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As talks aimed at settling the Grangemouth dispute fail and northern Britain faces strike-induced fuel shortages, Andrew Sinclair provides some contingency planning advice.
As the scene in Scotland seems to be set for another round of petrol and diesel shortages due to the industrial dispute within INEOS Grangemouth refinery it is reasonable and timely to review a list of contingency actions that all affected by this potential shortage could take.
Step one - Don’t panic
This is an industrial dispute, not a long term loss of supply capability. It’s not yet entirely certain that the strike will happen, although time is running out for a resolution to the dispute. INEOS’s latest statement confirms that it plans to close the entire facility on Saturday evening (26th April) in preparation for the industrial action. However, the company has agreed with the Unite union that secure fuel for emergency services will continue to be supplied.
Given the situation, it is wise to be prepared; which is the step now being taken by most of the public sector in Scotland.
Step two - Use less fuel
If a shortage does develop it makes sense to use less fuel if you can. There are a number of simple measures any driver can take which can result in significant fuel savings. For example, make sure vehicle tyres are properly inflated. If they’re not, you’ll be using more fuel than you need to. Plan ahead. If you need to travel to meetings or work, investigate if you can alter the timings to avoid the rush hours. Reduce your speed to conserve fuel – allow more times for journeys to ensure you can do this.
Step three – Investigate alternatives to travelling
For example : audioconferencing, videoconferencing, Webex web meetings, instant messaging collaboration tools, etc. If you haven’t got such tools ask if others in your neighbourhood do and whether you could hire from them rather than travel. Most local authorities have videoconferencing capabilities which they may be willing to allow local businesses to use (of course in this situation they could be making more use of such facilities themselves thus not having any spare capacity). Talk with your IT department or service provider about the collaboration tools now available on-line.
Step four - Determine which of your staff are critical and ask them to consider car sharing, assuming this is practical for them
If the shortage does begin to bite, it may be advantageous to operate a mini-bus to ensure that critical staff can get to and from work. Ensure that all public transport options have been considered.
Step five – Check if you have the capability for staff to work from home
Again, confirm this with your IT departments. If not from home, can any of your staff work from an alternative office, closer to their home than their normal place of work?
Step six – Confirm with your suppliers the steps they are taking
If your business is dependent on a regular supply of materials which normally come by road, ask your suppliers what steps they are taking to ensure they can continue to deliver. Look at your supply chain and assess if you could forward order now, to save problems later. Can you find and alternative source of materials locally? To reverse this, if your business depends on you supplying others, could you forward deliver any materials in order to protect both you and your customers?
If you consider the above six steps now, you may be able to head off problems later on.
Author: Andrew Sinclair is a director of Glen Abbot, the UK-based business continuity consultancy. He can be contacted on 01738 580580 or by email on andrew.sinclair@glenabbot.co.uk
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•Date: 24th April 2008• Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: Transport and logistics
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