Enterprise Risk Management Business Continuity Disaster Recovery COOP Crisis Management John Glenn CRP MBCI
Business Continuity/Enterprise Risk ManagementOne of many parts to a comprehensive planCommunications, before and after
John Glenn, CRP
Communications, within the Business Continuity/COOP framework, is a broad topic area. It starts off with person-to-person, often face-to-face, communications. It often ends the same way. In between, that's where the fun begins.
In the beginningWe use face-to-face communications during plan development, from the proposal stage through project plan and statement of work. We use technology to create questionnaires to gather data from our "clients" - in this case, "clients" are the functional unit managers and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) we depend upon to provide information for the plan. We use face-to-face and technology to capture the managers' and SMEs' input - white boards that can make photocopies of what was written on them are wonderful; but the key to capturing the data is the amanuensis who knows the organization and all its players. We use technology - computers and email most often - to move information back and forth between planner and managers and SMEs and between planner and Business Continuity sponsor. All that is routine.
Preventive communicationsOnce the plan is developed - it never is "complete" - communication is necessary to exercise, critique, and improve responses. That requires "inter-modal communication," or in better terms, use of multiple means of communication. Paper for some, bits and bytes across a tube for others - in all events, the written word - to document what is expected of responders. By the way, in this scrivener's world, "responders" applies across the enterprise: business units and support functions; a "minimum level of service" must be maintained by the profit centers else why bother to restore profit center resources? Talk during exercises, and more written words to record the "what we can do better" post-exercise critique. All the above is Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for most planners.
Before declaring an emergency
One relatively new technology in which every organization should invest is a "Public Alert Radio." Public Alert Radio is the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) radio transmitting service on steroids. What makes the Public Alert Radio different is that unlike the standard NOAA weather broadcast, Public Alert Radios also carry a multitude of emergency notices. The current list includes:
The US Federal government thinks the radios are so valuable that it is assuring that all schools in the United States have at least one (http://public-alert-radio.nws.noaa.gov/faq.htm)
The first feature is called S.A.M.E. SAME stands for Specific Area Message Encoding; translated, users can "tune out" information for geographic areas beyond their concern. The radios' typically can receive signals from transmitters 40 to 50 miles away. The distance is dependent on a number of variables. A listener in, say Orlando FL, might not be interested in a tsunami warning for Florida's Space Coast (Mims south to Eau Gallie) or a nuclear power plant alert from the Turkey Creek facility on the State's west coast . . . depending, of course, on prevailing winds. The other out-of-the-box feature is the ability to turn off audible alerts for specific risks. One organization might not be interested in a HazMat incident across town, but would want to know about a law enforcement warning. Many of the radios, particularly the desktop sets, include displays to show text alerts and memory to store several messages. There are desktop radios with connections for external devices such as strobes, sirens, supplemental antennas, and more. There are handheld units, most seem to come with charging stands. There also are some fancy "weather stations" with all manner of fun features and functions. For most devices, the price is right; they range from less than US$40 to about US$100. The fully-featured units can cost more than US$200. There are two Web sites worth visiting for more information on Public Alert Radios, their functions and capabilities:
Getting out the wordDuring and after the disaster event communication with responders is critical. The standard modes of contact, landline and mobile phones, may be useless. Aerial wires strung from pole-to-pole may be broken; underground wires may be wet. Cell towers may be blown over or simply overloaded. Text messaging via Blackberrys? There was a time when Blackberrys were new and there were relatively few users. Today, the device is increasingly popular so an overload similar to cellular may occur. Plus, as Blackberry users already discovered, there is a "single point of failure" which recently rendered some Blackberry features useless. There are options. Probably the easiest to use option is two-way radio. One of the most common Business Continuity and Emergency Management radios the General Mobile Radio Services (GRMS) device. GRMS units have ranges of up to 26 miles (depending on a number of factors) and are available from a number of sources. These multi-channel receiver/transmitters require that users be licensed in the U.S. by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Licensing is relatively easy and can be accomplished online. The license form is two pages of "fill in the blanks" and the FCC conveniently provides instructions at http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form605/605.pdf.
GMRS also can be used with "real" relay equipment. A relay device, installed at the organization's facility, particularly in an optimum location, could allow people at near-maximum range on all sides to communicate with one another. Problem: Even with multiple channel (frequency) selection, channels may become overloaded in some communities.
There is a caveat with the GMRS devices; FCC prohibits their use near the Canadian border. The next option is the old stand-by, "CB" with Single Sideband (SSB). The Citizens Band (CB) SSB units can provide 40 channels and are available in desktop, mobile, and handheld configurations. Maximum legal power (in the U.S.) is 4 Watts. Next up the scale are Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radios. Like the GMRS, an FCC license is required. Prices climb for these units (compared to GMRS and CB devices), but there are a number of advantages including less traffic and handheld devices which meet military ruggedness specifications. Finally, there are "Sat Phones," phones which bounce voice and data off satellites. These phones, while expensive to own and use, can function anywhere a signal can be sent to/from an orbiting telecom sphere. They can be used for both voice and data transmission. Unlike two-way radios, satellite phones don't require an FCC license for the individual user. Like cellular walkie-talkies, sat phones can fail at a number of points beyond the user's control. A detailed look at satellite communications as a Business Continuity and Emergency Management tool is available from GVF and Futron Corporation at http://www.futron.com/pdf/resource_center/white_papers/Futron-GVF-DisasterComm.pdf. The document promotes the association rather than individual sat com providers. GVF (http://www.gvf.org/gvf/about/index.cfm) bills itself as "the Global VSAT Forum is an association of key companies involved in the business of delivering advanced digital fixed satellite systems and services to consumers, and commercial and government enterprises worldwide."
Bottom lineThe bottom line for Business Continuity and Emergency Management communications during and after the event is equipping personnel with multiple options and giving them time to learn how to use them to their best advantage.
John Glenn, MBCI, has been helping organizations of all types avoid or mitigate risks to their operations since 1994. Comments about this article, or others at http://JohnGlennMBCI.com/ may be sent to Planner @ JohnGlennMBCI. com.
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Most of the Public Alert Radios on the market today include two desirable features as standard.
As with all two-way radio equipment, the devices can be used in a relay arrangement, like a call tree. "A" is at the organization facility; "A" contacts "B" who is 15 miles away. "B" in turn contacts "C" who is 30 miles from the organization's facility but only 15 miles from "B."