Emergency management and disaster preparedness in the midst of coronavirus
Episode 2 of The DYOJO Podcast
Emergency management for business owners during a pandemic Three questions with Edward Colson, of Ready Northwest, pieces of the COVID-19 puzzle from his area of expertise.
In the Pacific Northwest, prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, many of those engaging in the discussions around emergency management were focused on a Cascadia earthquake event and/or the potential for volcanic activity. Across the nation, many businesses were discussing measures for addressing active shooter situations.
Edward shares that there are direct threats and hazards, like those listed above as well as indirect hazards. The current strain on our supply chain as well as our reliance on overseas manufacturing were issues many warned about prior to COVID-19 and are now at the forefront of the discussion. Ready Northwest has been working before, and now during, coronavirus to help companies, “Mitigate against, respond, and recover from disasters posed from natural, technological, and man-made hazards.”
Unfortunately, many businesses and municipalities are learning just how remiss their resiliency preparedness plans were. We find ourselves scrambling in many areas to play from behind as we address the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. Edward reminds people in a position of leadership to ensure that they get good information from sound sources before they make decisions based upon unverified sources. Responding to an outbreak with bad information and haphazard systems will only make our situation worse.
Ready Northwest has created a Pandemic Planning Guide which includes the following recommendations for collaboration within your team: * Forming a Pandemic Response Committee to provide company updates in regards to policy, procedures, and reporting criteria. * Utilizing Human Resources to report on sick leave policies and projected health and wellness impacts.
* Utilizing Legal Counsel to discuss impacts to operational quarantines and isolation. In addition, legal should review current contracts in place to determine any breach of clauses due to coronavirus impacts.
* Utilizing Marketing and PR to discuss impacts being seen regarding company reputation and crisis communication.
* Utilizing Procurement and Supply Chain Management to identify any critical delays in receiving and ordering products from areas impacted by the coronavirus.
Watch the video interview from The DYOJO between Jon Isaacson, The Intentional Restorer and Edward Colson, Ready Northwest and read the article from Restoration and Remediation (R&R) Magazine.
Ready Northwest — https://www.readynw.com
The DYOJO — https://www.thedyojo.com
The Intentional Restorer — https://www.randrmagonline.com
Music “Actionable” by Bensound.com
