Welcome to Safety Watch, a newsletter that provides an update on current loss-control regulatory and technical issues.

CONTENTS

Is your disaster-recovery plan up-to-date? (cover page)

Navigating the confusing reclassification of OSHA's permit-required spaces

Winter driving dangers will soon be present

OSHA to inspect 4,400 high-hazard work sites

LINKS

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Cover story

Is your disaster-recovery plan up-to-date?

Frequently reviewing and updating your company's disaster-recovery plan is vital.

As Hurricane Katrina recently demonstrated, businesses large and small can be devastated by a disaster.

Whether a business can quickly recover often depends on if the company has a detailed, up-to-date disaster-recovery plan for top management and employees to follow.

A disaster-recovery plan (also known as a business continuity plan) maps out how an organization expects to react to catastrophic events.

A great amount of effort and time is usually paid during the initial preparation; over time, however, enthusiasm can wane, and other work priorities can consume the attention of managers.

Without attention and a means to keep the plan fresh, the disaster-recovery plan could become out of date and, perhaps the worst of all situations, untested.

Careful planning and ongoing plan practice provide better protection for workers and a competitive edge to the business.

Before a business continuity plan can be developed, a business-impact analysis should be performed to properly focus resources on potential disasters.

This involves identifying realistic risks and vulnerabilities to the business (for example, fire, weather-related disasters, civil disorder, labor disputes and terrorism).

Using the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) planning model, organizations identify actions they expect to take before, during and after an event.

Practicing elements of the plan tests how an organization will respond in the event of a real disaster.

The effectiveness of the plan through measured results should be shared with senior-level business leaders to ensure that the organization’s state of readiness is known, what failed points of the plan need to be re-evaluated and what, if any, additional funding may be required.

The plan should include not only how to respond to the initial emergency, but also how to return to “business as usual.” The plan should also identify roles and responsibilities of the emergency-management team.

Consider sending paper copies to the homes of key personnel whose job responsibilities are critical to the resumption of business.

If your business is dependent on transportation, identify what permits your organization or suppliers will need to obtain from local, county or state agencies to allow workers to drive through disaster areas.

Many state agencies restrict highway travel to emergency vehicles and vehicles that provide essential services to the infrastructure.

Identify key vendors and services required for resuming business as usual. Make sure these sources also have a disaster-recovery plan that supports and identifies your organization as a key element of their plan.

The following are key Web sites to use as resources during the planning and preparation process:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov

• United States Geologic Society Earthquakes Hazard Program, earthquake.usgs.gov

• FEMA, www.fema.gov

• National Hurricane Center, www.nhc.noaa.gov

• National Weather Service’s Tsunami Ready, www.tsunamiready.noaa.gov

• State-level Homeland Security contacts, www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/states.htm

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security Home Page, www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/index.jsp

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov, www.ready.gov

• Volcano Hazards Program, volcanoes.usgs.gov/About/What/Reduce/Prepare.html

For assistance or more information on this topic, please contact:

Chris Garrabrant
NATLSCO Risk and Safety Services
Phone: 800-323-9585, ext. 5379
Fax: 847-726-5271
E-mail: cgarrabr@us.bureauveritas.com