Disaster Preparedness – TRSA Can Help You Survive

Posted October 13, 2017 at 5:35 pm



In the past two months, the United States has experienced three major hurricanes, Harvey, Irma and Maria, that together have racked up more than $300 billion in damage and claimed nearly 200 lives. Throw in this month’s California wildfires, and we’re looking at (so far) another $65 billion or so in damage and at least 31 deaths.  While relatively rare, natural disasters like these can and do happen almost anywhere. If you’re not prepared, your company is at risk. Fortunately, TRSA can help.

Click here to access a booklet that TRSA prepared with a crisis-response expert on recommended professional practices for disaster planning. This publication offers laundry operators a guide to developing tactics associated with successful disaster-response efforts. Topics include planning, risk identification, operational issues, emergency plan implementation timing, crisis communications, business-recovery planning and more. The booklet also includes numerous examples of how linen, uniform and facility services companies have applied these principles to deal with real-world disasters.

In addition, TRSA has held two seminars in the past year alone that dealt with in-depth with disaster-planning issues. Last year’s Production Summit and Plant Tours program on Oct. 25-26 in New Orleans, featured a disaster-scenario presentation by DCMC Partners in which attendees broke up into groups and worked through an imaginary disaster scenario led by a team of facilitators. Questions such as “How would you deal with customers? How would you keep employees safe? What would you do to protect your plant and equipment? How would you deal with media inquiries?” and similar questions were explored at length in small and large-group discussions. DCMC Partners ran a similar program at TRSA’s Executive Management Institute (EMI) in August.

Other programs at the October 2016 Summit included a panel of laundry and supplier executives who described how they responded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Consultants J.R. Ryan and Donald Maida also gave an overview on whole range of disaster-planning issues, including workplace violence, data breaches, chemical spills and more. Click on the links below for details.

Given the number of disasters operators have faced in 2017, it’s a safe bet that TRSA will continue to offer additional programs and publications like the ones described above to help operators prepare for a disaster like Hurricane Irma – and survive. Contact TRSA’s Manager of Education Kristin Mudd at kmudd@trsa.org for information on upcoming programs.

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