Testing Your Disaster Plan

To create 'buy-in' among the participants, it's important to develop a testing scenario that's realistic and specific. It's also important that testing be applied not just to the technology department, but to all crucial areas of the business.

Developing and testing a disaster plan is to your benefit. For one of our client firms, none of the common disaster predictions came true when Hurricane Georges hit its area.

In September 1998, we were in the process of completing a disaster plan (also known as a business continuity plan) for a television communication company transmitting via satellite from Miami. The plan was in final draft form but had not been communicated to employees or most management personnel when a strong (and potentially even stronger) Hurricane Georges headed toward the city. The threat fortunately was realized several days in advance, which allowed for the rapid completion and implementation of the plan.

The plan, covering the Miami facility and two alternative hot-sites, was fairly sophisticated. One alternative site for satellite transmission, located in northern Georgia, included a team to activate the site and launch specially prepared programming. Another alternative site, in New York state, had a separate team to maintain crucial technology systems.

Although the business prepared for the worst, the storm actually struck well to the south and west of Miami, near Key West. There was no significant damage in the Miami area, but the exercise tested important components of the plan:

• The ability of the staff to protect equipment and fortify the building in a timely and orderly manner
• The ability to activate and maintain an alternative site
• The ability of the administration to sponsor a shelter for emergency storm personnel
• The effectiveness of Human Resources to release and recall staff on an orderly basis
• The testing of backup electrical generation and other equipment during adverse weather conditions
• The ability to communicate emergency technical instructions to affiliate stations located throughout the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world

A post-disaster meeting of the Emergency Response Team was held shortly after everything returned to normal. (Note: It's very important to hold the post-disaster meeting as soon as possible before memories of the details are forgotten.) The post-disaster meeting resulted in a number of refinements to the plan. Most important, the exercise confirmed the ability of the organization to maintain important business activities at a pre-established acceptable level, with minimal impact to viewers and revenue generation.