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Industry Connection
By Pat Moore, CBCP FBCI
We have seen innumerable accomplishments in our industry over the past
year. The Disaster Recovery Journal celebrated its 30th conference. CPM
Global Assurance began a new monthly paid subscription newsletter. The
Disaster Resource GUIDE launched the weekly Continuity e-GUIDE. Several
new periodicals focused on business continuity, homeland security or emergency
management have entered the marketplace. Public and private sector pioneers
in this field of disaster recovery, emergency management, and business
continuity management have established a host of new initiatives. However,
there still remains extensive work to be done. The ever-increasing challenge
to produce, implement, train, exercise, fund, and resource these plans
is made somewhat easier today by the growing partnerships and connections
globally within the public and private sector organizations and individuals
who are ever vigilant in this effort.
This column will attempt to provide (albeit briefly due to space confines)
the latest information highlighting those partnerships, connections, and
new regulations that are in some way contributing to meet the challenge
of protecting a nation's citizens and critical infrastructure, as well
as upholding the industry's regulations.
Business Continuity Institute
In the past year Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has published a definitive
Good Practices Guideline, launched a new Specialist certification grade,
and published (in collaboration with DRII) an updated set of certification
standards. BCI has also begun to pilot test a recertification procedure
to assure that certified members remain current in all aspects of their
professional activity. For more, visit www.thebci.org.
Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness
The non-profit Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness (CCEP) has recently
redefined its mission - to mitigate the effect of disasters on individuals
and small businesses by promoting emergency preparedness at the community
level. To bring emergency preparedness into the mainstream consciousness,
CCEP supports and promotes the best of existing programs and focuses its
efforts on awareness and promotion campaigns. CCEP also presents the World
Conference on Disaster Management, one of the largest and most respected
broad-based annual conferences covering all elements of the disaster management
spectrum. For more, visit www.ccep.ca
or www.wcdm.org.
DRI International
Recognizing the changes in the environment for continuity management and
disaster recovery, and the fact that homeland security issues and the
increasing social and economic impacts global disasters present, the DRI
International board of directors has initiated an exploratory effort to
examine the feasibility of establishing a foundation to address this new
environment. This effort will focus on both domestic and international
issues, will be cooperative, and will include the diverse organizations
and disciplines that are important to this endeavor. DRII has retained
the firm of Bullock Haddow to assist them in this effort.
Four new committees were established to assist in setting the future direction
for DRII activities and policies. The Educational Advisory Council, chaired
by Cole Emerson, MBCP, will create a vision of the evolution of the business
continuity, emergency response, crisis management industry over the next
three to five years. The council will focus on what the top world-class
providers of education and certification will look like and be offering
within this timeframe. The Strategic Alliances Committee, chaired by Brent
Woodworth, will determine the key current and future stakeholders among
both the public and private sectors in the evolution of the industry and
map out strategies and tactics for approaching these stakeholders and
building functional partnerships with and among them. The Legislative
Affairs Committee, co-chaired by Bob Goldhammer, CBCP, CEM and Ellis Stanley,
Sr., CEM, will gain access to key state and federal legislators and their
staffs to give DRII "eyes and ears" into the formulation of laws and regulations
that impact the industry. The International Affairs Committee, led by
Graeme Jannaway, CBCP, CISA and Benny Taylor, CBCP, will review existing
international agreements and expansion plans and monitor existing international
efforts for quality and consistency with existing DRII standards. For
more, contact tmawson@drii.org.
IAEM Public/Private Partnership Committee
The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Public-Private
Partnership Committee is very active and well represented, and is developing
toolkits for both local emergency managers and private sector business
to learn outreach techniques that will facilitate lasting, mutually beneficial
relationships. Opportunities abound on the public-local government side
to facilitate such partnerships, such as joint efforts on Community Emergency
Response Teams (CERTs), addressing local mitigation strategies, consideration
of the new National Incident Management System (NIMS) and its implications
for public and private sector, and more. The IAEM Committee is preparing
"Talk Packs" - succinct talking points, prepared "elevator speeches,"
and a ready summary of the benefits of security, sustainability, and economic
viability possible through better interaction between public and private
organizations. The intent is to arm the local emergency manager with the
vocabulary of the private entity CEO, business risk manager, continuity
planner, or operations chief to demonstrate quickly that a more proactive
approach by the private entity may be necessary to create the synergy
of successful public-private partnership.
Other IAEM offerings of interest include the 2004 Annual Conference, November
7-11, in Dallas, Texas, the Certified Emergency ManagerŪ program, and
the scholarship program for emergency management students. For more,
visit www.iaem.com.
9-11 Commission Seeks National Standard on Emergency Management
NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) is participating in an effort
to identify a high-level standard for private sector emergency preparedness
and business continuity. As part of a request from the National Commission
on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9-11 Commission), the
ANSI Homeland Security Standards Panel held a meeting in New York City
on January 28 to identify existing and proposed standards dealing with
emergency management. One of the key documents presented for review was
NFPA 1600, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Management, and Business Continuity
Programs.
This meeting was attended by representatives from major private sector
companies, associations representing key constituents (i.e. security,
building owners), and by city and federal organizations involved in emergency
management, including the Emergency Management Accreditation Program,
FEMA, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the Working Group
on Private Sector Preparedness, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
the U.S. General Accounting Office, members of the NFPA 1600 Technical
Committee and NFPA Staff Liaison, and members from DRII and CCEP. The
group will submit its final report to the 9-11 Commission in April 2004.
For more, contact pmooretex@aol.com.
Proposed HAZMAT Restrictions Impact Organizations in High-Threat Cities
It's the fear that terrorists might use hazardous chemicals in transportation
as the next weapons of mass destruction attack that led District of Columbia
officials to consider this first-of-its-kind legislation regulating rail
and truck transportation. And other cities are watching to see what happens.
Every year, approximately 4,000 rail cars carrying hazardous cargo pass
through downtown Washington, D.C. If one tank car carrying liquid chlorine
were to rupture as it made the turn near 14th Street, a deadly cloud of
chlorine gas would approach the popular National Mall area within three
minutes. With favorable wind conditions and a large crowd on the Mall,
100,000 people in the nation's capital would be dead 30 minutes after
the release. That's the scenario that the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
presented to the D.C. City Council January 23 as it considers legislation
to severely restrict the transportation of hazardous cargo through its
borders.
Washington, D.C. is one of seven localities the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security has designated "high threat target cities" for continued terrorism.
Only one of the seven-New York City-regulates the routing of dangerous
cargo through its jurisdiction. Patterned after the New York code and
case law surrounding it, the District of Columbia's proposed Terrorism
Prevention and Safety in Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 2003,
introduced last October, would require hazardous-materials shippers to
obtain permits from the D.C. Department of Transportation. These permits
would only be granted when there's no practical alternative route to passage
through the District or when the ultimate destination is an approved facility
in the District. Permits could also be issued if an emergency required
the cargo's passage through the city. Source: USA Today
National Incident Management System Formally Adopted
In Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5 (HSPD-5), President Bush
directed Tom Ridge to develop, submit for review to the Homeland Security
Council, and administer a National Incident Management System (NIMS).
This system will provide a consistent nationwide approach for federal,
state, tribal, and local governments to work effectively and efficiently
together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic
incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity.
The NIMS has undergone extensive vetting and coordination within the federal
family. The development process has also included extensive outreach to
state, tribal, and local officials; to the emergency response community;
and to the private sector. As a result, the NIMS incorporates the best
practices currently in use by incident managers at all levels. In addition,
effective incident management in the homeland security environment we
now face involves new concepts, processes, and protocols that will require
further development and refinement over time.
HSPD-5 requires all federal departments and agencies to adopt the NIMS
and to use it in their individual domestic incident management and emergency
prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation programs
and activities, as well as in support of those actions taken to assist
state, tribal, or local entities. The directive also requires federal
departments and agencies to make adoption of the NIMS by state and local
organizations a condition for federal preparedness assistance beginning
in FY 2005. Source: USA Today
Independent contingency planning groups worldwide are continually growing
their membership and network of sharing continuity of operations planning
information. A listing of dozens of groups can be found in the resource
section of 2004/2005 GUIDE.
These are just a few of the collective efforts that are helping to better
secure the homeland and protect our citizens and businesses from both
natural disasters and acts of terrorism.
About the Author
Pat Moore, CBCP, FBCI, CPM's 1999 Hall of Fame inductee, and winner
of FEMA's "Outstanding National Business Person" award for 1999-2000,
is one of the world's leading educators on business and service continuity
planning. Now semi-retired, Pat joined Belfor USA as executive advisor
and director of Continuity of Operations Planning after serving as vice
president of Business Continuity Education at Strohl Systems from 1994
to 2002. She is or has been: chair of the Education Task Force of NFPA's
Disaster Management Committee; member of the American Hotel/Motel Fire
Safety Board and the National Emergency Management Association; appointed
member of the Board of Visitors for the Emergency Management Institute;
chairperson of the DRII Education & Standards Council; co-chair of the
IAEM Public/Private Partnership Committee; and member of the Strategic
Alliance Council and Education Council of the DRII. She can be reached
at (830) 598-1587 or pmooretex@aol.com.
This article was reprinted with permission from the 2004/2005 Disaster
Resource GUIDE .
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