Preparing for emergencies
Last Updated: 28 February, 2007
An accurate assessment of your organisation is critical, as it will provide the basis upon which all subsequent BCM policies and processes are based.
It is important to have a process in place for identifying critical functions, and identifying acceptable levels of service provision. If a declared set of aims and objectives exists, this will help identify the critical functions the BCM process should focus upon. BCM is also about understanding the inputs, infrastructure and processes that delivery of these critical functions depends on. This includes considering dependencies that support critical processes and functions (such as contractors or suppliers) - what impact would loss of these dependencies have on your business?
Potential sources of disruption to an organisation's operations are almost limitless. However, the impacts of any disruption are much fewer in number, for example: loss of critical system(s), denial of access to premises, damage to premises, loss of key staff and key resources, all of which produce similar disruption. A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is a crucial stage in implementing BCM, and helps to measure the impact of disruptions on the organisation.
Risk assessment should be conducted to identify the risks threatening the performance of critical functions in the event of an emergency. This will help organisations to focus resources in the right areas, and develop appropriate plans. Risk is a measure of the potential consequences of a contingency against the likelihood of it occurring.
You can find out more about risk assessment [External website] on UK Resilience. In addition, Local Responders publish information on local risk assessment as part of their duties under the Civil Contingencies Act [External website]. You can contact sources of regional and local advice through this website.