Preparation and Planning a Crisis Command and Control Centre As Part of an Emergency Response Plan

A crisis can take on many forms such as industrialdata, make decisions that protect life and property,
accidents where a number of people are affected,maintain continuity of the company within the scope
plant damaged and construction sites affected.of applicable directives and communicate the
Natural risks such as fires, earthquakes, etc. can alsodecisions to all concerned.
result in a crisis. Additionally a crisis can be as a resultThe crisis command and control centreThe crisis
of man made risks such as air or water pollution,command and control centre should be equipped with
toxic waste spills, collapses, etc. The other risk thatthe following items:
can and normally does result in a crisis is the threats- The physical structure should be sound and comply
associated with terrorist.with good building standards and should not be
Protecting the company's reputation, commercialconstructed in a place where it has an outside wall.
viability, employees and other key business assets- The air conditioning, fire detection and protection
and stakeholders in the face of extreme, complex,systems as well as the computer installations
unpredictable, and constantly changing risks is ancontained in the crisis command and control centre
ongoing challenge that can only be effectively done ifshould comply with standards that require them to
one is appropriately prepared.be independent of other systems to prevent them
The creation of an emergency responsefrom being affected by an on site crisis.
management plan to deal with these treats involves- The crisis command and control centre must be for
developing a three phase strategy that will indicatethe exclusive use during a crisis and should not be
how a company and its affiliates should respond to aused for any other general purpose in the absence of
crisis. The preparation should also include the creationa crisis.
of appropriate infrastructure for the purpose.- A standby power generator that will automatically
The development and construction of an emergencykick in and should have a capacity and reliability that
response management plan and infrastructure willwill ensure sufficient power to all communication, data
give a company a competitive advantage byand lighting requirements even in cases where there
protecting their reputation, key business assets,is a total power failure for a long duration of time.
employees and other stakeholders. This however is- Secure access control that will allow only authorized
an ongoing challenge that can only be sufficientlystaff to enter should be ensured.
dealt with if the company is appropriately prepared.- Visual display units that are connected to a
To wait until a crisis occurs could be disastrous to thecommunication system that will allow the company
continued existence of the company and is muchexecutive team to be able to visually follow the
more expensive than investing in developing anddevelopment of the crisis from the crisis control
constructing a complete solution that includes plansroom.
and infrastructure to deal with it when it happens.- Suitable, reliable and secure communications
A complete solution includes components thatsystems that can be used to communicate with the
addresses strategic as well as tactical requirement.crisis site as well as government agencies and other
The ideal crisis management system should cover theinterested and affected parties should be in place.
three main phases of a crisis situation. These are:- A speaker system attached to communication
- crisis preventiondevises that will allow a team approach in
- crisis managementcommunication is a necessity.
- crisis recovery The preparation and planning needs- An independent secure fax machine is a must.
to be comprehensive, consistent and integrated in- A recording system that records all voice
order to ensure an efficient plan that will be able tocommunication into and out of the crisis command
be invoked successfully when the crisis hits.and control centre should be installed and records
The company's executive team will be responsible forshould be kept for a period of at least 12 months
all aspects of a response to a crisis. This will includeafter any activity in the centre.
developing incident objectives, providing suitable and- A suitable number of desks, tables and lockable
sufficient plans and infrastructure and managing allcupboards should permanently furnish the crisis
incident operations to bring the crisis under controlcommand and control centre.
and implement the strategies to return to normality.- Copies of all sites based emergency response plans
The crisis management plan and infrastructure needsof the company and its affiliate must be available in
to be able to be sufficient to deal with all threethe centre. These plans should include sections on
phases of the crisis. This includes the following:emergency contact details, duty rosters and
Before the crisis (crisis prevention)emergency team member information.
The systems and infrastructure should be able to- A planning board where staff allocated specific
collect and process data on a ongoing basis allowingtasks in relation to the emergency organization should
for the monitoring of potential disasters in order tobe available and display updated information.
warn management when predefined criteria or- A cupboard that contains the appropriate
warning levels are reached that could indicate a crisisidentification insignia to clearly identify the roles of all
is imminent. Critical data should be analyzed constantlythe staff present in the control room should be
and any unusual trend should be detected and whenincluded in the centre.
analysis indicates that a crisis is anticipated- A dedicated copier for the sole use during a crisis is
management should be alerted. This should also benecessary.
the point when the general alert level is adjusted and- A crisis log book where a scribe can record the
published in the company. The information shouldactivities taking place during the crisis.
include security, safety and health items as well asAfter the crisis (crisis recovery)
the interaction of these issues. The focus areasThe crisis control plan should include a requirement to
should include at least people, buildings, plant, systemsdevelop and implement a crisis recovery strategy
and processes.once the crisis has been brought under practical
During the crisis (crisis management)The key tocontrol.
managing a crisis once it hit a company is to have aConclusionAny amount of planning cannot prevent all
dedicated crisis command and control center.emergencies. It is however a fact that with the
The crisis command and control centre serves as aappropriate plan and infrastructure in place the impact
secure location from where the company'sand consequences of emergencies can be drastically
executives who is responsible for the strategicreduces. It should be noted that a crisis command
resolution of the crisis can obtain a big picture toand control centre that is not supported with a
evaluate and provide direction to the crisis site.suitable and sufficient emergency response plan that
The primary functions of the executive team duringis based on a formal threat assessment could provide
an emergency are to collect, gather and analyzea false sense of security.