Web-based Emergency Planning…is it worth the cost?
Posted on Fri, Jul 23, 2010
It in common for those responsible for maintaining response plans to have multitudes of binders resting on a shelf, collecting dust, containing antiquated emergency response plans that were copied and pasted from the last updated plans. Have you heard, "What version of the plan are you working with?" when discussing regulatory required information with co-workers? Do you feel that these plans are advanced just because the static version is hosted on your company's intranet? If so, it may be time to investigate the benefits of a database driven, web-based enterprise planning system.
Technology has evolved, and creating plans with Microsoft Word may not be the most effective way to maintain your emergency response plans. Through the used of an integrated database, a web-based system facilitates the development of living plans that can be updated across a corporate enterprise with a single keystroke.
Many companies must manually delve into every plan, and change or update a specific entry repeatedly for each location. This mundane task takes valuable time, which equates to dollars spent. If it takes 15 minutes to update one aspect of a plan at one facility, this number becomes multiplied if that same change needs to occur at multiple facilities. With a web-based planning system, the same change can be executed in a matter of seconds.
Here are some questions to determine if a web-based planning system is right for your company?
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Do you have more than one facility that is governed by regulatory requirements?
- Is there repetitive information in multiple plans at multiple facilities?
- What is your employee turnover rate and how effectively do you handle contact information updates and verification? How often does this occur?
- How often do you print updated plan copies for distribution, and what costs are involved?
- How user-friendly are your plans?
- Are your plans updated quarterly or annually, and how do you integrate new regulatory requirements.
- How much time is dedicated to maintaining and updating your plans?
- How often are you audited and would you be ready if an auditor appeared tomorrow?
- Can you use your existing plan to expedite training?
- Do you have a record of changes and revisions?
By implementing a database driven web-based planning system, the issues and dedicated time associated with plan maintenance, updating, security, and regulatory submission can be minimized.
For more tips and best practices on designing a crisis management program, download TRP Corp.'s Free Best Practices Guide.
