Business continuity means maintaining the uninterrupted availability of all key business resources required to support essential business and or organization activities.
The creation of (and maintenance of) a sound business continuity and or a disaster recovery plan, is a complex undertaking, involving a series of steps specific to your organization.
We have the experts available to work with you and your team developing such plan customized to your requirements. The primary output from the business continuity management process is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).
We have the experts available to work with you and your team developing such plan customized to your requirements. The primary output from the business continuity management process is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).
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Program Development and or Review and Evaluation
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Risk Assessment and Impact Analysis (BIA)
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Legal and Other Requirements
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BCP Plan and Strategies
- Project Initiation and Management
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Business Continuity Strategies
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Coordination with Key Stakeholders
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Policies and Procedures
- Emergency Response Procedures
- Implementing and Operations
- Information Management and IT Redundancy
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Back-up and Recovery Plan and Procedures
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Service Level Agreements
- Communications Strategies; and
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Media Liaison Strategies
- Education and Training
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Exercising, Testing and Maintenance
- Resource Management
Governance Emergency Management Framework
The need for governance is essential, a central component for the planning, response and recovery in times of peace and in times of crisis/emergencies; working with all levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal).
G&EM works with you to develop a functional decision making framework adapted to your organization, i.e. emergency control group(ECG), incident management system (IMS) framework and or others customized to your organization, adaptable to all sectors and organizations.
Governance Framework and or Incident Management System (IMS): is a standardized organizational structure, a command and control management EM governance framework for clear assignment of leadership and authority during an emergency/ disaster. It could be an Incident Management System (IMS) framework recommended and adapted at the federal and provincial levels.
Governance is the means by which the leading authority (the board of directors, senior administrators) guides and monitors the values and goals of its organization through its level of preparedness, readiness to response and recovery from any scalable events. It is a process of overseeing a work activity at a level higher of accountability.
It is the process through which people, organization, board of directors, senior administrators, make decisions that have a direct collective impacts on the effectiveness and efficiency of the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
Working internally and externally with their workforce and key stakeholders, it creates a framework to facilitate the process of decision-making, eliminating silos, building integration. It is about making decisions, providing both direction, establishing, actions plans, priorities, identifying gaps, planning for continuous improvements; defining roles and responsibilities, influencing how the decisions is made and who are the decisions makers and what decisions is taken.
Education and Training
We customize and delivery education sessions within all areas of our expertise. Our experts have extensive experience as a professor / instructor in course design, delivery and evaluation. G&EM provides in-house staff training, in-class and teaching at colleges and university, and will develop educational events such as conferences, seminars, symposiums, and workshops. We will build the confidence and foundation in your workforce and community.
Our Approach but not limited to:
- Course and or training curriculum design
- Participant manual and all other related documentation
- As Guest Lecturer and Speakers, presentations by subject experts
- Audiovisual aids, e.g. videos, PowerPoint presentations, etc.
- Group discussions, breakout sessions and assignments
- Handouts that include implementation guidelines and checklists
- Exercise
- Workshop
- Mentoring Program
Emergency Operations Centers (EOC)
G&EM will design and or assess your EOC's physical size, staffing levels, and equipping to ensure its centralized location will adequately manage and coordinate the organization's disaster/emergency operations within your organization and or with other jurisdictions and key stakeholders during response and recovery according to the size and complexity of the event.
An emergency operations center, or EOC, is a central command and control facility responsible for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness and emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level in an emergency situation, and ensuring the continuity of operation of an organization.
An EOC is responsible for the strategic overview, or "big picture", of the disaster, and does not normally directly control field assets, instead making operational decisions and leaving tactical decisions to site command and or operational units. The common functions of all EOC's is to collect, gather and analyze data; make decisions that protect life and property, maintain continuity of the organization, within the scope of applicable laws; and disseminate those decisions to all concerned agencies and individuals. In most EOC's there is one individual in charge.
The first most critical component of an EOC is the individuals who staff it. They must be properly trained, and have the proper authority to carry out actions that are necessary to respond to the disaster. They also must be capable of thinking outside the box, and creating a lot of "what if" scenarios.
The second most critical component of an EOC is its communications system. This can be from simple word of mouth, to sophisticated encrypted communications networks, but it must provide for a redundant path to ensure that both situational awareness information and strategic orders can pass into and out of the facility without interruption. For continuity of operations considerations, backbone components of the communications system are not normally located at the EOC. A number of EOC facilities are incorporating radio over IP technology to provide a coherent assembly of various radios, interoperability with various radio technologies, and integration with telephone systems.
Emergency Preparedness, Response And Recovery
PLAN DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION AND UPDATES
The phases of Comprehensive Emergency Management and Business Continuity Planning that encompasses actions designed to build organizational resiliency, capacity and capabilities for response to and recovery from disasters and emergencies.
- Activities, programs, and systems developed and implemented prior to a disaster/emergency that are used to support and enhance mitigation of, response to, and recovery from disasters/emergencies.
- Preparedness is a continuous process. Preparedness involves efforts at all levels of government and between government and private-sector and nongovernmental organizations to identify threats, determine vulnerabilities, and identify required resources.
- Preparedness is operationally focused on establishing guidelines, protocols, and standards for planning, training and exercises, personnel qualification and certification, equipment certification, and publication management.
G&EM works with you to:
Develop ?? Review?? Update ??Implement ?? Validate ??Initiate / Activate ?? Train ?? Exercise
The elements of emergency planning, preparedness, response and recovery are:
- Leadership: Leadership ensures that emergency preparedness will be a priority and that adequate resources will be allocated to create and implement organizational emergency management and business continuity plan. Defining clear roles and responsibilities and lines of accountabilities.
- Governance Framework and or Incident Management System (IMS): is a standardized organizational structure, a command and control management EM governance framework for clear assignment of leadership and authority during an emergency/ disaster. It could be an Incident Management System (IMS) framework recommended and adapted at the federal and provincial levels. A command and control management EM framework for clear assignment of leadership and authority during an emergency / disaster / it could be an IMS framework recommended and adapted at the federal and provincial levels. Designating clear roles and responsibilities and lines of accountabilities.
- A framework designed to handle: Management, Operations, Logistics, Planning, and Administration & Finance. The governance framework and or IMS allows for appropriate decision making ensuring effective and efficient preparedness, response, recovery and or reconstruction utilization of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications.
- Emergency Management Plan: should be tailored and fine-tuned to meet the unique needs and resources of each organization. The site-based plan includes team assignments, emergency numbers, notification protocols, and all phases of emergency management: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery.
- Business Continuity Plan: should ensuring thatplans are developed and implemented, exercised and updated, to enable the continuation of pre-defined mission critical and key business priority services at an optimal level, including:
- Comprehensive plans and procedures for implementing and monitoring business continuity and recovery activities.
- Specific security plans and procedures to move up to heightened security levels in the event of an emergency or increased threat condition.
- Current lists of key resources required for the response and recovery of essential services, including personnel, facilities, critical infrastructure and assets information, resource management (human, financial, materials and supply chain) and office equipment/furniture, records management paper and technology assets (hardware and software) and communications.
- Emergency Teams: Site-based teams of individuals with specific duties to perform in order to prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Emergency Teams participate in the development of the plan to meet the organization and sector, branch, division, units and or programs needs and implement the plan in the event of an emergency.
- Communication: Plans should have established lines of internal communication (within the organization) and external communication (with the key stakeholders and community). Plans should include provisions for activation levels and alerting systems, after-hours communication (telephone tree), and alternate means if telephone lines are disabled, activation levels and alerting systems.
- Collaborating with municipal officials, and relevant sector organizations within government, municipal, and or health authority, to coordinate, converge, integrate planning and to ensure that all local emergency response plans and business continuity plans are consistent within federal and provincial legislations, regulations and standards.
- Emergency Management and Business Continuity Protocols: Emergency Management Protocols are the step-by-step procedures to implement in the event of an emergency.
- Planning: These are a set of clear directives that may be implemented across a number of emergency situations. These actions include Drop/Cover and Hold, Evacuation, Lockdown, Shelter in Place, Stand-by and All Clear, in addition, essential services, personal, services that could be suspended, IM and IT Redundancy, Alternate Facilities, and other specialized actions and measures.
- Resource Management and Logistics: The efficient and effective management of resources is essential in times of emergency. The availability of human, financial, physical, and supply-chain resources is essential to the response and recovery activities ensuring sustainability.
- An on-going process to ensure a current list of human resources, specialized personnel, emergency service providers, and supply chain resources are available and up-to-date; up-to-date lists and locations to ensure that existing equipment and supplies are operational, including on-going maintenance and systematic replacement and upgrades of equipment and supplies.
- Mutual Aids Agreements: written agreement between agencies and/or jurisdictions that they will assist one another in times of emergency.
- Staff Responsibilities: personnel at all levels have a moral and legal responsibility, with regards to a safe and secure workplace.
- Training: Training is important on at least three levels:
- General awareness training for all staff;
- First Aid, CPR and Emergency Response Training (ERT) for all staff;
- Team training to address specific emergency response or recovery activities.
- Exercise, Drills, Practice: Practicing the plan consists of drills, tabletop and functional exercises, orientation for staff, etc. It is generally recommended to start with basic orientation and tabletop exercises prior to engaging in full-scale simulations or drills.
- Personal Emergency Plans: Staff members should develop personal and family emergency response plans. Each family should anticipate that a staff member may be required to remain at work following a catastrophic event. Knowing that the family is prepared and can handle the situation will enable staff to do their job more effectively
Exercises & Drills
We customize, design scenario, lead the planning, organize, develop participant??s manual, facilitate and conduct exercises locally, regionally, and at the provincial and / or national level.
To help you develop an exercise program, G&EM can provide the following services:
By working with G&EM Consulting & Training Services organizations can be assured they will have a valid exercise program that will identify strengths and weaknesses in plans and strategies, while also providing staff with the opportunity to utilize response resources and rehearse their roles during an emergency situation as well as identifying areas for improvement.
Types of Exercises
- A discussion-based introductory orientation tabletop exercise to familiarize staff with response roles, plans, procedures, and/or equipment
- Hospital Emergency Codes Exercises - Mass Casualty Exercises
- Tabletop exercises, which are facilitated reviews of emergency situations in an informal and stress-free environment
- Functional exercises, which are simulated interactive exercises that test the capability of an organization to respond to a simulated event
- Mock Simulated Full-scale exercises, which are designed to evaluate the operational capability of emergency management systems in a realistic environment that simulates actual response conditions to an emergency/security situation
Information Management and Technology Disaster Recovery Planning
Information management is a core component of all organizations infrastructure; it is the intellectual capital of responsible governance, vital to each organization. Best practice policies and standards result in efficient, accountable and cost-effective use of resources. Information technology constitutes the full spectrum of technologies and services that support information management. Organizations are responsible to ensure planning for redundancy and recovery, protecting and mitigating against any form of threats including cyber.
A corporate Business Continuity Plan ensures the continuum of mission critical services by providing the ability to successfully recover hardware and software applications in the event of a disaster emergency.
- Information is a vital asset that must be managed and, where appropriate, protected and secured
- Information and technology are key components in delivering essential services ensuring redundancy and recovery
Incident Management Systems (IMS) Framework
G&EM will develop ?? implement ?? train ?? exercise ?? teach
G&EM assists you to customize, develop and implement an IMS framework for your organization providing training and education for staff, senior management and appropriate key stakeholders.
We customize and delivery education sessions to any sectors including in college and universities. Ginette Soulieres has extensive experience as a professor / instructor in course design, delivery and evaluation.
We design, organize, facilitate tabletop exercise, mock simulation testing your organization IMS framework re-enforcing roles and responsibilities and plans.
We provide in-house staff training and develop educational workshops for larger groups.
IMS is adopted and recommended as the Emergency Management Framework by both federal and provincial government.
Incident Management System (IMS): The Incident Management System is an Emergency Management framework. It provides a flexible management system that is adaptable to all scaleable incidents internal to the organization and or involving multi-jurisdictional response. The IMS is the combination of personnel, facilities, equipment, procedures and communications operating within a common organizational framework to manage the resources required to effectively accomplish objectives related to the emergency or incident.
IMS is established for the purposes of planning, response, continuity and recovery activity. It is a framework that can be used by any organization, large or small, to provide a basic structure and effectively manage any disaster/emergency situation. An IMS allows the organization to standardize contact information across organizations, to make communication and co-operation easier, and managing the disaster/emergency more efficient.
The main concepts behind the IMS structure are: a) every emergency requires the execution of certain tasks or functions; b) every incident needs a person in charge: c) no one should direct more than seven people; and d) no one should report to more than one person.
Components of the IMS include:
- Common terms established for organizational functions, resources and facilities;
- Unified command structure with a common set of objectives and strategies
- Modular organization which expands or contracts as the incident progresses
- Manageable span of control by one person
- Pre-designated incident facilities, Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)
- Integrated communications
- Five-function structure for management of all major incidents.
Incident Management System (IMS) Applicable to Hospital Codes
The Incident Management System (IMS) is a recognized International and North American framework (standard) for the management of emergency incidents and other events. IMS is used extensively in the fire service and increasingly so by police and emergency medical services. Many hospitals and other health care providers such as Community Care Access Centers and Public Health Units in Ontario and across Canada have implemented IMS within their organizations to respond and recovery from any local and or at the community or wide emergency events. It allows for a multidisciplinary intervention and communication using a standardized language, a common approach, enhanced communication, management of human and physical resources and partnerships with emergency services and health care providers.
Our experts will work with you to customize, develop, implement, train and test your IMS framework within our organization applicable to your sector and all hospital codes.
In-house, in-class exercises and participation, we will customize courses, training and exercises.
Objectives:
- Provide an overview and understanding of IMS
- Enable health care providers to take action to implement IMS in their organizations
- Promote partnerships and enhanced communication between the health care sector and other first responders
- Standardize the approach health care providers use in dealing with emergency management
- Provide a basic tool kit to support the development of IMS within the health care sector
- Demonstrate how to apply IMS to hospital emergency codes
These include:
- Presentations by subject experts from emergency and health care services
- Audiovisual aids, e.g. videos, PowerPoint presentations, etc.
- Group discussions, breakout sessions and assignments
- Handouts that include implementation guidelines and checklists
Libraries and Archives Disaster Plan
Ginette Soulieres has administered the National Library of Canada and National Archives of Canada corporate emergency programs, leading and coordinating the response and recovery activities ensuring the safety, security and protection of occupants, safeguard/preservation of contents, assets and business continuity planning for over 27 buildings across Canada including seven Regional Operations Centers from Halifax to Vancouver. She has developed, implement the Corporate Business Continuity Planning Program, act as the Corporate Nationwide BCP Coordinator; develop, implement the LAC Integrated Disaster Management Governance Framework, administering all emergency programs and all the education, training and exercising programs.
G&EM will advise and assist in the development and implementation and or review of strategies and plans; to protect occupants, prevent, prepare, mitigating against risks, threats; to minimize potential damage to contents ensuring safeguards and preservation of contents; to respond to incident, to recover from and to restore sites, and records (all media) damaged by the incident or disaster; and to increase staff's awareness, level of preparedness to respond to any scaleable emergency.
G&EM design and deliver all safety, corporate security, occupational safety and health (OHS), fire prevention, emergency evacuation (all hazards), emergency management (all hazards), preparedness, response, recovery, and business continuity plans and programs.
We offer an integrated risk management framework, all-hazards approach, ensuring compliance with all levels of safety legislation and regulations, codes and standards.
Our services includes but not limited to:
- Governance EM & BCP Framework
- Emergency Evacuation Plans, Preparedness and BCP Plan design and Implementation
- Health and Safety Training for Emergency Response Team (ERT)
- N95 Mask Fit Testing
- Protection Safety and Security of Occupants
- Safeguards and Preservation of contents (all medium)
- Information, Records and Technology (IT) Management Redundancy
- Business Continuity Planning, Continuity of Operations
- Disaster Response and Recovery
- Education, Training & Exercise
Pandemic Planning, Training and Exercises
G&EM customizes Pandemic Influenza Plan specific to each organization and sector.
Working with your organization Pandemic Planning Team and or Coordinator we will:
- Create, if not established, a pandemic planning team with representatives from essential services, departments; adjust to your business size and sector
- Design a planning outline with input from the planning team and or coordinator
- Identify specific risks related to the threat of a Pandemic and potential impacts
- Mitigate the impact (e.g. services, human, technology infrastructure, alternate working locations)
- Design and or review, validate a PIP and BCP Plan
- Essential services, personnel
- Services that can be curtailed
- Redeployment
- Telework
- Human Resources Policies
- Potential shortfalls, of ICU beds, ventilator, masks, supplies, food
- Develop and or review, validate, policies, guidelines, operational procedures
- Alternate sites
- Community Care Assessment Centres
- Primary care & treatment sites
- Build organizational awareness
- Communication plans
- Education, train, and exercise
- Assist you when you activate your plan
- Stabilize the response and recovery
- Restore service
The federal government and all provincial government have developed plans, guidelines, including checklists, to assist all sectors, businesses, industries, and other employers in planning for a pandemic outbreak as well as for other comparable catastrophes.
As a leader, you are a valuable partner in our community against natural and man-made threats. Preparedness is the best method to defend against the impacts of all threats and all hazards, including public health threats.
As we face the possibility of a severe influenza outbreak, it is difficult to predict how virus may or may not change. However, we know that all organizations, regardless of size and sectors must be prepared to respond appropriately and to recovery.
We work with you to ensure you have the necessary tools and information to be prepared as well.
The threats for a more severe virulent pandemic influenza and or any other form of health outbreaks remain as one the utmost critical threat worldwide.
All organizations must continue to plan to be able to respond in a flexible way to varying levels of severity and be prepared to take additional steps if a potentially more serious outbreak of influenza evolves at any time.
We will work with you to ensure the wheels of the organization continue to turn, even if faced with absenteeism, restricted services, and supply chain disruptions.
If prepared, small businesses can keep their doors open and our community??s economic health and security resilient.
The most important thing that you can do to prepare is to have a plan. It is also critical that you encourage your employees to prepare their own homes and families.
Research / Case Studies Development
We excel at researching, developing and writing briefing notes, policies, procedures, incident reports, correspondence, case studies and letters for executive review and signature. This includes presentations, business cases, technical manuals, and other documents.
Risk Assessment, Business Impact Analysis and Mitigation Measures
Other Terms: (Hazard, Identification Risk Assessment, risk Analysis, Analysis, Vulnerability Assessment, Operational Risks)
Hazards are those interactions between extreme events and vulnerable communities and operational risks not covered by the community??s and organizational coping resources.
Risk Management is a critical component as it provides the transition between problem identification (the all-hazards assessment step) and the appropriate mitigation and/preparedness measures. Internal and external factors must be considered in the risk assessment process. It contributes also to public, workforce awareness and allows for their involvement in decision-making.
G&EM will:
- Develop Risk Assessment Templates customized to your organization
- Develop guidelines to ensure that the information gathered on each hazard is sufficiently complete and accurate to provide the basis for thorough analysis
- Facilitate and or conducts the risk analysis for your organization to determine the likelihood, probability of occurrence, and potential consequences of each hazard
- Assesses the vulnerability of the organization and community infrastructures, capabilities and capacity
- Draft a report, that will highlight mitigation measures and next steps
- Assesses factors that may increase the vulnerability of the organization's population.
- Builds on the findings of the risk assessment to complete a business impact analysis
Survey Design / Analysis
We design and develop surveys to assess your level of preparedness, and provide complete analysis of these surveys. All work is done to ensure your due diligence meeting all national and international standards.
Tool Kit / Template Development
We design and provide tool kits and templates to provide customized plans for Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (HIRA), business continuity, communications, contingency, emergency preparedness, response and recovery, and all other aspects of disaster/emergency management.
