Four Reasons To Have A Disaster Recovery Plan

disaster planningThe speed with which your company recovers after a serious disaster or event at your facility will directly affect your business’s survival. If nothing else, Hurricane Sandy should have been a wakeup call to companies that are not in traditionally disaster-prone areas where natural disasters can occur. Sandy alone caused an estimated $68 billion USD in damage to both residential and commercial properties, with insurance covering very little of the total amount!

In the wake of Sandy, many companies had to shutter their doors for good, and not just due to the initial damage of the event. Potential sources of lost business include: biological hazards that couldn’t properly be addressed, a lack of power, and even the simple ability to operate. A much faster recovery is achieved when a Priority Response Emergency Plan is in place. A PREP program won’t prevent these things from taking place, but it can help you to either reduce the potential amount of damage, or make the recovery considerably quicker and less costly.

Priority Response Matters

When a regional disaster event occurs in your area, affecting your business and many others, having a PREP plan in place means you won’t be put on a long waiting list for service!  There are a limited number of qualified and available recovery contractors in your area, and the good ones will be already committed. Having a relationship agreement in place BEFORE a disaster strikes means you will get that much-needed immediate priority response. Your ultimate survival could very well affect the impact and outcome for your company.

A Priority Response Plan should include:

Having a trusted local go-to contractor that will provide you with 24/7/365 emergency service that you can count on and already know in advance. Also, one that knows your building and is focused on getting you back in business.

A contractor that knows your facility so they can respond fast, efficiently and minimize delays in getting you operational. Your recovery will be better and faster if the contractor has critical info about your building well ahead of a calamity.

Your trusted contractor providing on-going pre-planning support, providing dedicated project managers, and giving you up-front pricing so there are no surprises.

Putting your critical building data in a secure software (in the cloud) so everyone you designate can have instant access to building control info, shut-offs, emergency procedures, vendor lists, and much more.

The Priority Response Emergency Plan (PREP) could be the difference between losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and avoiding serious financial loss. It could mean getting back in business – even when many other businesses never reopen.

It’s not something to take lightly, and it is exactly why a plan is necessary; the more comfortable you are with your emergency contractor, the more accurate the first response will be, with a much better outcome.

Above are just a few reasons for the right disaster plan, and they are more than enough reason to have one in place for your company. Anything less is a gamble that you should never take.  Water Extraction Team offers a free PREP (Priority Response Emergency Plan) for your commercial property.  Call them today: 440-379-1275!

Author:  Dick Wagner