Being prepared

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Michael McCann, Esq., the former Chief of Security of the United Nations, heads McCann Protective Services (MPS), a New York-based executive protection firm. MPS works in partnership with Initial Security, a leader in the physical security sector. MPS delivers customized security services for the diplomatic community, corporate executives, celebrities and their families.

Has your small business created a disaster management plan? The majority of small business owners can unequivocally say that disaster management is the last thing they are thinking about. Meeting payroll, generating new profit streams, and keeping the employees productive and content are the goals for most entrepreneurs. Whether it’s preparing for acts of terror or extreme weather, disaster management can’t be ignored. As the former head of security for the United Nations and principal of my own security consulting company, I offer the following steps small companies should take to be ably prepared for an emergency.

Most businesses are under-prepared should a disaster strike them directly or indirectly. A disaster will likely cut off a businesses’ support and supply lines, making it difficult for them to continue with their business while recovery takes place. How can this be avoided? Proactive companies are involving security in continuity planning by conducting vulnerability surveys, verifying safe shelters and surveying alternative operation centers. Security technology, including streaming video, remote alarm monitoring, and off-site security personnel can provide vigilant protection from a safe distance.

Small business owners have a key advantage versus Fortune 1000 companies as small businesses generally enjoy a less bureaucratic environment, making it simpler to engage in disaster management planning minus the long-lead management buy-in.



Hatch A Plan—The first step in pre-paring for potential disaster management scenarios is to draft a plan that takes your particular company, location and resources in mind. Tapping into the expertise of a security professional, whether a security staff member or security contractor, is crucial in ensuring that the crisis roadmap you draft is worthy of executing. If a crisis happens, how will you communicate this to your employees? Establishing a communications system for employees is key. A communication system and procedure needs to be developed to assure the notification of personnel as well as a method to alert emergency response personnel. This system also needs to be periodically tested to assure program compliance.



You may be at work while your spouse is on a business trip, your daughter is at an out-of-state college and your son is at the local community college. How do you ensure that each member of your family will be able to convene in the event of an emergency? How do you protect your fellow employees? Draft a plan for your family and for your employees and ensure that everyone knows what the plan is, and keeps a copy of it with them. Is there a close family friend or business associate who lives outside the city whose home could be your team’s meeting ground? Do you have a vacation home that can be used as a meeting point? Depending on the nature and scope of the crisis, it’s prudent to pre-determine a place outside of your home city where company members and family can congregate.



Tuck away in your wallet contact numbers for your family, child care personnel and your co-workers. Even if you think you’ve memorized the number, in a time of crisis, you may not have ready recall. If you’re part of the Blackberry or Treo generation, keep your handset juiced up and up-to-date with vital contact information. You may wish to print a hard copy of your electronic organizer contact list that you fold into your plan. If telephone numbers are over-utilized and ringing busy in the disaster zone, what out-of-town friend or associate can act as your team’s message center?


Get Up and Go Gear—Portable knapsacks work best as grab-and-go emergency kits. Make sure that you have emergency kits for all of your employees. Ask that each employee stash their knapsack with an extra set of eyeglasses and house keys, a small amount of cash, a copy of your plan, Metrocard or other mass transportation cards, a spare credit card, prescription medications, whistle, a pair of comfortable shoes or sneakers, portable radio, flashlight and a standard first aid kit. The kit should include three days of food and water rations. Bottled water, protein bars and dried food should be tucked away in your kit. To breath easier in disaster situations it’s recommended that your kit includes a smoke mask. These emergency respiratory smoke-hoods are designed to assist in the safe exit from contaminated environments. Stash extra batteries for your cell phone, radio and flashlight into your knapsack. If the power fails, electric telephones and radios won’t work.


Communicate and Go—In the eye and immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack or extreme weather, outbound communications will be severely restricted. Hence, if we are unable to connect with our employees, family and friends, it’s important that we follow our plan, keep our out-of-town associate apprised of our activities, and get to our pre-agreed-upon location. Whether you’re able to use your cell phone, landline telephone or Blackberry, your out-of-town friend can act as the central point of communications for your employees and family in the event that local lines cannot handle the volume. Each employee should have their own emergency knapsack that they’re able to keep with them at all times.
Post 9/11 Reality—Since 9/11, the security industry overall receives significantly more respect and attention. Technological advancements have given us better tools that take care of the day-to-day operations and can be used in a proactive manner to assure the continued safety of employees after a significant event occurs.



A recent internet search shows over 34 million “hits” on Disaster Management and 23 million “hits” on Business Continuity Planning. Some of these sites give you (for a fee) a step-by-step version of how your plan should look. Others provide detailed check lists and flow charts that map out in exacting detail what should be done during disaster and also during the recovery and business continuity phases. Keeping the process as simple as possible is the key to assuring your plan gets approved and ultimately implemented. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) can provide many useful (and free) publications on Disaster Management, which can guide you through the basics of developing your disaster management program.

Keeping to the basics, taking the time to develop comprehensive plans and then communicating those plans via policies, procedures, announcements and actually conducting exercises are the necessary activities that will assure the health and safety of your employees and emergency responders.

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Taken from WEB

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