Business Continuity Assessment

When carrying out a Business Continuity Assessment, one of the first contingency planning tasks to be undertaken, is to prepare a comprehensive list of the potentially serious incidents that could affect the normal operations of the business.

Against each item listed the project team or manager should note a probability rating.

Each incident should also be rated for potential impact severity level.

From this information, it will become much easier to frame the plan in the context of the real needs of the organization

Risk Assessment Process

There are many potential disruptive events and the impact and probability level must be assessed to give a sound basis for progress. To assist with this process the following list of potential events has been produced:

Environmental Disasters o Tornado o Hurricane o Flood o Snowstorm o Drought o Earthquake o Electrical storms o Fire o Subsidence and Landslides o Freezing Conditions o Contamination and Environmental Hazards o Epidemic

Organised and / or Deliberate Disruption o Act of terrorism o Act of Sabotage o Act of war o Theft o Arson o Labour Disputes / Industrial Action

Loss of Utilities and Services o Electrical power failure o Loss of gas supply o Loss of water supply o Petroleum and oil shortage o Communications services breakdown o Loss of drainage / waste removal

Equipment or System Failure o Internal power failure o Air conditioning failure o Production line failure o Cooling plant failure o Equipment failure (excluding IT hardware)

Serious Information Security Incidents o Cyber crime o Loss of records or data o Disclosure of sensitive information o IT system failure

Other Emergency Situations o Workplace violence o Public transportation disruption o Neighbourhood hazard o Health and Safety Regulations o Employee morale o Mergers and acquisitions o Negative publicity o Legal problems

Although not a complete list, it does give a good idea of the wide variety of potential threats.

Developing the Plan

The plan will contain a range of milestones to move the organization from its disrupted status towards a return to normal operations.

The first important milestone is the process which deals with the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

This may involve the emergency services or other specialists who are trained to deal with extreme situations.

The next stage is to determine which critical business functions need to be resumed and in what order.

The plan will of necessity be detailed, and will identify key individuals who should be familiar with their duties under the plan. Once you have a detailed 'Business Continuity Assessment' plan the next issue is to test and maintain it........

Business Continuity Testing

Return from 'Business Continuity Assessment' to 'Home Business' page