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| Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) for Businesses
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Emergencies come in all shapes and sizes, from a fire in your building to a blizzard that keeps employees from getting to work and customers from reaching the store.
Recognizing the special concerns of business, the Managing Director's Office of Emergency Management developed a Continuity Planning Toolkit for Businesses, which is designed to provide a template to businesses and organizations so they can develop plans to recovery from emergencies and disasters.
Doing Your Part: Planning for the Unexpected
Up to 25 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses fail within three years of experiencing a major emergency. To help businesses and community-based organizations mitigate loss and reduce risk, the Managing Director's Office of Emergency Management created the Ready Philadelphia Continuity Planning Toolkit. The toolkit helps guide businesses and organizations:
Business Interruption Insurance
Planning for a disaster also may include the purchase of Business Interruption Insurance, which covers your losses due to natural disasters, fires, and other emergencies that can close down operations for a singificant amount of time. The insurance:
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Covers loss in profits as determined by your financial records during closure -
May be applied to ongoing expenses or temporary relocation costs after a disaster -
Is in addition to general liability or business insurance and may be added to other business insurances
Continuity Planning Workshops for Businesses
To listen to a podcast of the workshop held on January 30, 2009 at the Philadelphia Bar Association and in conjunction with the Center City District, click here.
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| Shelter in Place Requirements for Buildings
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| The Philadelphia Fire Code requires building owners/managers to develop a plan to shelter occupants inside the building in the event an emergency outside the building requires this, such as a hazardous materials release.
Click on the above link for the requirements and a sample shelter-in-place plan that building owners can use as a guide in preparing the plan for their building. Following the sample plan are questions asked by building owners regarding shelter-in-place requirements in the Fire Code. Each question is followed by an answer prepared by the Fire Department and the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The questions and answers are intended to interpret and clarify the requirements in the Fire Code.
Futher information can be found on the US Department of Labor's Shelter-in-Place page. If you have additional questions you can call the Fire Department’s Fire Code Unit at 215-686-1356.
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| In the complex world we live in, emergencies can have a significant impact on the business community. From the global threat of terrorism to a devastating flood, remaining competitive means quickly resuming business operations in the aftermath of a crisis. The Corporate Emergency Access System, or CEAS, addresses this new set of realities. Click the logo for more information.
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| Additional Business Resources
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Open for Business® is a comprehensive disaster planning toolkit. The easy-to-use guide helps business owners reduce the potential for loss should disaster strike, and reopen quickly should they be forced to close. This creates a savings for the business, and also benefits the employees and customers who rely on it.
Open for Business® includes an assessment tool and forms that helps the business determine its susceptibility to natural disasters wherever it has facilities and provides information to minimize damage. The toolkit also includes materials to help organize the business’ critical information and review its essential operations, both of which lead to development of a continuity plan.
The Institute for Business and Home Safety has also developed a free online training program for Open for Business®.
Open for Business® is available in English and Spanish.
Association of Contingency Planners
The largest, most established organization of its kind in North America, ACP has become a unifying force for practitioners in the rapidly evolving field of business continuity.
ACP provides a forum for the exchange of experiences and information through a network of local chapters. Volunteer organizations, government agencies and businesses of all sizes can benefit from these networking opportunities. Valuable insight and partnerships can be gained that identify common planning needs and recovery solutions, and enhance skills that prepare families, communities, and industry.
Philadelphia Bar Association
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