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An emergency is a sudden or unplanned event that may involve great damage or loss to the University. It can also cause major disruption of the University’s daily operations. With all the unrest and violence in the world today, natural catastrophes and the potential for less serious yet equally disruptive occurrences, such as fires or windstorms that can locally affect single or multiple operations, departments must be prepared to respond as quickly as possible to avoid loss of life and property. The University’s response plans to address emergencies are the Critical Incident Management Plan and the Emergency Operation Plan. The Critical Incident Management Plan is a designed response plan for the University. It is available as a guide to the departments in developing a response plan for a University wide emergency situation. The incident may also involve activation of the Emergency Operation Plan (EOP), which is required by the State. The EOP is designed to facilitate a planned response for the City, County, and the University in the event of an emergency. Visit: http://www.virginia.edu/emergency/plan.html to learn more about these plans.
The Emergency Continuity and Recovery Plan is the subject of this document and is not intended to replace the Emergency Operation Plan or the Critical Incident Management Plan, but to supplement these emergency response plans with a plan for recovery and resumption of critical functions within your department after an emergency has occurred. This is a tool to be used as a guide to assist you in developing a plan that is effective for your department, and you should feel free to be flexible in creating your individual plan.
What will the plan do for my department?
Once you have finished developing your Emergency Continuity and Recovery Plan you should have the tools necessary to recover and continue business operations after an emergency. Your plan should provide you with answers to the following questions:
- How well am I prepared to recover from an emergency?
- What will I do if I do not have access to my current facility?
- Do I have the resources needed to continue business operations?
- How will I secure these resources?
- Who will be involved in the recovery process?
- How will I deal with the losses?
- What communication methods will I use to keep my employees, students and others informed of important information?
- How will I establish efficient organization after an emergency?
- How can I limit potential losses?
Your plan will consist of a set of completed templates, either a revised copy of those provided here or a set you develop to support the needs of your department. When you are finished constructing your plan you will have identified:
- Critical Functions
- The resources necessary to perform those functions and methods to procure those resources
- A team to provide support for long-term recovery as well as short-term continuity of your critical operations and the tasks each team member will be responsible for performing
- The requirements for submitting a claim efficiently to support maximum reimbursement of your losses.
It is recommended that each department develop a plan to provide for recovery and continuity of operations after the initial emergency response is concluded. The plan should be prepared for activation in the event an emergency is severe enough to cause major damage or interrupt a department’s business operations.
There are two areas to address in your plan.
- CONTINUITY: This refers to the resumption of critical functions. To resume operations that must continue when your normal place of business is not available, you must make decisions before an emergency has occurred, such as the possible location of an alternate operation site or how a temporary location will be selected; how to provide computer, telephone, and other services; and what other resources are required in order to operate. You will begin planning for continuing your operations by using Template #1.
- RECOVERY: This refers to your department’s activities to return to your pre-emergency condition both physically and financially. This includes identifying missing or injured persons; securing the site to prevent additional damage, loss of property, or injury; assessing and identifying damages; working with the Office of Risk Management on pre-authorization before incurring continuity and recovery expenses; recording and reporting damages, recovery, and continuity costs; repairing or replacing damaged items; and filing a claim through the Office of Risk Management. You will begin addressing these areas in Template #2.
The templates included in this tool will address both the recovery and continuity areas described above and will form your Emergency Continuity and Recovery Plan. They are designed as generic templates that each department can customize to fit the needs of its operation. Complete Templates #1, 2, and 3 in that order. Templates #4-7 can be completed in any order and are referred to in Templates #1 and 2. Template #8 should be completed and submitted to the Office of Risk Management immediately after an incident with preliminary information.
Keep in mind that in the aftermath of a disaster the timely implementation of your plan is essential to minimize losses. Please note that failure to mitigate damages may result in these additional losses not being covered by insurance. In particular, time is of the essence in losses involving water damage, likewise it is important to discuss your continuity and recovery activities with the Office of Risk Management to ensure your costs will be reimbursed.
It is recommended that department heads review the Emergency Continuity and Recovery Plan annually and after major changes to business operations to insure all critical functions are thoroughly addressed.
Template #1: Critical Functions Continuity Planning Tool
Template #2: Recovery Planning Tool
Template #3: Emergency Continuity and Recovery Roles and Responsibilities Tool
Template #4: Missing or Injured Persons Tool
Template #5: Emergency Contact List Tool
Template #6: Emergency Supply and Information Packet Tool
Template #7: Department Owned Property Inventory List Tool
Template #8: Incident Report Form
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