Page 48 - Occupational Health & Safety, May 2018

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
Recovering Assets after a Disaster
One or all of a facility’s assets may be compromised or destroyed. Documenting what resources will be available to guard or replace those assets facilitates a timely recovery.
BY KAREN D. HAMEL
This Nov. 27, 2017, photo from
Ramrod Key, Fla., shows contractors using heavy machinery and trucks to haul debris from a highway after Hurricane Irma.
44 Occupational Health & Safety | MAY 2018
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those who fail to plan. And, because the facility has pre-determined their course of action well in advance and in a less stressful environment, their outcomes have a greater likelihood of succeeding.
Assets include both tangible and intangible things that a facility identifies as having value. Depending on the circumstances of the disaster, one or all of a facil- ity’s assets may be compromised or destroyed. Docu- menting what resources will be available to guard or replace those assets facilitates a timely recovery.
People
Employees can be impacted in different ways after an emergency. Incidents at the facility, such as fires, explo-
ealing with the immediate aftermath of a fire, chemical spill, or a natural or man- made disaster is very stressful for employ- ees and impacts not only the facility, but
often the neighboring community, as well. When the smoke clears or the storm finally passes, facilities with disaster recovery plans are able to immediately get started with their recovery efforts. Those without plans often struggle to determine the best course of action to take while also dealing with limited avail- ability of scarce resources.
Disaster recovery plans that identify vulnerabili- ties and key assets as well as specific recovery actions enable facilities to rebound from disasters faster than
HOWARD GREENBLATT/FEMA