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Preparing Your Business For the Unthinkable
 Why bother?
Disasters don't happen here.....
Even if you think you
are not in a disaster-prone area, something like a chemical
tanker truck overturning can prevent you and your employees
from getting to your facility. Even if a flood doesn't put
your business under water, customers and supplies may not be
able to get to you.
Power outages, brown-outs
or surges can affect your daily business operations. Many
disasters, like wind storms, tornadoes and earthquakes, can
strike quickly and with little or no warning.
What
Can Our Business Do?
Disaster
Recovery Begins Before A Disaster
Develop
A Plan
Reduce
Potential Damage
Protect
Your Employees, Customers and Business
Recommendations
for a Personal Workplace Disaster Supplies Kit
 (pdf)
Business
Disaster Guides:
Business
and Industry Guide
(pdf)
Emergency
Management Guide for Business &
Industry
The Emergency
Management Guide for Business & Industry is a
step-by-step approach to emergency planning, response and
recovery for companies of all sizes. Sponsored by a
Public-Private Partnership with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
What can I do?
Find out which
natural and technological hazards can happen in your area. Get
information about how to prepare your employees and clients to
respond to possible hazards and provide help. Detailed
disaster safety information and CPR/first aid training are
available from our Health
& Safety group. Network with others who have or
need to develop risk or contingency management plans. Attend
seminars and get information from local risk management
associations or chapters.
Disaster Recovery Begins Before a
Disaster
No business should risk operating
without a disaster plan. While reports vary, as many as 40
percent of small businesses do not reopen after a major
disaster like a flood, tornado or earthquake. These shuttered
businesses were unprepared for a disaster; they had no plan or
backup systems.
When you start to develop
your disaster plan, consider three subjects: human resources,
physical resources and business continuity. Think about how a
disaster could affect your employees, customers and workplace.
Think about how you could continue doing business if the area
around your facility is closed or streets are impassable.
Think about what you would need to serve your customers even
if your facility is closed.
Start building your plan
now.
Here are some suggestions your may want to
consider:
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Keep phone lists of your
key employees and customers with you, and provide copies to
key staff members.
-
If you have a voice mail
system at your office, designate one remote number on which
you can record messages for employees. Provide the number to
all employees.
-
Arrange for programmable
call forwarding for your main business line(s). Then, if you
can't get to the office, you can call in and reprogram the
phones to ring elsewhere.
-
If you may not be able to
get to your quickly after an emergency, leave keys and alarm
code(s) with a trusted employee or friend who is closer.
-
Install emergency lights
that turn on when the power goes out. They are inexpensive
and widely available at building supply retailers.
-
Back up computer data
frequently throughout the business day. Keep a backup tape
off site.
-
Use UL-listed surge
protectors and battery backup systems. They will add
protection for sensitive equipment and help prevent a
computer crash if the power goes out.
-
Purchase a NOAA Weather
Radio with a tone alert feature. Keep it on and when the
signal sounds, listen for information about severe weather
and protective actions to take.
-
Stock a minimum supply of
the goods, materials and equipment you would need for
business continuity.
-
Consult with your
insurance agent about precautions to take for disasters that
may directly impact your business. Remember, most policies
do not cover earthquake and flood damage. Protect valuable
property and equipment with special riders. Discuss business
continuity insurance with your agent.
-
Keep emergency supplies
handy, including-
-
Flashlights with extra
batteries.
-
First aid kit.
-
Tools.
-
Food and water for
employees and customers to use during a period of
unexpected confinement at your business, such as if a
tanker truck over-turned nearby and authorities told
everyone in the area to stay put for an extended
period.
Reduce Potential Damage
Prevent
or reduce disaster damage in your facility by taking
precautions, such as-
-
Bolting tall bookcases or
display cases to wall studs.
-
Protecting breakable
objects by securing them to a stand or shelf using hook-and-
loop fasteners.
-
Moving to lower shelves
large objects that could fall and break or injure someone.
-
Installing latches to
keep drawers and cabinets from flying open and dumping their
contents.
-
Using closed screw eyes
and wire to securely attach framed pictures and mirrors to
walls.
-
Using plumber's tape or
strap iron to wrap around a hot water heater to secure it to
wall studs.
You should also consider
having a professional install-
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Flexible connectors to
appliances and equipment fueled by natural gas.
-
Shutters that you can
close to protect windows from damage caused by debris blown
by a hurricane, tornado or severe storm.
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Automatic fire
sprinklers.
Protect Your Employees, Customers and
Business
Designate one employee from each work
shift to be the safety coordinator. This person will make all
decisions relating to employee and customer safety and to the
safety of the business itself. Safety coordinators should know
how to contact the owner or operator at all times.
Everyone in your facility
should know how to prepare for a disaster and what to do if a
disaster occurs. Contact your local Red Cross chapter for
specific information about how to stay safe in a tornado,
earthquake, fire, flood, hurricane or other hazard.
Emergency
Management Guide for Business & Industry
This document is hosted on
FEMA's Web
site. Also available as a
PDF
file (2,290 Kbytes)
Section 1: Four
Steps in the Planning Process
Section 2:
Emergency Management Considerations
Section 3:
Hazard-Specific Information
Section 4:
Information Sources
Another source of useful
information is Open for Business, a booklet developed
by the Institute for Business
and Home Safety and the Small Business Administration.
Need More Info?
If you need more info
regarding our corporate partnerships, please
CONTACT
US for more information about how a partnership
between your organization and the American Red Cross of
Mower
County can be beneficial!
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