Disaster and Recovery Planning for. Manufacturing ... expensive capital equipment, a business ... Minimizing the loss of vital data ... Other best practices include.
D is a s te r a n d R e c o v e r y P la n n in g f o r M a n u fa c tu r in g O p e r a tio n s Editor’s Note: This article is taken from the Manufacturing Industry Group meeting held Sept. 14, 2014, in conjunction with IAM C ’s Quebec City Professional Forum. The session was sponsored by Team California.
brainstorming about different kinds of disasters, their possible effects on operations, and the actions to take under those hypothetical scenarios. From those
Overview
For manufacturers, particularly of expensive capital equipment, a business continuity plan is a must. It is the result of intensive brainstorming and consensus forging among senior leaders.
recovery plans should have stored for them “disaster packs” of emergency provisions including satellite phones (in case conventional telecommunications systems are down): one pack at their homes, one at each of the firm’s command centers, and one at a hotel. • Build redundancies into manufacturing processes and supply chains. In the event that some of your usual facilities or suppliers are rendered inoperative, you want to have ways to resume operations without these particular resources.
Key Takeaw ays
Business continuity planning helps organizations recover faster from disasters. Business continuity plans help companies restore mission-critical functions after disasters that make normal business impossible. Some of the key objectives of business continuity planning include: • Safeguarding human life. • Minimizing confusion during an emergency (e.g., over who is responsible for doing what). • Prioritizing facilities, functions, and processes; determining what resources each would need to return to normal operations. • Minimizing the loss of vital data and records.
The process involves senior leaders forging consensus on what is most critical to the business. Business continuity plans start with clear understanding of what is most critical to the business, i.e. which functions, facilities, and resources most need to be safeguarded and which processes need to be restored first. These decisions must be made by senior leaders; the heads of each functional area need to take the time, often involving laborious work, to forge consensus on these tough but critical decisions. After the prioritizing is done comes
R a y m o n d O c a s io o f G u lf s t r e a m m o d e r a t e d t h e M a n u f a c t u r in g In d u s try G ro u p m e e tin g a t th e Q u e b e c C it y P r o f e s s io n a l F o r u m .
discussions, a plan is gradually built and continually revisited and refined.
Other best practices include figuring out what procedures to implement under disaster scenarios. • Make sure decisions are data-based. Getting the right information to make the critical prioritization decisions is hugely important. • Figure out what new processes, procedures, and policies you may need under various disaster scenarios. For example, how would you safely shut down the systems of a building you had to evacuate? How long would you pay employees who were unable to return to work? How about if you couldn’t reach them physically via roads? • Set up an emergency command center. O r establish several, powered by generators and outfitted with comprehensive IT systems.
Suggested Action: Set up emergency command centers. • Have one point person in charge of execution of the business continuity plan. • Create ",disaster packs”for key personnel. Senior leaders and those responsible for executing business
Suggested Action: Build redundancies into manufacturing processes and supply chains. • Create plans for all locations company-wide. Tailor business continuity plans to the most likely disasters for locations, considering geopolitical risks, climate, the potential for social unrest, etc. • Involve vendors and suppliers in business continuity planning. Make them aware of how your plan may affect them, and learn what they would do to meet the demands of your business in the event of a disaster. • Maintain good partnerships with local electric power, transportation, police, and civic authorities. Involve them in your business contingency planning.
Suggested Action: Test business continuity plans via disaster scenario simulations. • Use drills to train employees on what to do and expect under emergency conditions. Incorporate learnings from these exercises into plan improvements. • Continually develop and improve plans. There are so many potential disasters that could affect operations in various ways that no business continuity plan is ever complete. Keep working to flesh it out further to address more scenarios and become even more prepared.
SltE
SELECTION
JULY 2015
33
Copyright of Site Selection is the property of Conway Data, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
