SPP - Ch1 ESRM, Crisis Management Flashcards
What is essential to ensure recovery from business interruptions and to protect the profitability of the enterprise?
Planning
Even with emergency planning, why is it necessary to improvise and remain flexible when a disaster or other emergencies strikes?
Because the variety of emergencies make planning for every possible contingency impossible.
What are the elements, the primary training of emergency response personnel should focus?
The most likely situations and the location, construction, size and function of each site.
While developing a plan for emergency management what elements should be included in the plan?
The development of a plan for emergency management includes:
1. Defining emergency
2. Establishment of an organization to perform specific tasks, before, during and after an emergency.
3. Esablish a method of using available resources and for obtaining additional resources at the time of an emergency.
4. A means from moving normal operaitons into and back of the emergency mode of operations.
What should an emergency plan provide?
The basis for orderly action and for making decisions that minimize loss.
What are the four elements of emergency management?
Mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
How is it possible to prevent from causing substantial loss from an emergency?
By responding promptly to an emergency.
To achieve what business continuity encompasses all the actions taken by a business before, during or after an emergency?
To minimize the emergency’s negative impact on the organization’s operations and to bring a timely response, resumption of critical business functions and recovery if an emergency does occur.
What kind of activities are included in the recovery efforts of emergency management?
Recovery efforts include implementation of continuity of operation or business resumption plan, activations of emergency relocation and reconstitution or restoration at the original location or a new permanent location.
What are those key elements to achieve the objectives of emergency management?
What is to be done and who is to do it.
Explain the term continuity of operations (COOP).
Continuity of operations or COOP is a term normally applied specifically to the US federal government. COOP is different from Business Continuity in that it entails movement of critical functions and personnel to an alternate operating site or sites in accordance with a pre established COOP plan.
What is an effective tool that can be utilized in the developmental stage of an emergency plan for determining the probability of a threat or a disaster, and its impact on an organization?
To conduct a risk analysis
An organization needs to develop an emergency plan depending on what factors?
On the nature of the organization’s activities, the organization’s criticality, its attractiveness as a target, and the type of facilities it occupies, among other considerations.
After what type pf action, each emergency plan should be evaluated and modified?
The emergency plan should be evaluated and modified as required after the following
1. Each training drill
2. Each emergency
3. Changes in personnel or their responsibilities
4. Changes in the facility’s physical design
5. Changes in policies or procedures.
Why does an all hazard approach works well?
An all hazard approach recognizes that many emergency planning requirements are similar regardless of whether an accident is natural threat, a human threat or an accident
In choosing a planning format for an emergency, what are the significant considerations?
The dissemination of the plan and the maintenance of the plan.
While developing emergency operations plan what kind of approaches can be undertaken?
The emergency planning approaches are:
All hazard approach
Stand alone plans
A combination of all-hazard and stand alone
How is it possible to make emergency plan effective?
Every emergency plan should be reviewed and updated regularly.
Why is it essential that all emergency plans are reviewed at least once an year?
To ensure that all dynamic information such as floor plans, contact numbers, key personnel, and key assets are accurate.
Why is the all hazard approach better in comparison to the stand alone approach?
The all hazards approach is relatively simple and it is easier to disseminate information common to multiple emergencies like emergency contact numbers. On the other hand, in a series of stand alone plans, there is a need to update every plan each time common points of contacts or emergency number changes.
An EOP developed with _________ approach will address preparedness and response aspects of business continuity.
the all hazards approach
Who can make risk analysis more manageable in an organization?
Managers directly involved in day-to-day operations.
What is the purpose of an emergency plan?
To highlight the type of problems that decision makers and other key emergency management personnel will encounter and to require them to consider, in advance, how to react when an emergency develops.
What is an effective plan?
A plan must reflect the requirements of the organization to which it pertains.
All persons tasked with responsibilities must clearly understand their responsibilities and be trained to fulfil them.
The plan must be tested through practice and should be revised in light of such testing.
It might need revisions, reassignment of responsibilities or retraining of personnel and thereafter retesting.
What is the most important part of planning?
It is a continuous process that is never finished as long as the plan exists.
Why are emergency tests and exercises conducted?
Checking the workability of a plan or a part thereof
Determining the level of staff awareness and training
Evaluating the adequacy of emergency communications
Identifying shortcomings in evaluation procedures.
What are the elements that scope of the emergency training in the organization depends?
The scope of the training depends on the nature of the entity’s activities. Additionally, it depends on its employees, its recurring visitors, contractors and others who have frequent access to the facility.
How to validate an organization’s emergency plan?
Conduct an unannounced test with appropriate controls and safeguards in place.
What kind of special planning needs to be addressed in the development process of emergency plan?
Special planning needs such as personnel with disabilities, including those of vision hearing, mental function and mobility.
To control losses, a business needs emergency response systems. What should be the components of emergency response systems?
People, equipment and procedures
In setting priorities in EOP, certain time tested principles should be applied to the protection of life. What could be those principles?
Evaluation and shelter
Personnel protection
Relief and recue
What are the guiding principles for minimizing injuries?
Design safety and training
In developing EOP, why planning assumptions are considered?
Planning assumptions reduce the number of “what ifs.”
What could be done to avoid gap in emergency plan maintenance?
There should be a designated alternative by name or position.
After designating primary and alternate decision makers, what are important things to do?
It is important to brief, train and test them on their assigned duties and on most significant aspects of the planning process.
Who should and should not handle emergencies?
A totally new organization should not be developed to handle emergencies. Existing organizations, temporarily reconfigured, along with executives responsible for the day to day operations of the enterprise should handle emergencies.
Who is one of the most important considerations in developing an emergency management structure?
To designate alternatives for the primary decision maker and for anyone else who is charged, by name or position, with a particular responsibility under the plan.
What are the primary elements of an Incident Command System?
Command
Operations
Planning
Logistics
Finance and Administration
Based on what an organization ultimately determines its level of response during crisis or an emergency?
The nature and scope of the emergency.
When the unified command is established?
If incident involves multiple agencies or multiple jurisdiction.
What types of elements dictate the location and scope of EOC/CMC?
The size, nature and location of the organization.
In emergencies that develop during non working hours, telephone communications and electrical power may be severed preventing contact with appropriate executives and making road travel to the facility impossible. In such a situation, the initial implementation of the plan and control of the facility may rest under whom?
With the senior manager present at the site, who in some cases may be a security manager, security supervisor or security officer.
What pre-requisites must be fulfilled by the primary and alternate EOC/CMC?
The primary and alternate EOC/CMC locations should be able to accommodate the CMT and should provide redundant communication capacities. Additionally, the location should have backup power and an independent supply of portable water.
What is the most important ingredient in effectively managing an emergency event?
Communications
If an incident requires a public safety response, who is normally the incident commander?
The senior member of the responding agency.
Where are successions list recorded?
In a written emergency plan
To avoid confusion, what should an emergency plan provide?
The orderly release of information, preferably through a single source in the organization.
In forming a mutual aid association, an organization’s emergency planners take a few steps. What are those steps?
- Obtain advise, assistance, and guidance of the government representatives responsible for disaster planning.
- Invite local industies, utilities and other businesses to send representatives to an organizational meeting.
- Arrange to have the group addressed by someone experienced in the operation of a mutual aid association.
- Elect association officer and appoint a coordinator.
- Appoint communities to develop plans and procedures for various aspects of mutual aid operations such as membership and bylaws, traffic and security control, fire protection, communications.
- Schedule periodic meetings
What is the purpose of the mutual aid organization?
The purpose of the mutual aid organization is to establish a workable emergency management organization that minimizes damage and ensures the continued operation or early restoration of damaged facilities.
When should the names of those who have been killed or injured in an emergency be released?
ASAP but relatives of victims should be informed before such information can be released to the public.
What can pose a serious challenge in an emergency?
Aiding the welfare and morale of employees and their families.
During or post crisis situation, what may have an extremely negative effect on public perception of the organization?
Any missteps connected to media relations
While developing the medical services portion of an emergency plan, what planners should ascertain first?
The type and capabilities of an in-house medical support.
With regards to fire and rescue operations, why a distinction needs to be made between industrial and non industrial facilities?
Because industrial facilities may have a volunteer in house fire and rescue operation; however, non-industrial facilities, particularly office buildings, operate differently. Their occupants are typically instructed to identify the problem, notify the appropriate authorities and evaluate the affected areas.
Why a survey of neighbouring installations should be conducted regularly?
To ascertain the existence of any potential hazards that could aggravate the impact of the crisis for the organization.
During an emergency, looting is a hazard that must be considered because spectators are attracted to any disaster scene. To maintain security and protect the assets and personnel, what measures should be undertaken?
Deployment of additional security personnel
While planning for alerts and warning system, why outdoor as well as indoor warning systems must be considered?
Because individuals might be outdoors during an emergency.
Why should alert and warning systems be tested periodically?
So that employees can experience and become familiar
What should be considered during emergency evacuation?
- Need to think well beyond simple sounding an alarm and asking the building occupants to move to the nearest emergenct exit.
- Consider alternate exits, routes and assembly points.
- Use of these alternates must be practiced regularly.
- Evacuation drill should continue till all occupants have reached the designated assembly points.
- The emergency plan needs to provide for shelter in place for situations where evacuation is infeasible or undesirable such as hazmat release, tornado, earthquake.
In evacuation planning, organizations must consider alternate exits, routes, and assembly points. Furthermore, use of these exits must be practiced regularly. What is one way to do so?
Block the primary exit for a different exit for a different floor or part of a building for each fire drill.
For which type of crisis situation, emergency plan should provide shelter in place?
When evacuation is infeasible or undesirable such as hazmat release, tornado, or earthquake.
During emergency shutdown, who may be the last to leave the facility or establishment when an evacuation is ordered or who may even have to stay in the facility?
Emergency shutdown crew
If restoration has been planned, recovery is less difficult and more efficient. What can simplify emergency operations?
Developing a list of key recovery items simplifies emergency operations.
Define business continuity
A comprehensive managed effort to prioritize key business processes, identify significant threats to normal operations, and plan mitigation strategies to ensure effective and efficient operational response to the challenges that surface during and after a crisis.
What is the use of a business impact analysis?
To identify an entity’s critical functions
To assess the impact of a disaster or other emergency on those functions over time
To determine the other elements of the business on which those critical functions depend, and
To help develop and prioritize recovery strategies.
What is organizational resilience?
The adaptive capacity of an organization in a complex and changing environment and also it is the ability of an organization to resist being affected by an event or the ability to return to an acceptable level of performance in an acceptable period of time after being affected by an event.
What elements should be included in business continuity strategies?
Depending on the nature and needs of the business, business continuity strategies may include resumption and recovery in place, the contracting out of selected functions, or relocation of critical functions and personnel to one or more sites.
Who can find emergency or crisis overwhelming?
Those who have done no planning or preparation
What are the elements the primary training of emergency response personnel should focus?
The most likely situations and the location, construction, size and function of each site.
In large organizations with multiple locations, it is essential to ___________to ensure proper coordination throughout various sites.
require an overall emergency operations plan
