International. A study conducted by the International Association of Facility Management, IFMA, found that one in five companies does not have an emergency preparedness and business continuity plan, so it offered ten recommendations to take into account when preparing one.
The study, entitled "High Stakes Business: People, Property and Services", used data collected after the holding of various forums focused on this topic by IFMA and a survey of the organization's partners.
As mentioned above, the main finding of the study is that one in five companies (19%) did not have an updated emergency plan. This figure, the study explains, is very significant if one takes into account that the high cost of an unbudgeted emergency can be catastrophic for companies.
The report further notes that companies that do have an emergency plan "are not only able to manage the identified risks, but are also more resilient to recover from unplanned events."
Mark Sekula, president of Facility Futures Inc and a member of IFMA, said that "without the emergency plan a successful company can collapse in an instant."
Finally, the study offers ten key points that must be taken into account when preparing or updating the emergency plan.
- Define roles: it consists of determining who is responsible for the execution of the plan. It is common for the Facility Manager to be in charge of assuming that function.
- Define the critical functions: prioritize the functions in order to determine when to dedicate more resources to protect them and which to attend to first in case of failures.
- Define risks: assess vulnerabilities, especially in critical tasks.
- Calculate costs: estimate the cost of downtime, as well as the cost of preparation and planning.
- Monitor: use personnel and technology to detect disasters before they happen.
- Communicate: make sure that the communications plan during and after an emergency is adequate.
- Test: make sure that the elements included in the plan work.
- Practice: perform when possible live simulations and paper simulations.
- Adapt and adjust: plans should be organic and regularly updated based on tests or experiences.
- Advice: develop a network of strategic partners and FM professionals who can advise you.
