ILMA Compoundings – November 2018 - 34

support when needed and have a very
solid grasp of cloud and BDR (backup
disaster recovery) technologies."
Moore agreed. "Although disaster
preparedness can be done internally,
investing in expert assistance as
it relates to disaster preparedness
decreases the risks that the plan is
inadequate and ineffective," she said.
Hamilton said he believes that his
company's plan was initially created by
a third party, but it has been modified
over the years as staff has learned
through each experience. In addition,
he said, "some of our customers also
had some input during their auditing
of our facilities."
For others, Reynolds recommends
creating a plan framework, "ensuring
that every department, every function
of the company, plays a significant
role." Then, he said, "an outside
contractor can help the manufacturer
operationalize the business continuity
plan and, most importantly, serve as a
third-party, objective reviewer to help
the company test and stress the plan to
ensure it will deliver as expected."

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| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

In looking for outside support,
Moore recommended giving preference
to advisors who have "experience and
familiarity with disaster preparedness
management as well as the criticalthinking skills needed to develop
detailed plans and procedures."

Practice Makes Perfect
Having a plan, while an important
step, is not enough to ensure that risks
are eliminated or minimized.
"An ill-equipped, disordered plan can
result in exorbitant financial loss and even
legal consequences," warned Moore. "It's
important that manufacturing companies
have a written and up-to-date disaster
preparedness plan in place and that they
periodically revisit the plan to assess its
adequacy and to determine whether any
changes or updates are needed."
Drills should be conducted at least
annually, recommended Watkins. "In
each department, there should be a
person assigned to observe and note
areas that can be improved upon," he
said. That information should make its
way back to management and whoever

is responsible for maintaining the
DRP so that appropriate updates can
be made to the plan.
Moore recommended that drills
"mimic real-life emergency situations."
In addition, she said, "Drills should
be conducted unexpectedly and under
varying conditions."
Drills should also cast a wide net in
terms of participants, said Reynolds:
"Management should involve their local
or state emergency management or
homeland security department as well as
local fire, rescue and police personnel."
Adjust the plan on an ongoing basis,
Hamilton recommended, using what
has been learned from both drills and
actual events and calling upon the
expertise of all departments. "Make
it something that is a useful, living
document," he said, "not something
that is just stuck on a shelf that you
don't look at very often."
In the immediate aftermath of Florence, Powell indicated that his company
was able to rely on its disaster plan, noting that future changes might involve
"starting our process even sooner."
Priorities, of course, involve "our
own employees and taking care of our
customers to ensure they will have sufficient product on hand - especially
for critical products," Powell explained.
Disaster plans help companies focus on
inventories, suppliers, identifying deficiencies, and resolving immediate and
long-term impacts. Due to flooding
caused by Florence, many people "lost
literally everything except the clothes
on their backs," Powell said. "Having a
plan and gathering supplies far enough
in advance is key."
Watkins agreed. "Don't underestimate the value of a properly planned,
documented and tested direct-response
plan," he said. "It can quite literally be
the difference between your business
eating a couple days of payroll cost
and your business going bankrupt."
Grensing-Pophal is a Wisconsin-based
freelance writer.
http://www.ILMA.ORG
ILMA Compoundings – November 2018

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