Does your business have an Earthquake Plan?

The Big One hits.   Power is out.   Roads are blocked.   Supplies are limited. 

How fast can your business get back on its feet? 

Can you be better prepared than your competitors?

Could you gain new customers by being ready when other businesses are not?

Fault Lines in Southern California

Here are some strategies for preparing for the earthquake, before it hits.

• Establish a Business Continuity Management Plan (BCM) that takes crisis management, and business recovery, into consideration. If a BCM is already in place, review and update it as needed for earthquake readiness.
• Consider where your employees live and discuss plans for continuing work.  How will they get to work if routes are blocked?  How will you communicate with them if cell phones & telephones & internet connections are down?  Can you establish and agree upon predetermined procedures that can work around such complications?
• Brace all tall shelves and cabinets, tall machinery and equipment, or any top-heavy objects that could topple.
• Brace and support overhead-mounted fixtures, suspended ceilings, piping, heaters, and other overhead-mounted devices.
• Plan for continuous plant security.  How will you protect your property from looters?
• Provide auxiliary equipment and energy supplies for critical services such as communications and lighting.
• Provide adequate support for mainframe computers.  Back up your data at an off-site location.
• Provide flexible fuel supply connectors to avoid ruptured gas lines, etc.
• Bolt down and secure fuel-fired appliances, along with any pressurized gas cylinders.
  

  Will these gas cylinders break loose of their chains and roll?

• Provide isolation valves for piping systems.
• Provide alternate energy sources for vital equipment and services.
• Plan for customer and client awareness and communications.
• Provide an alert and warning system for all personnel on the premises.
• Designate a BCM Coordinator and a BCM Team. Assign responsibility to specific employees for advance arrangements to initiate the plan.
• Conduct a business impact analysis and risk assessment of the facility and its operations. Upgrade deficient areas.
• Upgrade the facility to current earthquake codes.
• Inspect tanks, stacks, signs, and chimneys for deterioration and bracing. Repair and strengthen as necessary.
• Identify and designate safe shelter areas in the structures.
• Identify and designate at least two evacuation routes for all areas.

 Next up: What to do AFTER the earthquake hits