Business Continuity Management
Business Continuity Management (BCM) ensures that critical government functions are maintained during a disruption and operations are resumed within a short period of time after an event has occurred. Developing and maintaining the BCM Program of an organization is critical to effective emergency management and the continued delivery of vital services. Creating a BCM Program is a complex process that must consider all aspects of an organization and the interdependencies that exist. All members of an organization should be aware of their individual roles and responsibilities as well as how these play into the organizations overall plan in the event of an emergency.
Business Continuity in the Health Sector
Business Continuity Management means that the Health Sector will be able to function during, and recover from a disaster. Having a well managed, comprehensive, and integrated business continuity program allows the BC Government to provide leadership and direction. It is important to look at Business Continuity holistically when applying it to the health sector, as there are an extensive amount of interdependencies that exist. In the event of a major disaster such as an earthquake or pandemic, the health sector would play a vital role in emergency response. Acute care facilities, residential care facilities, BC Ambulance Service, and health authorities need to continue providing services to the public during an emergency, and have the plans to address surge capacity.
Elements of a Successful BCM Program
Dependencies & Interdependencies
Every organization has various dependencies and interdependencies that exist with internal and external groups. Determining back up plans in the event that these key organizations or areas within the primary organization are unavailable is essential to maintaining critical functions during a disruption or emergency event. Factors such as the loss of electrical power, access to data, contact information, transportation routes to and from the workplace, network failures, and the absence of staff are all factors that need to be considered when creating an effective Business Continuity Plan (BCP).
Communications Management
Ensuring that an organization has easily accessible and updated contact lists is critical to quickly contacting key staff and services in the event of an emergency. It is also important to have access to the media in the event of a disaster to communicate vital information to the public about an organization’s continuity efforts.
Test BCP & Educate Staff on Plan
It is important to test a BCP annually or after a significant organizational change. Ensuring that all members of an organization are familiar with the BCP, where it is located, and are aware of their roles and responsibilities will better prepare an organization for an emergency. Plan regular meetings to update staff on BCP, and have a committee or individual that is specifically dedicated to maintaining the BCP and educating staff members on what to do in the event that the continuity of critical services is disrupted.
Consider all Types of Emergencies
There are many types of emergencies that have the potential to disrupt a business or organization; for example, a pandemic outbreak, natural disaster, power outage, or fire are a few of the many types of events that can disrupt the continuity of essential services. A BCP should reflect the possibility of various types of disruptions at different levels of severity.
For additional information visit the Links page under the Business Continuity section.
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