Prep For Recovery Diverting Doomsday
Key: Emergency Planning
Author 1: Barbara L. Barnes
Prep For Recovery Diverting Doomsday
Highlights of a TRSA publication aimed at helping laundry operators carry on after a disaster
For the unprepared business, a fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane/tornado, data theft, or financial frauds threaten corporate doomsday. Preparing for disaster can mean the difference between business life and death. Still, many laundry operators shy away from disaster-response planning. Why? Some operators view disaster planning in the same light as drafting their legal will—fearing the plan brings on the event or in hopes to avoid it. Other operators just do not know where to start. Preparedness means more than purchasing insurance. TRSA’s recent publication, Recommended Professional Practices for Disaster Planning, eliminates the second excuse for not planning. This white-paper-style booklet is a highly readable and actionable guide to this potentially daunting task.
The booklet succinctly lays out eight professional practices common in successful disaster responses. For each practice author Lucien Canton, CEM (Certified Emergency Manager), explains the practice’s concept. Next, Canton lists several ways to apply the practice. The common-sense implementations demonstrate the need to think on several levels. The process reveals one’s tendency to assume the availability of systems often lost in a crisis. Canton wraps up each practice with several real-life examples from TRSA members. The booklet concludes with a list of resources, a suggested written plan layout, and a crisis-preparedness assessment checklist. The following discussion highlights the publication’s key points that lead to successful disaster planning.
Professional Practice 1
Use a structured planning process that builds on daily operations
Disaster planning is a complex process that requires much thought. Disaster planning requires cohesive organizational efforts and ongoing improvement.
Implementation:
- Identify a planning team.
- Determine likely disaster events.
- Consider the disaster’s impact on customer’s service requests.
- Build relationships with organizations that provide information and assistance during a disaster. Get contact information.
- Review standards and requirements, such as OSHA (29CFR1910) and NFPA 1600 Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs.
- Annually review the accuracy of insurance coverage. Update as needed.
- Ensure that your accounting system tracks disaster-related expenses and lost revenue.
- Document a plan with escalating impact levels for flexibility.
Example:
New England Linen Supply Co. Inc., Pawtucket, RI, developed a risk-management program by asking company managers to identify exposures under their personal control, should their facility burn to the ground. Managers then recommended ways to limit liabilities.
Professional Practice 2
Identify and anticipate potential risks
Businesses can anticipate if not predict most disasters. Some disasters occur more commonly in some locales. (For example, earthquakes occur more frequently in California than in Ohio.) Such anticipation can direct planning activities.
Implementation:
- Conduct a hazard-vulnerability analysis.
- Identify how to minimize hazard impact.
Example:
Unitex, Elmfsord, NY, in anticipation of disrupted transportation and delivery due to Superstorm Sandy, had their textile suppliers deliver greater-than-standard order quantities. Unitex then could increase customer inventories.
Professional Practice 3
Ensure that business processes continue to operate
A common disaster-plan error focuses solely on employee safety and restoration of customer services. Plans need to ensure the continued administrative support required to keep the company profitable.
Implementation:
- Identify critical processes needed to operate. Examples include payroll, scheduling, customer billing and route scheduling.
- Identify primary and trained backup personnel required to perform the critical processes.
- Identify the hardware systems required to maintain the critical processes (e.g. computers and phones) and provide backup. The backup should include off-site storage of critical databases and corporate documents.
- Ensure adequate financial reserves to cover operating expenses for several weeks. Customers may extend payment periods during area-wide disasters.
Example:
General Linen Service, Somersworth, NH, now uses a dedicated, portable generator to back up their phone and computer systems that store operationally necessary customer and employee information. During the 2006 Mother’s Day Flood, these systems were inoperative during the multiday power outage.
Professional Practice 4
Provide for employee safety and welfare
Successful disaster operation depends on the support and creativity of employees. Employee morale depends on the consideration shown them before, during, and after the event. Family concerns may prevent employees from reporting for work or cause them to leave.
Implementation:
- Plan the evacuation and safe-location reporting of staff—both during and after operating hours.
- Train staff on emergency plans, including basic first aid, fire suppression and evacuation procedures.
- Release nonessential employees as early as possible prior to an anticipated event.
- Have a plan for contacting employees when standard methods fail.
- Provide support for employees sheltering in place and/or relocating staff to other facilities.
- Address employee concerns regarding layoffs and paychecks.
- Consider employee concerns for their family’s needs.
Example:
The policy of Pilgrim Mat Services, Tucker, GA, provides employees adequate time to return home prior to major storms to care for families.
Professional Practice 5
Develop strategies for dealing with potential operational problems
Sound emergency plans require the ability to implement designated strategies during/after a disaster. Implementation may depend on predisaster preparations.
Implementation:
- Plan for utility service interruption (e.g., electrical, water, communications).
- Plan for supply chain disruptions.
- Plan for transportation disruptions.
- Consider possible changes in customer needs and priorities during an areawide disaster.
- Have standby agreements with other laundries (rental and/or OPL).
- Consider security needs to protect generators, fuel, damaged facilities and inventory.
Example:
Up To Date Laundry Inc., Baltimore, has an arrangement with a textile supplier for no-cost warehouse space in exchange for access to the supplies when needed. Due to this system, when super storm Sandy approached in October 2012, Up To Date could increase customer inventory and operate a mobile linen room.
Professional Practice 6
Implement emergency plans as early as possible
Effective response to disasters requires rapid situation assessment, selection of the appropriate response from a range of contingency plans, and the ability to marshal resources to implement the plans.
Implementation:
- Monitor developing situations.
- Assemble the crisis team.
- Respond to immediate safety issues.
- Assess actual and potential impact to staff, the physical facility, the surrounding area, supplier deliveries, and customer needs.
- Plan for customer support.
- Plan for continuing operations.
- Plan for long-range recovery and reconstruction.
Example:
After Hurricane Wilma in 2005, World Emblem International Inc. (WEI), Miami, powered operations with a backup diesel generator. Unfortunately, the contracted diesel fuel supplier couldn’t meet their obligations to WEI. A WEI employee drove 14 hours to pick up a 1,000-gallon reserve fuel tank to power the generator.
Professional Practice 7
Maintain effective crisis communications
Providing quick and accurate information—both to employees and customers—helps quash rumors. Rumors can reduce employee willingness to work and customer confidence in the business. Effective communication manages customer and employee expectations.
Implementation:
- Designate a single company spokesperson to serve as a media contact. Devise an employee policy for media contacts and social media use.
- Maintain updated customer, vendor, and employee contact rosters available during power outages.
- Maintain contact with customers and employees throughout the disaster.
- Develop backup communications.
Example:
Within two days of a plant explosion, Topper Linen and Uniform Rental Services, Toronto, contacted 1,300 customers to assure them that customer service would continue. Topper’s communication system also immediately corrected some inaccurate information released to the media.
Professional Practice 8
Begin planning immediately for business recovery
Disaster responses buy time to deal with the long-term impact of the incident. Focus on the ultimate goal of returning the business to full operation.
Implementation:
- Devise immediate, short- and long-term actions needed to restore full operations.
- Assess damage to the facility, equipment, local infrastructure, vendors, customer base and labor pool to determine needed operational changes.
Example:
After Hurricane Katrina, Associated Hospital, New Orleans, outsourced its work to Gulf Coast Laundry Services Inc. while Associated rebuilt its devastated plant. Gulf Coast had reduced its workload temporarily due to the storm-related closure of hotel and restaurant customers. Both firms continued operating while the local economy and physical plant recovered.
Appendixes in Recommended Professional Practices for Disaster Planning provide additional suggestions. The resources list presents links to preparedness standards and government/organization programs. The list presents links to hazard information on earthquakes, health issues, road closures, weather-related emergencies and wildfires.
A second appendix lays out written disaster-plan elements. Large binders of plans are relatively useless. Checklists and contact directories prove essential to plan implementation.
The final appendix provides a checkpoint list of 32 useful questions to assess business preparedness. Figure 1 highlights key points from that list.
Every disaster scenario is unique. Successful responses depend on preparedness plus creativity and flexibility. Developing a disaster plan can’t eliminate life’s calamities. However, exploring and implementing the many ideas in TRSA’s disaster-planning publication can hasten and simplify the recovery process.
The old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is definitely applicable when it comes to disaster planning/response.
Recommended Professional Practices for Disaster Planning is available through the TRSA Store; go to bit.ly/Safemanual.
Barbara L. Barnes is a consultant in private practice, specializing in washroom chemistry, troubleshooting, training, consulting, and writing about laundry applications. She is based in Cincinnati. Contact her at ldrybarnes@gmail.com.
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