An article published by Facility Management Journal emphasising the need for Facility Managemenprofessionals to become more acquainted with Business Continuity Management and Disaster Preparation and Recovery, May 2010

1. Facility Management Journal

2. A
nd the daily horoscope read: Be pre- ity management and disaster recovery. The
pared. Today will be extraordinarily Disaster Recovery Institute defines business
busy with everyone demanding your continuity management as a holistic process
expertise and leadership. Don’t get far from that identifies potential impacts that threaten
the phone and be prepared to stay late. an organization and provides a framework
for resilience with the capability for an ef-
I read the horoscope in good humor as it fective response that safeguards the interest
appeared to be the 24/7 horoscope of our of its key stakeholders, reputation and value
chosen facility profession. creating activities. The existing and potential
threats surface a plethora of catastrophes for
which we must prepare our people and facil-
Is Your ity sites: earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados,
terrorism, vandalism, floods, fires, pandemics
and the aftermath of each. Natural disasters
Disaster Plan
have increased 40 percent since 1994. Essen-
tially, we own the crystal ball for the known
and the unknowns.
The World Trade Center
and Hurricane Katrina
in Place?
In September 2002, I wrote the article “Sep-
tember 11 – an FM Wake-Up Call.” Con-
centrating on building and design, the article
focused on the tragic impact and the reasons
the towers collapsed. I concluded with a sec-
tion suggesting that facility managers assist in
Anthony Pizzitola, CFM, JFMA the development of a functional contingency
plan for the safety of people, assets and infor-
mation—most often easier said than done.
My test came as the regional facility leader for
As for daily accountabilities, facility profes- an expanded area with Yum! Brands. I needed
sionals consistently live up to the definition to quickly implement a contingency and re-
of facility management—the practice of co- covery plan when Hurricane Katrina was ap-
ordinating the physical workplace with the proaching the Louisiana shoreline.
people and the work of the organization. Yet,
other dynamics navigate their way onto our al- The Katrina plan included extensive shut-
ready crowded role. The corporations we serve down procedures to protect people first
present new challenges as does our industry— and minimize facility damage second. Daily
LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environ- preparatory conference calls were beneficial
mental Design), LED (light-emitting diode), with operations and vendors. The preopening
sustainability, the International Organization plan included basic assessment and heating,
for Standardization, the Americans with Dis- ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC),
abilities Act and budget restrictions. and refrigeration start-up. With no front-line
experience, I was working from instinct and
In order to pay due diligence to these multiple linking together critical facility education
responsibilities, our facility definition can from IFMA. Although there was intense
be expanded to include anything that affects preparation, televised reports of the after-
or is affected by the facilities incorporating math were not promising.
the organization. As the items listed are sig-
nificant to facilities, another critical area con- Post Katrina, I was able to enter the heart
tinues to capture first place ranking on the of New Orleans for an impact analysis to
evening news. determine if my plan was successful. The
shock while viewing the destruction was sim-
Due to global warming and terrorism, a new ilar to when I entered ground zero following
May/June 2010
................
headline influencing our professional facility Sept. 11. When viewed as a journalist, I
management practice is business continu- could not adequately articulate my feelings
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Facility Management Journal
into a few paragraphs—any attempt would
have been futile. When viewing the destruc-
tion as a facility manager, Katrina provided
prime learning ground and a laboratory
to test disaster preparation and recovery.
Facilities that followed the shut-down pro-
cedures required minimal repair compared
to facilities where procedures were not com-
pletely followed. HVAC panel doors that
were strapped down prevented water entry
but unsecured antennas lay in the parking
lot with another competitor’s signage. Each
site and area provided diverse results but
the impact analysis was not restricted solely
to the site. Surveying the immediate area
damage provided critical data on the future
of the facility. Although a facility required
minimal repair, the immediate area was dev-
astated. Re-opening was ill-advised based
on limited customer base and ability to
attract team members.
In these cases, corporations reidentified
signage and satisfied the remainder of the
lease obligation. In more fortunate areas
with less impact and a substantial infrastruc-
ture, facilities were repaired or reconstructed
in record time.
Three hurricanes followed Katrina to the
Gulf Coast. People were better prepared for
these with enhanced preparation and the full
participation of operations. Vendors were
onboard and the concept was to prepare
for the worst but be the first on the block to
re-open. In the majority of cases, operations
opened within a few hours of power restora-
tion. It was a classic win-win for all including
the shareholders.
The train has left the station
Industry professionals have warned to
curtail the future adverse affects of global
warming. LEED has gone to great lengths
to combat global warming and to insure
our great grandchildren are born in a better
environment through green construction
techniques that are sustainable and preserve
natural resources. But is this too late for
today’s e-headlines?
After decades of environmental neglect,
we are experiencing unprecedented global
May/June 2010
................
warming issues that boarded the same train,
with recent earthquakes. Although predicted
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32 www.fmjonline.com

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Facility Management Journal
as imminent within two decades, the earth-
quakes of Haiti and Chile were not ex- Due to global warming and terrorism, a new headline
pected and one month apart. Predicted for
California is a 94 percent probability for a influencing our professional facility management practice
major earthquake within three decades. In
February 2010, the National Oceanic and is business continuity management and disaster recovery.
Atmospheric Administration predicted that
the Atlantic and Pacific will experience less
hurricane activity but stronger hurricanes simultaneously. Being proactive rather than vanced corporations had business continuity
carrying mega-billion price tags. Although reactive is the objective to mitigate loss and departments in place to ensure business
tornado alley has experienced a reprieve business interruptions. continuity in preparation for disasters, yet
in recent years, tornados are dropping down to guarantee economic survival, they were
in other regions. Subsequent to four hurricanes and three fires, downsized. This trimming has also occurred
my inspections of facilities attained a higher in facility management ranks.
As facility professionals, we cannot stop hur- dimension. I inspected for the normal issues
ricanes or earthquakes that have boarded the but equally for the vulnerability of the total Delivering more with less is the standing
same train, but we can better prepare the fa- site. What protection or replacement was mantra signifying that more tasks should be
cility sites within our control. Are the threats required to maximize resilience? The limita- completed with fewer personnel. Increased
from global warming adding a new dimen- tion of incident management and elimination education through IFMA provides strategies
sion to facility benchmarking? of crisis management became a separate but for effective facility management and the ex-
equally important checklist. ecution and completion of projects with less
Business continuity—the nuts and bolts staff. Facility management is a solution-based
Business continuity management contains BIA is structured to provide quantitative department prepared to deliver more with
three prime focus areas—risk evaluation information for the site and the impact to less. With increased training and education,
and control, business impact analysis (BIA) brand identity. For instance, if a Category 5 we can continually evidence our value to the
and follow-up business continuity strate- hurricane impacts the site, expect a minimum corporations and the industry we serve.
gies to ensure complete or partial business US$500,000 in structural damage, 60-day
continuity. Facility professionals will inter- closure, 40 percent loss for personnel aban- Business continuity management can easily
pret this framework as in-place processes to donment and 25 percent loss in customer be positioned in the umbrella of facility man-
protect the facility and return to operations. allegiance. Once the evaluations are complete, agement. Facility managers have the ability
Operations will interpret with a question: a blueprint is designed to curtail risk and to validate to corporations that our multi-
How rapidly can we reopen and re-claim minimize exposure. layered expertise is a one-stop shop. Regard-
a competitive advantage? less of the challenges and new concepts, we
The blueprint is identified as a business can assume the responsibilities of several
As facility practitioners, we visit sites regular- continuity strategy designed to identify ele- roles and provide definitive results. Becoming
ly to inspect what we expect. Numerous capi- ments required to diminish recovery time more acquainted—even certified in business
tal projects require checklist inspections to and predict reopening dates with reasonable continuity management—will stretch our
determine if the scope of work was followed. accuracy. As you can now determine, busi- knowledge base and enhance our value to
Inspection of basic services is mandatory to ness continuity management challenges our the corporation and industry.
ensure valued vendors are in partnership with ability to forecast and prepare for the worst,
our corporate culture. Our site visits serve as yet experience the minimum based on a solid In this financial climate, we write our horo-
preventive and predictive measures to make attack strategy. scopes and outcomes by preparation for
certain that business will not be interrupted. the unknowns. Victory is not calculated
Don’t think that business continuity man- on who or how we conquer but who we ef-
Risk evaluation wears the same proactive agement is an amplified fire-drill. According fectively serve, the solutions we deliver and
cloak of caution. The facility and the site to ImpactWeather, when businesses experi- money we save. FMJ
are evaluated to determine what elements ence a minimum of three days disruption,
are at risk within and outside our control. seven out of 10 will fail in less than two
Most importantly what is the corporation’s years. AT&T reports that 40 percent of Anthony Pizzitola, CFM, JFMA, is a regional facility
resilience to the identified risk? For instance, businesses do not have business continuity manager. He has extensive experience in business
plans and those that do, have missing ele- continuity planning, disaster recovery and the
a California site might have low resilience Americans with Disabilities Act.
to earthquakes therefore activating measures ments in their plans.
to become more resilient is their objective Pizzitola has published 22 articles internationally
to control the impact. One measure is us- An opportunity for facility managers
and may be reached at AFPizzitola@aol.com.
May/June 2010
Today’s economic landscape has corpora-
................
ing foundation straps secured to the wood
substrate so the entire structure vibrates tions trimming where possible. Many ad-
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34 www.fmjonline.com