Once these critical needs have been identified, you should order them by importance even if you need at least two of these for your business to operate at all. The final order that you have assigned will determine your order of approach for disaster prevention/security/back up and how long you can afford to delay any actions for each one.
Recovery Strategies
This will form the main content of the plan and should be covered with great detail which will come from extensive research. This is where you should determine strategies to allow your business to continue operating when disaster strikes. You should consider every aspect of your business including the permanent/temporary loss of premises, software, hardware, communications, machinery, documents and vital information.
For example, if you are a Butcher and you encounter a disaster that prevents you from using the premises for a long period of time, do you have an alternative location that you can immediately use? Where could you get adequate freezer storage units so that you can continue trading? How long would delivery take? How much would it cost? Where would you get the finance. The premises would also have to meet health, safety and hygiene standards. There would be a lot more issues to consider but these are just some examples so that you get the idea.
Another example may be that you are an e-commerce business and in the event of a power cut, you could have a computer on a separate power source (e.g. back up generator) so that you can continue providing your service. Or, have a reciprocal arrangement with a local business, that you know reasonably well, to relocate immediately.
When you determine recovery strategies, you need to consider the costs of implementing them. Be realistic to what you can afford and therefore don’t suggest anything that stretches your budget. But do not totally ignore unaffordable expenses: have a ‘best we can do’ option.
Computers: Data and Documentation Back-up
As a strategy to ensure that the data and documentation you have is made safe from a disaster, you should assign a regular period for making back-ups. If information is stored on a computer, you can copy the work onto discs, or re-writable CD’s (backing up your data files on to a CD is now a simple daily task with a probable cost of 60p a day). You should also make a copy of important information that is on paper by photo-copying or transferring it onto computer discs. You should keep your copies at separate locations because you never know when disaster could happen at either location losing all data and documents in the process.
The next task you should do is write an inventory which will also have a copy kept off-site. This will include all the machinery and equipment in your business specifying brand, model, and any other information connected to recovery. You should then list the contact details of the vendors that can provide such equipment/machinery. Further, you should record all important telephone numbers of those people that can help you in case of emergency.
Floor Plans
You should include blue-prints in the plan of the different floors or areas of your business premises to locate all safety equipment and facilities. This will include the location of fire extinguishers, fire exits, emergency power-off buttons, water sprinkler shut-off valves, and so on. By having everyone aware of their surroundings and the location of key fire/damage equipment, the amount of the disaster could be limited and therefore equipment and facilities can be saved by controlling the amount of damage being made.
Article Index
1
Introduction2
Disaster prevention
3 Recovery strategies
4
Benefits of preparing
