PIXABAY, FELIXIONCOOLHurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, fires, steam explosions, chemical spills, terrorism—all are threats biotechnology facilities face. These hazards can lead to extensive damage and large-scale business interruption. Most biotech firms are familiar with business continuity planning. However, many organizations develop business continuity recovery plans that rely on the belief that first responders will reach them in time. Planning to protect against greater physical and financial loss by recovering their vital research, documents, and technology, these firms may be forgetting about their most important asset: their people.
Company-based emergency response teams (ERTs) are now beginning to take root in the private sector. These are based on community emergency response teams (CERTs), which are sponsored by city and state governments and populated by volunteers. Organizations often mistakenly assume that, in times of disaster, first responders will be there to help. But when the “big one” strikes, first responders may not be able to assist right away. Emergencies can happen suddenly, overwhelming traditional staff support services. It is imperative that biotech organizations are able to self-sufficiently respond to emergency conditions so as to quickly and effectively stabilize safety issues.
Before disaster strikes, biotech organizations can take steps to not only make their businesses more resilient to emergency risk, but also develop response operations that ...
