Emergency preparedness

Expect the unexpected

While no one likes to think about the devastation a disaster can create, fires, earthquakes and tornados do happen. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the number of declared major disasters nearly doubled in the 1990s compared to the previous decade.

To help companies better prepare for a disaster, natural or otherwise, the department has created Ready Business, an initiative that outlines emergency measures business owners and managers can take if an unexpected event occurs. Ready Business recommendations reflect the Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity Standard developed by the National Fire Protection Association and endorsed by the American National Standards Institute and the Department of Homeland Security.

'The irony of (emergency planning) is you want to be prepared for something, but it's not like you want to practice being prepared for it,' said Andrew Hatzis, vice president of operations and training for ADIR Restaurants Inc., master franchisor of Pollo Campero. 'You want to be prepared for something, but at the same time, you hope it's never something that happens to you.'

And even when you are prepared, things can quickly change.

Pat & Oscar's executives had a plan in place for moving food from one location to another that included the help of their supplier. But when the recent Southern California fires led to the evacuation of the supplier's local warehouse, the company had to re-evaluate and re-strategize that aspect of its emergency procedure.

'That was one piece of the plan we had to tweak going forward,' Horne said. 'Part of our readiness plan is having back-up options. If we have issues with one supply chain, we have other suppliers we can switch to.'

External Source - For the complete article click here

Source - FastCasual.com


Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Tweet