by Brianna Crandall — August 15, 2014—The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and RLE Technologies, facility-monitoring and leak-detection equipment providers, this week released a report on facilities management perspectives on emergency preparedness and business continuity in North America.
The High Stakes Business: People, Property and Services report, which draws on data gathered at multiple IFMA Emergency Planning and Business Continuity research forums and the IFMA 2014 Business Continuity Survey, makes a strong business case for the importance of practicing emergency preparedness/business continuity planning, and then provides a step-by-step guide to do so effectively.
“When people think of business emergency preparedness plans, they tend to imagine massive newsworthy catastrophes like hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, bombings and shootings,” said Tony Keane, president and CEO of IFMA. “These events are certainly significant in their scope, but for most organizations the bulk of business interruption risk actually comes from more mundane threats like a leaking or bursting pipe, an Internet access outage, or a power outage caused by an external event. The difference between bouncing back with minimal disruption or costly, long-term damage is often the plan that was in place long before the disaster occurred.”
The full IFMA/RLE Technologies report found that nearly one in five (19 percent) surveyed organizations did not have an up-to-date emergency preparedness/business continuity plan. This figure is only more shocking considering the catastrophically high cost that an unforeseen emergency can incur — including the possibility of total business failure. The study suggests that the 81 percent of organizations with an up-to-date plan are “not only able to handle identified risks, but they are also more resilient when recovering from unplanned events.”
The study makes a compelling case for elevating the role of the FM professional as a strategic partner as organizations and facilities gain complexity. For businesses developing or updating their emergency preparedness/business continuity plans, IFMA identifies ten areas that must be considered. An FM professional plays a significant role throughout this process, says IFMA.
- Define Roles — Determine who is responsible for the formation and execution of the plan. This is often a role assumed by a facilities management professional and/or FM team.
- Define Mission-Critical Functions — Prioritize functions to determine which ones to dedicate resources to protecting and which to address first in the case of a failure.
- Define Risks — Assess vulnerabilities, especially to mission-critical functions, and determine their likelihood.
- Calculate Costs — Estimate the cost of down-time as well as the cost of preparation and planning.
- Monitor — Utilize manpower and technology to catch disasters before they occur.
- Communicate — Make sure the company’s post-emergency communications plan is resilient.
- Test — Ensure the elements of that plan are in good working order.
- Practice — When possible, conduct live drills and tabletop exercises.
- Adapt and Adjust — A plan should be an organic thing, not something just written and filed. Make regular adjustments based on testing, practice and changing situations and priorities.
- Crowd Source — Develop a network of strategic partners and FM professionals to go to for advice when disaster strikes.
Each of these aspects is explored in much greater detail in the full report, High Stakes Business: People, Property and Services: Facility Management Perspectives on Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity in North America, which comes complete with survey results. The report is available at the IFMA Store at a price of $90 for IFMA members and $180 for nonmembers.
