As the Emergency Manager for a fortune 25 company with over 400 active facilities to manage. It's difficult to find any formal Emergency Management training that includes office buildings, clinics, data centers, etc. Most FEMA Independant Study Courses focus on local government Incident Command, response, and planning. Courses need to be developed to train this sector.
Another component of private business is that it has the resources (i.e. logistics) that can be tapped into during a response. All they need is the proper training as to how they can partner with local government during a response to make that response better and more efficient.
Comments (23)
Public/Private co-operation is a great idea but
I'd bet that private entities would be -MOSTLY- focused on their own survivability and restorations. Any excess Private "response' capacity should be solicited and cataloged by local authorities during a well advertised public/private planning session so that available private resources could be identified.
Availability of those "extra" resources would have to then be periodicly updated and confirmed viable. The dependability and cost-out factors would also need to be determined for those resources -- so that authorities could adequately build them into a living-breathing comprehensive plan. I think that when SHTF though, most well intentioned Private assistance to Public needs would be muted unless the planned for efforts were well rehearsed . . . and could be somehow compensated -AND- relieved of liabilities factors. Just trying to be realistic ! (smile)
Good point. FEMA has offered guidance to "Business and Industry" and the "Whole Community" concept includes working with business to share information and resources. But, as you say, training is a shortfall. Work with your local Emergency Management agencies, many can help you. Some you may need to help...
To extend on this. There is a lot government tries to do (not so well) that the private sector can do (and often times already does) faster and cheaper. The training will help a lot but as the private sector steps up with their strengths there will be a need for govts to step back from many of these areas. I also encourage the private sector to ask questions to help with course development. Your questions will help to enhance the coursework.
Ummmm....we have that: http://www.fema.gov/about/org/ncp/coop/index.shtm
Scot Phelps
Scot,
That site mainly deals with COOP planning. I'm also talking about fire, life/safety. In this company, COOP planning and Emergency Preapredness and Response (fire, life/safety) plan in silos. There's no guidance to the private sector on how they need to to work together.
Unfortunately it's the corporate culture. We need guidance to help change that way of thinking.
As a former continuity coordinator at a Fortune 100 company I can pretty much feel comfortable saying that the larger companies have continuity programs in place (BC, DR and COOP), but the small and mid-sized companies may be woefully lagging behind. I agree that the FEMA continuity site is excellent for helping the private sector get started, but chambers of commerce, local EMDs and so forth need to have the straight talk conversation with them and show them how to evaluate threats and risks and put together a plan. TEEX has a fantastic Threat & Risk analysis course. Simply put, IT ROCKS!
I would think perhaps the local Chamber of Commerce would take the lead on disaster continuity efforts between private business and local government. I would use it as a gauge of your communities resilience.
The Chamber should certainly be a partner but you will find that emergency management agencies are doing this more and more. Also building and managers associations are involved in many locations.
I think ICS is very easy to implement in the business realm. You only use what positions you need. As for incorporating into local disasters, unless you are actively responding to something (you are a utility provider for example) you pretty much need to stay away from that.
Have your own EOC. Run the applicable ESFs as they apply to what you do. If it doesn't apply, delete it.
PHEM,
I agree with running your own EOC etc. But I'm finding...at least with this company, that ICS isn't even in the picture. Here we plan in silos; IT, business continuity, and Emergency Preparedness and Response (fire, life/safety) barely talk to each other yet alone work together planning for an event or during a response.
There needs to be processes in place that guides the private sector on how to plan for and respond during an event. I'm not saying that they have to have boots on the ground out in the community, but they need to have guidance on the proper steps to take in planning; and if appropriate, how to support their local government with their resources when requested.
Our job in emergency management is to breakdown those silos. The job is to manage the interdependencies between functions. To coordinate, communicate, collaborate and cooperate with everyone in and around the organizations. This includes all departments, agencies, your supply chain, your customers, the public.
It takes leadership to do this but Emergency Management (including COOP)is the umbrella that bring it all together. If you are not breaking silos you are not doing your job.
It's hard to foster collaboration when you meet resistance at every corner. The corporate culture was in place many years before I got here and there are those that think(know) that their way is the only way. "It's the way we've always done it, so why should we change.?" When those people are several rungs on the ladder above me, it's very hard to break those silos.
I'm doing my job ensuring that staff, contractors, and visitors to our sites are entering a safe environment and if something does happen, we will respond in a safe and effective manner.
I agree however corporate America is cheep and always wants things for free, besides there is plenty of information for them all the have to do is 'Google'. If they do not want to protect themselves what can you do, pay them to !!
This just published on the FEMA IS site:
IS-660 - Introduction to Public-Private Partnerships
Course Date
20 December 2011
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to the role of public-private partnerships in emergency preparedness and planning. The goal of this training is to establish a common vocabulary for public sector agencies and private sector organizations interested in utilizing partnerships to improve response, recovery, and resilience.
Course Objectives
Upon completing this course, you will be able to:
Describe the importance of public-private partnerships to emergency preparedness and planning.
Identify roles and responsibilities in public-private partnerships.
Identify how to establish and sustain partnerships by communicating a common mission.
Primary Audience
State and local emergency management professionals and planners; personnel from response agencies; personnel from Federal, State, local, and Tribal government agencies that may participate in continuity planning efforts; members of public-private partnerships of collaborative relationships; and representatives from private-sector organizations involved in emergency management and/or continuity planning, and response actions.
Wow! This Think Tank really works! I'm looking forwad to taking the course and then passing it on to my co-workers.
The Feds will have to pass it to the State. The State could then inform their cities and teritories , who will inform
individuals.
In addition to instruction and planning, it takes joint private sector - government training exercises to adequately prepare for effective response(s) during major emergencies. I participated in such an exercise, and it was a real education for all concerned.
It’s important not to overlook another segment of the private (and public) sector -- the cultural heritage community. Within each state, territory, and tribal nation are libraries, archives, records repositories, museums, and historical societies containing vital and often irreplaceable collections that include books, photographs, documents, essential government records, buildings, significant landscapes, recordings, artwork, furniture, artifacts, and more. In the aftermath of a disaster, these institutions, large or small, can restore a sense of identity and normalcy, provide an economic anchor during the long recovery, and sustain and heal distressed communities. They are part and parcel of the Whole Community and should be included in planning from the local level up to the state and federal levels.
It takes comunities within cities to get the ball rolling.
Our town used our citizen patrol to take pictures during our flood this past summer and for other things. They
were turned over to insurance and other businesses.
I don't think "Corporate America," is a particularly ethical group to be following. Everything does not need to "run like a business." I am really sick of this notion that business is somehow more efficient than government. In many ways it is not. In first world countries (in fact ALL of them other than the US,) which have government run health care the average amount spent per person for the same amount of care is about 1/2 as much as it is in America, where we are health care "consumers!"
CM,
This thread doesn't state that everything needs to be run like a business nor is it a forum for debating whose better at administering Healthcare.
It speaks to the need for Corporations to be prepared for disasters and to assist the community and local government with any resources it may have available.
You need a national chain, to take the lead. Like Walmrt or Target, so they have the same readiness plan nation wide. Then employees could take it to their particular religous affiliations. Church members could take the training back to their workplaces.
I agree that this training would be excellent. However, there are many private trainers like myself that can take the FEMA material, the organization's specifics, and their professional experience to create training classes for you. Not sure what others charge, but I know I am relatively cheap.