In addition to Disaster Recovery (DR) plans and Business Continuity (BC) plans, companies can prepare to deal with potential disruptions by creating an Emergency Management plan. Whereas DR and BC plans address significant threats that endanger business viability, Emergency Management preparation focuses on a more common type of threat that can temporarily disrupt operations, but not necessarily force re-location. Such threats include:
- Threatening person on premise
- Intruders
- Disgruntled employees/person upset with an employee
- Exposure to hazardous substances
- Personal medical emergencies
- Fire alarm/building evacuation
- Suspicious package
- Bomb threat
An Emergency Management plan provides a specific protocol for how each type of emergency situation will be addressed. This protocol encompasses:
- The procedure for each type of emergency – will reception be locked, will the building be evacuated, etc
- The contact information of everyone involved with the procedures
- The type of communication that will be used if basic communication methods are disabled – if telephone or internet is down, what becomes the default method for communicating
- Which external resources (911, police, fire department, etc) will be contacted
- How the emergency will be declared and announced – authorized individuals, alarms used, etc
- Predetermined gathering sites in the event of evacuation
Many organizations have an Emergency Management plan because these events are applicable to all types of companies. From banks to manufacturers to retailers, an emergency – like an intruder or a disgruntled employee – can occur anywhere, at any time. While Emergency Management is distinct from other types of plans it does share some commonalities and indeed can be connected in a number of ways. For example, Emergency Management plans and DR plans may:
- Be devised from the same risk and threat assessment
- May involve the same responders in similar roles
- May utilize similar or identical detection, notification, and escalation frameworks
- Share a budget
- Use the same critical systems if communications are compromised
- Be grounded in the same legal-compliance standards and guidelines.
In most cases, operating an Emergency Management plan under the same umbrella as the DR and BC plans is ideal. Resources can be shared among the plans, gaps in communication are mitigated by having the same people perform similar roles, and costs can be reduced. Most importantly, and critical for effective execution of BC and DR plans, Emergency Management plans may provide early warning signals. An event or incident may be escalated and lead to disaster declaration level necessitating the use of BC and/or IT DR measures. As with any other type of plan, the exact model of the Emergency Management plan is determined on a business-to-business basis, depending on the specific threats and preferences of stakeholders. But regardless of the differences that inform each plan, no company should function without consideration for how to handle potential emergency situations that threaten their operations.
