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UPDATED WITH CONTINUITY CENTRAL USERS'
COMMENTS. GO THERE
Wednesday 4th June was the first day since
the start of the SARS epidemic when no deaths were reported and
The World Health Organisation has now stated that SARS is in decline
and under control. The world seems to have got away relatively lightly,
but unless the lessons from the SARS outbreak are learned, the next
new epidemic could be much worse.
SARS gave a graphic display of the effects
that an epidemic outbreak can have on business continuity. Businesses
must make appropriate plans now to deal with future disease risks,
because the threat is real:
The highest threat is from a global influenza
outbreak. As of 4th June, SARS had seen a cumulative total of 8,402
probable cases with 772 deaths reported from 29 countries. In an
influenza pandemic the number of cases could run into tens of millions
and the deaths into millions. The disruption to businesses caused
by such an outbreak would be many many times that of SARS.
The threat of a deliberate terrorist induced
epidemic is also real. Iraq’s missing biological weapons are
still missing and the technology needed to produce weapons grade
biological agents is widely available. It is probably not a matter
of ‘if’ but of ‘when’ such an attack will
take place.
Businesses must learn the lessons from SARS
and then implement these lessons. Continuity Central is attempting
to facilitate this process. Below are some thoughts to start a knowledge
gathering process. We would be grateful if you would use the form
below to add your own thoughts and experiences and to comment on
the suggestions made. All submissions will be collected and published
to enable the building of a genuinely useful business continuity
resource.
INITIAL LESSONS:
Possible business continuity response measures include:
1. Gain knowledge
Research the disease in as much depth as possible so that you fully
understand the implications for your organisation and how large
a risk the disease constitutes.
2. Monitor the current situation
The World Health Organisation website and most governments provide
up-to-date information on disease outbreaks. It is important to
know when any of your business operations become at risk from nearby
outbreaks.
3. Liaise with your local health authorities
Your local health authority should have a pandemic contingency plan.
You may find it helpful to obtain a briefing on its contents. This
will help you ascertain what support your business can expect in
an outbreak and what policies the authority will operate to.
4. Contingency measures
Take measures to help reduce the risk of staff catching and spreading
the disease if infected:
* Encourage employees to avoid travelling into regions and countries
where outbreaks have taken place. Follow governmental travel advice
and warnings. Have a clear business travel plan for evacuating staff
from diseased areas.
* If any disease cases are reported in your area encourage staff
to avoid crowds. If possible encourage and facilitate home-working.
Replace face-to-face business meetings, seminars and conferences
with web-based and tele-conferencing alternatives.
* You may feel that it is appropriate to provide staff with face-masks
and alcohol wipes to help avoid cross-contamination.
* Staff should be sent home at the first sign of any symptoms. They
should be told not to return to the workplace until it is clear
that they are not infected with the disease.
Philip Bertino
BCP Manager, ANZ Bank
We invoked our BCP in Hong Kong and Singapore, as a preventive measure
- operating out of our primary and alternate sites, we were able
to ensure continuous business operations should the building and
the staff that occupied it be put into quarantine. By splitting
the staff at the two sites, we were assured of continuing business,
if a quarantine situation arose.
John Sequeira
Manager and regional BCP coordinator Japan/Asia-Pacific-Australia
It is important to ensure that there is a minimum service level
achieved to minimise the impact to the brand image. In order to
do this, the splitting of responsibilities and work load amongst
several sites may be necessary. Also those sites that do not have
cases or are not considered a risk should not be penalised simply
because of their proximity to an affected area. There should also
be strict quarantine regulations for staff who have travelled through
an affected area.
Leslie Whittet
Consultant
Loss of, or restricted access to, key people is a critical BCM issue.
Businesses must ensure that all business processes are well documented
and implement sufficient "succession planning" to facilitate
continuation of key business operations.
Karen Kemp
Sr. BC planner (Toronto)
I had calls from my previous employer regarding preparedness for
SARS. They thought a new plan would be required. I pointed out that
because they had taken the time and effort to conduct a BIA they
already had the tools to respond to SARS. Strategic separation of
staff was possible immediately because they had already identified
critical processes and critical personnel.
When will people realise the value of good business continuity planning?
Georges Cowan
Executive consultant
Always ensure that you convene the full crisis management team for
anything that touches business continuity.
Do not presume that any member of the team will not need to be involved.
One example where part of the crisis management team was convened
where it was decided between the coordinator and the public relation
manager that employees could work from home and they only had to
ask for a VPN line and a computer and the firm would install it
to ensure no reduction in productivity.
When the IT person member of the committee received the message,
he replied to the coordinator and the PR person that it would not
lift off as he would not send his staff to a potential diseased
employee: end of discussion.
If all members of the crisis management committee had been at the
meeting, this solution would not have been proposed as part of the
solution and the organisation would not have lost face.
Raymond Kelly
Senior manager
One of the things I noticed regarding
SARS in Beijing was that perception was probably much more disruptive
that reality.
We have all heard the comparisons: 145,000 car accidents in China
in the first 3 months of 2003; 23,145 deaths due to traffic accidents
in the first 3 months of 2003. However, the perception (caused by
ignorance and lack of verified information) that SARS was going
to wipe out half the country was far worse than the reality.
SMS messages spreading rumours, both malicious and benign, increased
by many thousands during the peak of the SARS epidemic. One of the
major disruptions in many places of industry was the requirement
for HR or other members of the management team to be constantly
quashing rumours and reassuring staff.
ADD YOUR THOUGHTS:
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