Contingency Planning

This report aims to show readers that disasters can come in many forms at any time but, nevertheless, it is possible for an organization to make itself more resilient to the event.

How much preparation is made depends on factors such as the nature of the organization, the cost of downtime and the estimated likelihood of any disaster.

The first step any organization can take is to examine its emergency procedures in the event of the fire alarm being activated to ensure that apart from the prime requirement to save lives of all personnel, they also can lead on to minimizing the direct effects of a disaster and then, if necessary, to setting up a responsible group to oversee and be a focal point for recovery of the organization.

Recovery of an organization is specific to its type, the financial climate at the time and the extent of the damage.

It is not dealt within this report except to outline some aspects.

The second step would be to estimate how vulnerable the organization is to any disaster in terms of loss of personnel, loss of information and the loss of premises and their contents.

It would also examine back-up procedures as to their efficacy. Finally, an estimate could be made of the likelihood of any disaster occurring, and these procedures made into an annual event to keep their currency.

It must be stressed that any contingency plan should be maintained and possibly even rehearsed to avoid it being forgotten.

Preparation for disaster can produce an organization which is intrinsically less vulnerable to disaster than it was before.

It may also produce a more efficient organization benefiting from a fresh examination of all its operations.