As we approach the onset of autumn its a good time to consider how your business could be disrupted by severe weather events such as strong winds, heavy rainfall, lightning strikes, snow and ice.

These severe weather events are in my observation becoming more regular with climate change and even businesses that have mitigated this risk before may find that their current risk controls are no longer sufficient.

Earlier this year we experienced a 1 in 200 year snowfall that caused significant disruption to London and other areas as public transport was disrupted and thousands of staff were unable to get to work safely.

We have also experienced major, area wide floods in the UK for the past few years therefore it is reasonable to expect a similar event this winter.

Having recently moved home to an area that is fitted with flood gates to counteract the winter spring tides I am deeply aware of the combination of wind and waves that could end up flooding my home and what measures have been put in place to prevent that.  I am also aware that sea levels are rising however and that other parts of the Island that I live on are not protected – indeed some may be sacrificed to the sea as required by the Environment Agency during the course of the next 50 – 100 years.

So what can you do to protect your business?

Well, you can start by ensuring you understand the types of severe weather events that would cause you an intolerable degree of disruption using a business impact analysis and then establish some form of warning and indicating system to predict when the risk is highest so that you can put contingency plans in place.

As well as countering the actual hazards – flood, snow, ice or wind – you need to consider the effects of that hazard – loss of staff, supply chain disruption, fewer customers on the street, cancelled flights etc and the asymmetric threats (or known unknowns as Donald Rumsfelt might say!).

So the greatest impact from a severe weather event might be reduced cashflow leading to a withdrawal of credit at a later date which prevents you from obtaining a keen wholesale price (since you have to order smaller volumes) which in turn affects profitability, so you can’t afford your rent and end up losing the business!  A rather gloomy view but pretty realistic for a newer business or one that doesn’t have strong cash reserves – we’ve just lost a well-established local cafe (20 years) because the landlord has asked for a higher rent and the business couldn’t or wouldn’t afford it in the current financial climate.  In this case it seems that the landlord had a better offer from a large coffee franchise but the outcome was the same.  Cash is King!

If you’d like to learn more about protecting your business from severe weather or help with controlling risks, call us for a free 30minute consultation.  It just might keep you in business!

@Veterus

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Speaking to a number of business owners and reviewing their crisis management and business continuity plans over the years we often find that they are relying on using mobile telephones in the event that they are displaced from their premises or unable to access their usual place of work for a variety of reasons (eg severe weather, fuel strike etc).

In light of this I thought it might be useful to offer a few thoughts on the feasibility and appropriateness of such a solution.

Firstly, we can start from the assumption that the mobile network providers will wish to earn revenue where possible by providing a service (especially if there is a chance of a peak in demand which of course translates to extra revenue); however, we’ve all experienced the problems of network overload when seeking to call or text friends at New Year or ring home when stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway so we can’t bank on their being any connectivity in a crisis.

Secondly, whilst the telecommunications masts are normally provided with a battery back-up to maintain the mast in the event of a power cut, this is only likely to last for about 1 hour depending on the amount of power drawn and conditionof the battery when activated.

I am not aware of any capability to deploy diesel generators as fallback power supplies to the mobile telephony so once the battery is drained that’s it until the power is restored.

Ok, so what about having multiple SIM cards to try and tap into a netowrk that is unaffected?  Well, some of the mobile operators themselves use this as a fallback plan but it is not as straightforward as it might seem since many phones are locked to a particular SIM card or network – for example the i-Phone is locked to O2.

Trying to use international roaming services is also fraught with problems of having to dial the country code before the number which can make this approach more trouble than it is worth once you add on the additional routing costs of the call and in a crisis the mobile companies often ask for permission to restrict these calls in order to preserve what little capacity they have for national services.

The emergency services and government departments may obtain a limited number of special SIM cards from the Home Office that provide Mobile Telephone Privileged Access Services (MPAS) but the person you need to call must also have switched to that system otherwise you cannot contact them.

VHF radio communications then seem to be the most robust means of providing resilient telecommunications over short distances.  Whilst the handsets also require batteries there is no need for a network infrastructure to transfer the message – indeed other users can relay messages over long distances when properly trained as yachts do at sea in a pan or mayday call.  Longer distances require either HF radio (which can travel around the globe but is slow and of limited bandwidth) or SHF satellite communications (which can be delivered point to point around the world with high speed data and voice – for a premium).

If you really need to communicate in a crisis it seems the most resilient solution is a mobile satellite telephone with a standby diesel generator to keep it charged – not a cheap solution – but disasters aren’t cheap events and it may be possible to cover some of the costs with insurance depending upon how and when you procure the solution.

Whichever option you choose, it’s worth doing your homework and checking with your solution provider to find out exactly how they plan to maintain your service during a variety of scenarios to ensure that you can communicate during a disruption.

For a low tech, short range option one could always install voice pipes or sound powered telephoneslike those used on warships.  These were designed to work throughout major damage and disruption and even after an Electromagnetic Pulse from an air burst nuclear weapon (which tends to destroy all electronic and electrical equipment unless it is specially designed to cope).  Being able to communicate with anyone after that sort of disruption might be just the sort of bonus you need to put a spring back in your step after the kick-off for nuclear armageddon!  What have you done to ensure resilient telecommunications in a crisis?

@Veterus

In talking to clients, many feel that the likelihood of them being denied access to their site or key buildings and offices is sufficiently remote that they don’t need to plan for it.

This mindest may also be influenced by early business continuity briefings where practitioners took the lazy scenario option and asked them to consider a terrorist attack.

Whilst a terrorist attack remains feasible (and depending on what business you are in maybe more likely than you know) statistically they are few and far between – albeit devastating when they occur.

The more mundane and higher probability incidents are less sexy but need to be considered.  Mechanical and electrical failures (burst pipes and short circuits), disgruntled employess or vandalism, natural disasters or extreme weather, animal disease, crime and transport disruptions are all affecting business somewhere in the world everyday.

So what’s your strategy if you lose you site and how long could you operate at what capacity from that position?

It’s tempting to plan for a “call the customer and muddle through” approach because that seems the cheapest and simplest option – but what of the impact on your firm’s brand and reputation?  Can you still carry out business development in parallel with “priority services only, run from my dining room table or the local Costa Coffee”?

The bigger your business is the more complex the task becomes and when you are a government department the problems get bigger.  The Lyons Review requires any new lease or freehold contract to have prior approval by the Treasury.  Try fast-tracking that one when the site burns down!

Even if you find a suitable site, the contractual work can take months.

Alternatively, providers like Sunguard, Regus and Community Resilience can put arrangements in place to reduce the delay but then you have to convince shareholders and the board that the overhead is justified.  In a recession that’s akin to asking for more money to upgrade the snowplough during this hot spell when everyone has already forgotten what it was like in February.

The reality is that you need to have identified an alternative location.

To stand any chance of a reasonable transition into your fallback accommodation you need to put the logistics and infrastructure in place then practice using the site if you are going to have a fighting chance of minimising the impact on your business.

So where do you start?

You start by agreeing Recovery Point Objectives and Recovery Time Objectives (how much of the business operating by when), the location (commutable for current staff?, budget and timing.  Until you fix a date by when it must be done the project will drift and consume both time and money whilst your risks go unmitigated.

Even if you only work through the specification and location for a suitable site, please do something.  Don’t risk what has taken years to build for the sake of a few months’ work.

And don’t forget, if you haven’t tested and updated your business continuity plan – it ain’t a plan!