Fighting Coronavirus: The Case for a Facility Pre-Disaster Plan
Too many businesses are scrambling right now. They are scrambling to find the right vendors, experts, and solutions to support their operation and keep it going. The businesses who did not have the right disaster response partners and processes in place ahead of time are feeling the most pain. A pre-disaster facility plan is making a big difference right now for the organizations who have them. Whether you are combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the current moment or just looking to improve the long-term wellbeing of your company, you need to consider creating a facility pre-disaster plan.
Why is a facility pre-disaster plan important?
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a lot. Things outside of our control can cause complete chaos to our daily lives. In the current situation it is a virus shutting businesses and economies down. What else could cause a similar disruption to your operation? Are you prepared to deal with some of the following scenarios?
- A burst pipe that floods your building
- Criminal activity such as vandalism or robbery
- Fire damage from electrical failures
- Long-term power outages from a harsh winter storm
- Facility access restrictions due to downed trees or power lines
- Discovery of a potential health hazard, such as black mold
No facility manager or business owner has complete control of the scenarios above. These types of challenges affect businesses much more commonly than a worldwide pandemic such as COVID-19. According to a FEMA study, 40% of businesses never reopen after experiencing a disaster. Up to 25% of surviving businesses close their doors within the next two years. It might be time to take disaster planning more seriously.
What is a Facility Pre-Disaster Plan?
Facility pre-disaster plans can take on many different forms and shapes. They are completely customizable to the specific organization. The purpose of them is all the same: To help companies plan for, respond to and recover from disasters. It is all about minimizing downtime and costs associated with a major setback at the facility. All good plans should contain the following components:
- Stakeholder analysis – Who are the primary people that need to be involved in the event of a disaster?
- Communication plan – What is the communication process and prioritization standard?
- Facility mapping – Where are the key building components, mechanicals and safety apparatuses located?
- Vendor coordination – How do we contact the right people to solve the issue at hand?
- Insurance review – When was the last time we examined our policy coverages, limitations and deductibles?
All the information in a facility pre-disaster plan must be documented and accessible. Most companies that have them, put it all in a notebook. That is great, except if the notebook is damaged or lost. Soil-Away ERP (emergency response protocols) is a proprietary plan which captures all planning documents digitally which is accessible via the login on the website or a phone app.
Is it time to partner with Soil-Away?
Soil-Away is helping businesses across New England with their facility pre-disaster planning. Companies that were already a part of the SOIL-AWAY ERP program have had a little more peace of mind during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been able to work with them to put together “what if” plans in the event of a confirmed viral case in their office. Our teams have responded immediately to dozens of confirmed cases and been able to clean and apply disinfectants to their facility to help them manage the risk of the virus spreading.
To summarize, who could have predicted and prepared for something like this? No one reading this article has ever lived through a worldwide pandemic to the scale of COVID-19. Let us take what we are experiencing and learning and apply it to make our businesses and communities better. One part of that process should be setting up some facility pre-disaster plans. Having the right disaster processes and partners in place will help you avoid unnecessary business interruption and escalating costs during a property disaster. Call Soil-Away (603-641-6555) to learn more about the ERP program.
This article was composed utilizing the most current information available at the time it was written by resources such as the CDC and EPA. The COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation. Please understand that information and best practices are constantly being updated by health and government officials. Everything in this article is subject to change. Soil-Away is making every effort to support your facility needs at this time and will continue to monitor changes and adjust its best practices as new information becomes available. At this time, Soil-Away is cleaning facilities by applying EPA List-N approved disinfectants. Clients who engage with Soil-Away understand that no guarantees can be made about cleaning and disinfecting results, and that any information provided is for the purpose of sharing information, and not for providing definitive advice.
