Pre-Disaster Planning – Are You Prepared?

It is no secret that almost 50% of businesses that sustain a major disaster never fully recover. Believe it or not, most are out of business within two years! Being prepared for a disaster can, and does, make a difference in the final outcome. Without proper preparation, businesses may find themselves facing substantial damage costs or even the loss of life. Whether due to a lack of awareness, or a disregard for the possibility of disaster, some businesses choose to rely on emergency services alone when disaster strikes. The idea that “it won’t happen to me”, is never a good idea for planning.

Considerations for Planning

Preparation means different things to different businesses in different locations. In particular, factors that you will need to consider include:

• Business location, and the prevalence of certain forms of weather or other natural disasters. There are very localized concerns, such as bridges, neighboring buildings, and the proximity to industrial facilities which should be taken into account in the event of a disaster.
• The resources which are available in the location of each business. This includes how far or a  business is to emergency services. I also includes whether or not local water sources are available. For example, you need to know how to respond to a chemical spill, which includes the contacting of proper local authorities and agencies.
• The type of business that you’re running. Do you have certain hazardous chemicals in site or in nearby storage will affect your disaster planning? How many employees do you have? How many floors are in your building? Does the general public use your building? These and others are questions that need to be planned for ahead of time to create an emergency plan.

Comprehensive Understanding is Key

When it comes to pre-disaster planning, the more that you know about your business, the better. Knowing potential hazards due to risk and vulnerability assessment, for example, can help you to properly plan for an emergency. Likewise, your planning can actually help you to further prevent expensive damage, and keep your employees safe at the same time. Having a professional inspection of your building is the best way to form a more all-inclusive view of the property. A professional assessment will  also assist in creating the proper plan for emergency exit, containment, and more. Another part of comprehensive understanding will be reaching out to local, state, and federal resources that can assist with emergency training and plan preparation. Information obtained from them will ensure businesses are properly informed of potential risks and solutions. These programs and agencies differ from area to area, but are typically connected with local governments. These agencies can also provide training materials and literature that most will find to be valuable. Finally, it is important that all employees are properly prepared. Even the best plan will go to waste if those involved in executing it are unaware of the steps that they should take. The more that the plan is understood, the more everyone will be able to do to insure everything is properly carried out. This includes knowledge of emergency exit plans, procedures and protocols involved in emergencies involving hazardous materials. With step by step protocol even for employees not directly involved in their handling will better be able to respond.

Disasters never happen under ideal circumstances, but pre-disaster planning ensures everyone the best chance of mitigating much of the damage if they do.

A Pre-Disaster Plan or Priority Response Emergency Plan (PREP) offered by a Thompson Building Associates is vital to reducing the likelihood that your business is one of those in the 50% Out Of Business statistics!

The Priority Response Emergency Plan is provided to you at no charge. It provides you and your team ongoing pre-disaster support as needed. Additionally, should you ever experience an emergency, it is in place and ready to be implemented. To schedule an appointment to learn more about Exclusive Pre-Disaster Preparedness, give us a call at 614-863-9650.