to the required level. Bear in mind that this option is expensive and is usually only resorted to by those companies who have specialist requirements and who need to resume the fee-earning part of their business within a very few hours of an incident.
- Purchase/lease alternative accommodation in partnership with another company with similar needs. Such arrangements have become popular in the City of London.
- Enter into an arrangement with a specialist business continuity facilities company. This has the advantage of providing a facility without any of the administrative problems. It is not a cheap solution but is popular and cost effective in comparison with purchase/lease options above.
- Rely on the market place to produce the required space and resources. This solution is often preferred by those businesses who do not have to re-establish the business process in a short time. This option is often accompanied by 'work at home' schemes or by reciprocal arrangements with another company in a similar business.
Tailor your plan
Now you understand the basic structure of a continuity plan, you need to tailor it to your business. Pick one of the options below, depending on the size of your organisation, for detailed advice and templates for creating your emergency strategy.
