Disaster Preparation for small business owners

Even though Hurricane season started back in June – it has been a very quite year so far. Now we have three named storms within just a couple of days. Granted two are still out in the Atlantic and the third one is basically nothing more than a rainstorm  now, but all of a sudden the news organizations are concentrating on “Is our State ready”, followed by “Are you ready” (as a Homeowner)? Sometimes, they will even delve into what some of the larger companies are doing to prepare for a storm headed their way.

Well, how about those of us with a small business; what can we and should we be doing to prepare for not only a hurricane, but a fire, flood, tornado, or a technical / manmade issue? The first main item is to review your insurance policy for what is and what is not covered. For this we definitely suggest you contact you agent to see what should be updated, may be trimmed back, etc… As a reminder, most policies do not cover flooding which can be a major issue. Below we are going to break down the three main systems involved in almost any business; Property, People, and Information – how can you protect it and get your business back up and running as quickly as possible? Below is a general checklist of things that should be reviewed regularly, during certain periods or can be done once & forgotten about.

Property: Physical Building

• Water�
  • Everyone should assess the possibility of flooding and relocate valuable equipment and materials out of the basement and above ground.
  • To protect your business from storm surge or rivers overflowing their banks – fill sandbags and place them around possible entry points to help protect vital equipment.
• Wind
  • Hurricanes or Severe Thunderstorm Warnings – Close and latch exterior doors and windows and brace large openings at shipping and receiving docks, install your storm shutters
  • Hurricanes or Severe Thunderstorm Warnings – Anchor or store any outdoor items that could become wind-borne missiles, including furniture, trash receptacles, fencing and signs
  • Install Storm rated windows – they are not only great protection from the elements, but also break ins
  • Get your building inspected yearly, for damaged roofing, missing fasteners, signs of decay, & that the drains work properly
•  Fire
  • Wildfire’s – make sure your gutters are clean of debris, and the area around your building is cleared of shrubs, trees, etc…
  • Interior Fire’s – make sure your fire extinguishers are checked regularly, but most importantly that everyone knows where the exits are. Material items can be replaced; people’s lives & their quality of life cannot be replaced. Make sure they know where they should assemble & check in to confirm that everyone made it out safely.
• The Human Factor aka Locks and Security Systems are meant to keep the honest people honest
  • Storm rated windows – are great for blocking wind borne debris, but also keeping the crowbar guy out (also they look better than bars on the windows)
  • Locks & Security systems won’t help at all if they’re not used – make sure they are all set properly before leaving
  • Bushes around the entryways & parking areas, blind spots near corners – trim the bushes down (or eliminate them), install mirrors so that people can see around the corners, etc… This may help prevent you, someone else, or your business from being robbed or worse.
• Misc. Notes
  • Inventory & Tools – Make sure you have a full listing of inventory, specific property & tools that is updated regularly – this will help you recover the proper amount for items stolen or destroyed
  • Storm Shelters & Plans – for those in tornado prone areas, etc… Make sure everyone knows where to go in case of a storm & how to check in; so that no one is left behind (do not forget about any customers or visitors that may be there at the time). As an FYI – make sure that the entrance to your secure area does not have items that may fall, or roll towards it blocking your exit

People: Your employees & customers

• Normal Operations
  • Please refer to the section above, for your employees or customers that maybe on your property
  • Owners and upper management, should have a written list of all employees & a means of contacting them
    • Why written? Cell phones & PDA’s have been known to fail or run out of power
    • With a written list, after a major storm you can inform them if business is closed down & for how long while repairs or street work is being completed
    • If they have evacuated the area due to a hurricane, etc…, imagine being able to tell them that their house is still standing. Even if their house has been destroyed – that will at least let them know what is up and they can plan accordingly
  • Employees should have a written list of emergency numbers available to them also.

• Major Evacuations
• For Construction related businesses – a file folder should be kept of ongoing jobs & past jobs
• If they have evacuated the area due to a hurricane, etc…, imagine being able to tell them that their house is still standing, or that you installed a tarp to help prevent further issues.
•  Even if their house has been destroyed – that will at least let them know what is up and they can plan accordingly
• Your website & main phone number
• Your main phone number – should either go to an answering service, or utilize the phone company’s voicemail system when no one is there to answer it. This allows for the storing of incoming messages, but also as a means up updating everyone on the status of repairs
• Your website – is also a great means of updating employees & customers of developments

Information – Paper & Computer Based

• Paper Records
  • Important records should be copied with the originals placed in either a safety deposit box or stored in a secured off-site location
  • If you live in a hurricane prone area, I suggest any off-site location be located a lot further inland, or scan them into your computer
• Computer Data – Backup & Restores
  • Any information valuable to your business needs to be backed up
  • You should practice doing occasional restores to verify that you can recover any data destroyed / accidently deleted / corrupted
  • Backup material needs to be stored off site – what happens if your building goes up in smoke, or the toilet on the floor above soaks all your computers & backup materials – they may not be recoverable
    • Online backups – many companies are starting to offer this service, make sure they are reputable, have secured your data & that they have a good backup and recovery plan in place
    • Old style backup with physical media – you will need to do two backups at a minimum each week; 1 gets stored on site for regular file restores, while the second one needs to be stored off site (i.e. a completely different city or locale)
• PC’s & Laptops
  • Make sure you keep them updated with the latest patches
  • Make sure your virus scanning software is up to date & running at all times
• Web Based Software / Websites
  • Make sure they have adequate backup & recovery plans
  • Make sure any confidential information is adequately protected
  • See if they have a way of backing up your data locally (so you can access it if they go down for any length of time)
  • Make sure that they are financially solvent, nothing beats having all your data unavailable as they had to shut their doors
• Misc. Notes
  • The biggest reason companies have problems in this area is not natural disasters, but viruses (covered above) and disgruntled employees.
  • Make sure your data is secured properly (i.e. not everyone needs to have access to the financials, some may need to be able to read the data, while others need to make changes)
  • If in doubt on how to secure your data, work out a real backup & restore solution, etc… You should hire a professional that specializes in this arena.