CHICAGO — With a plan in place, an unfortunate event can be an inconvenience. But if there’s no plan, that same event can turn into a business-ending disaster.
Even major incidents such as fires are survivable for a company if there’s a plan in place that allows business owners to get back up on their feet. Simply knowing what the next step is — or even the first step — is a great help in getting the wheels to recovery moving.
In Part 1 of this article, we examined preparing for the worst, ensuring insurance coverage, and making a disaster recovery plan. Let’s conclude:
WHO TO CALL AND WHO MAKES THE CALL
When disaster strikes, everyone in the business should know their roles, stresses Kermit Engh, who owns Fashion Cleaners in Omaha, Nebraska, and is a managing partner in a consulting firm.
“The first step is to pull your plan off the shelf, open it up, and go step by step,” he says. “‘Here’s what we’re going to do first, here’s what we’re going to do next,’ and so on. … And then you get to work. You get on the phone and start prioritizing who you’ll be notifying first. There’s no hesitation. This is the time when leadership cannot panic.”
This not only includes contacting insurance companies but also outlining who will contact suppliers and customers.
“When it comes to suppliers, you’d rather have a supplier work with you than work against you,” Engh says, “so letting them know right out of the gate that you’ve got a problem will provide them the opportunity to work with you. If you just ignore them, pretty soon, they’re going to ignore you.”
Having cloud-stored contacts will save lots of time and energy if you need to contact customers.
LESSEN THE CHANCE OF PREVENTABLE DISASTERS
While weather-related catastrophes are difficult to protect against — no amount of planning can deflect a tornado — owners and managers can take steps to lessen the chance of preventable disasters, says Wayne Wudyka, CEO of The Huntington Company, which owns several drycleaning-related businesses.
“Have normal maintenance procedures in your plant,” he says. “There are the obvious things, like dryer vents needing to be cleaned out daily. On/off switches on your [equipment] need to be checked. You leave an iron on sitting in a cradle overnight, that’s a problem.”
Wudyka suggests developing checklists that make standard preventative maintenance easier to follow, because “a lot of times, your issues are going to be just a lack of maintenance.”
Overloaded electrical service panels can also be a source of problems, he warns: “If you … add a couple of washers and you don’t upgrade your panel, you can spark your panel up. A lot of cleaners will put a new washer or dryer in and just hope. Don’t assume anything.”
Lint buildup inside the building can also be a fire flashpoint.
“I’ve seen a lot of fires happen as a result of lint on rafters and suspended light fixtures,” he says. “Lint builds up over time, and boom, a fire can just take off immediately.”
For businesses that have delivery vans, taking a simple step can save a building, and potentially lives, in the event of a fire.
“If you store vehicles inside your building,” Wudyka says, “leave the keys in the van. If you have a fire, the fire department will need to get the van out of there — if not, now you’ve got a fuel fire. They can’t be finding keys when it’s mayhem.”
REVIEW THE PLAN
Engh believes disaster plans should be living documents because as your business evolves, so should your recovery strategy.
“I would suggest (reviewing) at a minimum once a year, because over a year’s period of time, things do change,” he says. “Your management structure may change, your market may change, and you need to stay on top of it. Don’t be in a position where you pull that plan off the shelf and it’s got an inch of dust on top of it because you haven’t looked at it. I would at least have the owner … look at it, even if it’s just a 15-minute review, every six months.”
“Once a year, at least,” Wudyka agrees. “Reconstruction is a lot more expensive now than it’s ever been — I don’t care what you’re building. So annually, at a minimum, you should sit down with your (insurance) agent, go through your policy and shop it. Get educated on what’s covered and what isn’t, especially in today’s market.”
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
