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DISASTER PLAN (MK 307)

K44 Step for Disaster Planning

Dr. M. Ridha

4 Steps for Disaster Planning

1. Establishing Planning Team2. Analyze Capabilities and Hazards3. Developing the Plan4. Implementing the Plan

STEP #3: DEVELOPING THE PLAN

Executive Summary Emergency Management Elements Response Procedures Support Documents Resource Lists The Development Process Identifying Challenges and Prioritizing Activities Writing the Plan Establishing A Training Schedule Coordinating With Outside Agencies Maintaining Contact With Other Corporate Offices Plan Approval and Distribution

STEP #3: Cont… Executive SummaryThe executive summary gives management:• a brief overview of the plan; • the facility’s disaster/emergency

management policy; • authorities and responsibilities of key

personnel;• the types of disasters and emergencies that

could occur; • and where response operations will be

managed.

STEP #3: Cont… Emergency Management ElementsDescribes the facility’s approach to the core

elements of disaster/emergency management

• Direction and control• Communications• Life safety• Property protection• Community outreach• Recovery and restoration• Administration and logistics

STEP #3: Cont… Response ProceduresThe procedures spell out how the facility will respond to disasters and emergencies. Whenever possible, these procedures should be developed as a series of checklists that can be quickly accessed by senior management, department heads, response personnel and employees.

• Warning employees and customers• Communicating with personnel and

community responders• Conducting an evacuation and

accounting for all persons in the facility• Managing response activities• Activating and operating a disaster/

emergency operations center• Fighting fires• Shutting down operations• Protecting vital records• Restoring operations

These procedures should detail the actions that would be necessary to: 1) Assess the situation, 2) Protect employees, customers,

visitors, equipment, vital records and other assets, particularly during the first three days, and

3) Get the business back up and running.

STEP #3: Cont… Support DocumentsDocuments that could be needed in a disaster and/or emergency include:1. Emergency call lists (wallet size, if possible) of all persons on and off site

who would be involved in responding to disaster/emergency, their responsibilities and their 24-hour telephone numbers.

2. Building and site maps that indicate:

STEP #3: Cont… Resource ListsResource lists contain information that could be needed in the event of a disaster or emergency. These lists provide information that identifies major resources (i.e., equipment, supplies, services), as well as any mutual aid agreements with other companies and government agencies.

STEP #3: Cont… The Development ProcessThe development process includes: 1) identifying challenges and prioritizing activities, 2) writing the plan, 3) establishing a training schedule, and 4) coordinating activities with outside organizations.

STEP #3: Cont… Identifying Challenges and

Prioritizing Activities• To determine the specific goals and milestones that

must be achieved, a list of tasks to be performed must be developed. Additionally, the persons who will perform the tasks, as well as when they will perform them, should also be identified.

• Procedures for addressing the problem areas and resource shortfalls that were identified in the vulnerability analysis should also be developed.

STEP #3: Cont… Writing the Plan• Each member of the planning team should be

assigned a specific section of the plan to write. • Aggressive time lines with specific goals should be

predetermined. • The schedule should outline realistic time frames that

include target dates for the first draft, review, second draft, tabletop exercise, final draft, printing and distribution.

STEP #3: Cont… Establishing A Training ScheduleA specific person or department should be assigned the responsibility for developing the facility’s training schedule

• (see Step 4, Section 2, Chapter 14 for specific training activities).

STEP #3: Cont… Response ProceduresThe procedures spell out how the facility will respond to disasters and emergencies. Whenever possible, these procedures should be developed as a series of checklists that can be quickly accessed by senior management, department heads, response personnel and employees.

• Warning employees and customers• Communicating with personnel and

community responders• Conducting an evacuation and

accounting for all persons in the facility• Managing response activities• Activating and operating a disaster/

emergency operations center• Fighting fires• Shutting down operations• Protecting vital records• Restoring operations

These procedures should detail the actions that would be necessary to: 1) Assess the situation, 2) Protect employees, customers,

visitors, equipment, vital records and other assets, particularly during the first three days, and

3) Get the business back up and running.

STEP #3: Cont… Coordinating With Outside AgenciesPeriodic meetings with appropriate local government agencies and organizations should be held. While their official approval may not be required, they will likely have valuable insights and information to offer.

• Which gate or entrance responding units will use

• Where and to whom they will report

• How they will be identified• How facility personnel will

communicate with outside responders

• Who will be in charge of response activities

Determining federal, state and local requirements for disaster or emergency reporting should be incorporated into the procedures, as should determining protocols for turning control of response over to outside agencies. Some of the issues that may need to be addressed are:

STEP #3: Cont… Maintaining Contact With Other

Corporate Offices• When all of the necessary

information has been incorporated into the procedures, the initial draft of the emergency plan is ready for review and/or revision.

• The review process itself allows for identifying any areas of confusion that may need to be clarified and/or modified, prior to implementing the plan.

• It is necessary to communicate with other offices and divisions in a company to identify their disaster and emergency notification procedures;

• the conditions where mutual assistance would be necessary;

• how offices will support each other during an emergency;

• and the names, telephone/ pager numbers of key personnel.

STEP #3: Cont… Plan Approval and Distribution

• Chief executive and senior management

• Key members of the company’s emergency response organization

• Company headquarters• Community emergency response

agencies (appropriate sections)

The written approval of the entity’s chief executive precedes plan distribution. Each person who receives a copy of the approved plan should be required to sign for it and to assume responsibility for all subsequent changes. The final plan should be distributed to the company’s:

Additional copies should be made available to key company personnel who

should be instructed to keep a back-up copy at

their homes in the event that an emergency

situation should render their office copies

untenable.

Step 4 #: Implementing the Plan

Integrating the Plan Into Company Operations Conducting Training, Drills and Exercises Evaluate and Modify the Plan

Disaster/emergency plan implementation means more than simply exercising the plan during an occurrence. It means acting on recommendations made during the vulnerability analysis, integrating the plan into company operations and training employees.

STEP #4: Cont…1. Integrating the Plan Into Company

Operations can be accomplished by asking questions:1. How well does senior management support the

responsibilities outlined in the plan?2. Have disaster/emergency planning concepts been fully

incorporated into the facility’s accounting, personnel and financial procedures?

3. How can the facility’s processes for evaluating employees and defining job classifications better address disaster/emergency management responsibilities?

4. Are there opportunities for distributing disaster/emergency preparedness information through newsletters, manuals or employee mailings?

5. What kinds of safety posters or other visible reminders would be helpful?

6. Do personnel know what they should do in an emergency?

7. How can all levels of the organization be involved in evaluating and updating the plan?

• Disaster/emergency planning must become part of the corporate culture.

• Opportunities must be provided to build awareness, to educate and train personnel; to test procedures; to involve all levels of management/ departments and the community in the planning process; and to make disaster/emergency management part of what personnel do on a day-to-day basis. To determine how completely the plan has been integrated into the organization’s culture.

STEP #4: Cont…2. Conducting Training, Drills

and Exercises

The basic considerations:

Planning ConsiderationsTraining considerations should include the training and information needs of employees, contractors, visitors, managers, as well as those persons with a disaster response role identified in the plan itself. Based on a 12-month period, the training should address:

Who will be trained Who will conduct the training What specific training activities will be used When and where will each session take place How the training will be evaluated and documented

• Everybody who works at or visits the facility requires some form of training. • Periodic employee discussion sessions to review procedures, technical training in equipment

use for disaster/emergency responders, evacuation drills and full-scale exercises.

Training ActivitiesOrientation and Education SessionsTable ExerciseWalk-Through DrillFunctional DrillsEvacuation DrillsFull Scale Exercise

STEP #4: Cont…Employee Training General training for all employees should:• Individual roles and responsibilities• Information about threats, hazards and

protective actions• Notification, warning and communications

procedures• Means for locating family members in an

emergency• Disaster/emergency response procedures• Evacuation, shelter and accountability

procedures• Location and use of common emergency

equipment• Disaster/emergency shutdown procedures

• Additional training requirements may be dictated by the regulatory agency that governs a particular business, or industry.

• For example, OSHA has its own specific training mandates for facilities that have a fire brigade, hazardous materials team, rescue team, or emergency medical response team.

STEP #4: Cont…3. Evaluate and Modify the Plan

• Involvement of all levels of management in evaluating and updating the plan.

• Appropriate consideration of problem areas and resource shortfalls as identified in the vulnerability analysis.

• Relevance of training (i.e., does the training reflect the lessons learned from drills and actual events?).

• Disaster/emergency management group and response team understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities.

• Inclusion of new facility processes in the plan, as well as inclusion of any physical site changes in the plan.

A formal audit of the plan should be conducted at least once a year. Among the issues to consider in the annual audit are:

• Current records of facility assets and photos of same.

• Attainment of training objectives.• Changes in facility hazards.• Roster of names/titles/emergency

contact telephone numbers kept current.

• Incorporation of disaster/emergency management into other facility processes.

• Schedule of community agencies/ organizations briefings and

• records of their involvement in plan evaluation.

STEP #4: Cont…

Besides the annual audit, the plan should be evaluated and modified:• After each training drill or exercise• After each real disaster and/or emergency• When personnel or their responsibilities change• When the layout or design of the facility changes• When policies or procedures change