Protect your business against unforeseen disruption

 

All businesses are at risk from unforeseen disruptions caused by a range of natural and man made disasters, from workmen destroying power cables to major fires, floods or natural disasters.  Businesses without the Continuity Management processes are likely to have to cope with overwhelming workloads and are less likely to survive. Continuity Management (also known as contingency planning) is a straightforward process that every business should adopt to protect themselves against the unforeseen.  The objective is to identify hazards that may affect critical functions or activities and ensure that these can be reduced or responded to effectively.

The booklet enclosed with ‘The Magazine’ will explain this process in more depth, but, in brief, businesses should consider:

• How likely is each risk to happen?
• What impact will each risk have on the business?
• What factors will reduce the likelihood of that risk occurring, reduce the effect of that risk or mitigate the risk entirely?

Disruptions and disasters can’t be foreseen.  What should you do if your warehouse gets struck by lightening?  What happens if your offices get flooded in a freak storm? 

A Business Continuity Management Plan will help you to identify not only the risks (no matter how likely or unlikely they might seem) but also the chain of responsibility that will need to be invoked to deal with that risk.  In the same way that many large businesses have fire officers who lead the evacuations, businesses will need to identify people to carry out specific functions in the case of a disaster.

Arun District Council is the local statutory body tasked with disseminating information on all aspects of continuity planning. 

For further information, consult the enclosed booklet or speak to the Council’s Emergency Planning Officer on 01903 215100.