How to safeguard businesses against disaster

The recurring message was clear from presenters during Convoy of Hope’s Business Preparedness Seminar, April 23 at University Plaza Convention Center.

One presenter, Richard Ollis of insurer Ollis & Co. put it starkly: The majority of businesses that suffer property losses significant enough to force closure never reopen.

“We all tend to think it’s never going to happen to us,” said presenter John Twitty, general manager for City Utilities of Springfield.

But disaster can strike, as illustrated by presenter Ryan Nicholls, director of the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management. Nicholls said Missouri has been declared a disaster area by the president 35 times since 1990 and 15 times in just the last three years.

Event organizers say the goal is to bring together various sectors of the community to talk about emergency preparedness, response and recovery.

The Business Preparedness Seminar was the second part of Convoy’s three-part HOPE Begins Here series. HOPE stands for Helping Others Prepare for Emergencies.

The first preparedness seminar, designed for faith-based organizations, was held March 25. The third part, on family preparedness, is May 3 at Springfield Expo Center.

Eight presenters at the Business Preparedness Seminar covered a range of topics, from how Stockton-based Hammons Products Co. recovered from devastating tornados in 2003 to how pandemic influenza could make 90 million Americans ill and cost the economy billions of dollars. Universally, though, presenters said the most important action any business could take was simply establishing and testing an emergency plan.

Here are 10 key points discussed during the seminar:

• Maintain up-to-date reports on inventory, buildings and equipment.

• Store backup records at secure off-site facilities more than a few miles from the main facility.

• Plan for the fact that some workers won’t be available for recovery efforts due to home destruction or personal obligations; cross-train employees.

• Identify ways to communicate if utilities, Internet or phone systems are damaged.

• Determine what functions are critical and which employees must be retained and continue to get paid.

• Establish reciprocity agreements with other businesses for use of facilities or resources.

• Assemble emergency kits that have bottled water, nonperishable food, flashlights and cash.

• Evaluate property values to ensure property is fully insured.

• Consider that threats can come from anywhere, such as terrorism, not just ice storms, flooding or tornadoes.

• Be sure main vendors and other businesses, such as banks, have emergency plans in place.

“There’s a very low tolerance for downtime, and it’s very easy for customers to go elsewhere,” said presenter Mike Hoeltke, vice president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Agility Recovery Solutions. “They don’t want to hear that your dog ate your homework.”

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