4 Critical Steps For Contingency Planning

Brady Equipment Rental Services

Rare but impactful events such as power outages, natural disasters, or mechanical failures can wreak havoc on your facility and business. Facing such an emergency without a contingency plan can result in decreased production or service, lost customers and revenue, and loss of confidence by customers, investors, and other stakeholders. In fact, the stakes can be so high that it’s not uncommon for insurance companies to require a formal contingency plan to qualify for business continuity coverage. 

Having a contingency plan is the smart way to prepare for the unpredictable and be ready to respond quickly and effectively. 

Wondering what is included in a contingency plan and how to go about developing one? Brady is here to help you with planning and equipment. We help can you develop a facility-specific action plan that will give you peace of mind knowing that you’re prepared. 

Here’s a summary of some of the important steps in contingency planning. 

1. Identify the potential risks for your facility. 

The first step in developing a contingency plan is to identify the types of potential risks for your facility. The risks are influenced by facility location, weather patterns, infrastructure, and other site-specific factors. A few examples are:

  • In the southeast, hurricanes pose real risks of business disruption due to wind damage, flooding, and power outages. 
  • Isolated facilities may have greater risk of power outages more often, or for longer periods of time, than other locations.  
  • Aging facilities may have greater risks than newer or more recently updated facilities. 

List all of the reasonably possible risks and rank them by likelihood. Also record the probable frequency and timing of their occurrence, as well as can be predicted. For example, the highestrisk severe weather seasons in your area. 

2. Evaluate mission-critical systems and areas at your facility. 

For each potential risk, identify the crucial systems and areas of the facility that could be disrupted should that risk become a reality. Determine and rank the operational and financial impacts of disruption of each system and area. Conduct an equipment audit of each system and area to assess current conditions and identify potential failure points. 

3. Determine the best equipment, placement, and connections. 

Identify the temporary equipment that will be needed should an emergency situation occur and the best location for it in each priority area. Include the connections needed for such equipment, such as power, water, HVAC, and so forth. Also determine if the current power service is adequate for the temporary equipment. Identify any permits required to get additional connections or power service installed. 

4. Work with your trusted equipment and service partners. 

Arrange well ahead of time for the equipment and other assistance you’ll need during an emergency. Reserve the specific equipment you may need, get those new connections installed, upgrade the power service, create loading/unloading access for emergency equipment, and so forth. 

Anything else?

Yes, there are other details that go into contingency planning, such as assigning employee roles and responsibilities, training, monitoring of critical systems and areas, regular review and updating of the contingency plan, and numerous others. And, of course, it should all be documented in a clear and easy-to-use format. 

Having a contingency plan is the way to prepare for the unpredictable and be ready to respond quickly and effectively. Your business and stakeholders will benefit from your foresight and efforts! 

Want to learn more about contingency planning for your facility?

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