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The use
of commercial airliners as weapons of mass
destruction
on Sept. 11 sounded a death knell for business
as usual. The
Department of Transportation feels that new
and proposed
regulations on cargo security will affect all
transportation
providers and shippers in the United States.
Companies of
all kinds are recognizing the importance of
re-evaluating
their vulnerabilities and investing in contingency
planning for
emergencies, including responding to a terrorist
attack.
Top managers are well advised to review what they believe
are worst-case
scenarios based on new risks since Sept 11.
Emergency preparedness
should be redefined in a detailed,
written contingency
plan containing instructions on coordination
of response
efforts and location of resources needed to
respond to the
emergency. Knowing who does what in advance
of an emergency
saves critical time. The plan should also
provide for
methods to document all efforts taken by company
responders to
defend against any litigation arising as a result
of the incident.
The terrorist attacks and subsequent threats have resulted in
ever-evolving
expectations being placed upon companies by the
government,
shareholders, Wall Street analysts, customers
and the public
in general. These expectations will increase with
respect to security,
contingency planning and risk management
capabilities.
A response to meet these heightened expectations
should include:
• An inventory of the company’s vulnerabilities with respect
to its specific activities.
• An inventory of the company’s response and contingency
capabilities with respect to labor, equipment and materials.
• Institutionalization of those capabilities through people,
processes and technology in the form of a contingency plan.
• Making a version of the plan available to the public.
Most important
is putting the contingency plan in a place where
it can be activated
as quickly as possible. Electronic
contingency
planning, using the Internet as a secure repository
for the plan,
offers significant benefits. Online systems enable
users to update
the written plan quickly and easily and facilitate
distribution
and implementation across an organization. Plans
can be tailored
to different locations, activities and materials.
The chemical industry, like the transportation industry, has
been operating
under increased scrutiny to prevent trucks loaded
with hazardous
materials from being used as weapons of mass
destruction.
Recently, DOT’s Research and Special Programs
Administration
invited private industry, universities and
government research
centers to submit white papers on ways
to handle threats
in multi-modal transportation services and
operations.
The solicitation produced nearly 600 proposals, the
agency reported.
The white papers suggest new systems for
infrastructure
and disaster surveillance, terrorist identification,
and warning
and control systems. They also outlined new
systems to detect
identification fraud, safe freight technology,
emergency response
systems, biometric access controls and
tanker fuel
security.
A number of the papers discussed Internet-based communi-
cation systems.
One unique system has been developed to
facilitate communication
and coordination for law enforcement
officials and
first responders. It combines wireless communica-
tions, tracking
technology, and access to specialized data-
bases via the
Internet. Response units, equipped with on-board
transmitters
emitting unique signals, can be tracked in real
time and their
locations displayed on computer-generated maps.
In addition, emergency responders would list their equipment
inventories
and response capabilities in an online database,
which would
be accessed through a secure, interactive Web
site. Authorized
personnel would search the database when
they require
assistance or additional equipment during an
emergency situation.
The system would immediately locate
emergency assets,
assess their capabilities, and determine
which units
can respond to a particular incident in the shortest
period of time.
For transporters, being prepared to handle an incident is the
key to handling
it quickly and minimizing damage to cargo,
equipment, and
the environment. Contingency planning is the
place to start
in the development of a solid program of
emergency preparedness.
And while contingency planning
means different
things to different people, it all comes down
to the same
objectives – minimize costs and liability to the
company after
an incident that can adversely affect business.
If your company has an emergency response system or a
contingency
plan, pick up the phone one night before you go
to bed, dial
the number, and see what happens. Do you get
a live person?
Is he or she knowledgeable? Is the organiza-
tion well prepared
to respond to an emergency situation?
Often as executives work their way down through an
organization
trying to determine its response capabilities and
whether outside
specialists are needed to supplement
in-house resources,
they are told: “Everything is fine; it’s all
under control;
we’ve got it handled.” That is a huge red flag.
You need to
partner with specialists and vendors on the
ground floor
– experts in information and personnel security,
emergency response
and contingency planning. It almost
doesn’t matter
who you are or how good you are, you can’t
respond to Sept.
11 by yourself.
With a solid contingency plan, in writing and available at
a moment’s notice,
your company is prepared to handle
the worst –
and can meet the heightened and ever-evolving
expectations
of shareholders, Wall Street, and the public.
The time to
act is now. The continuation of your business
may depend on
it.
The writer
is an environmental attorney, toxocologist,
and president
of Spill Center, Inc., Hudson, Mass., an
environmental
claims management company that helps
transporters
control costs and limit liability arising from
accidental
releases of hazmat and other regulated materials.
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