Abu Dhabi Civil Defence and Business Continuity Plan Development - Assignment Example

Please just send a message if you need anything. Thanks! Business Continuity Management Review of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence and Business Continuity Plan Development Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1. Introduction Calamities such as flood, hurricane, volcanic eruption, terrorism, and other major accidents can disrupt business activities such as services being delivered to the public. A process and a discipline (Watters, 2010, p.9) Business Continuity Management exists to avoid disruptions that could lead to these difficulties and other losses. A BCP or Business Continuity Plan is being created by many organizations such as the fire and rescue services and other public organizations to minimize the impact of a disaster or crisis in their functioning and services. The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence is a public organization dealing with fire prevention, protection, health and safety of the public and like any other organization; it is vulnerable to business discontinuity and subsequent failure of normal services delivery. For the purpose of creating a BCP plan, the following sections reviews the functions of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence as a public organization, its role in minimizing the impact of extreme emergencies, the political, social, and economic factors associate with their work, influence of risk management in its operational activities, and the benefits of different quality management techniques in quality of their services. 2. Review of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence 2.1 The Role of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence “Together...we preserve the country’s achievements” (Supreme National Security Council-2nd Issue, 2012, p.2). For NCEMA or, their role is to ensure the preservation of UAE citizen’s lives, property, assets by minimizing the effects of emergencies and crises. The mission statement and vision are evidence of their commitment and never ending quest to achieve security and stability in all circumstances (Supreme National Security Council-2nd Issue, 2012, p.2-4). According to “wa Azamat Taware’e”, a quarterly specialized magazine first published by NCEMA last May 2012, emergency and crisis management is a national effort where the UAE community (including Abu Dhabi) and all its components are consciously taking part in the process but it is their responsibility to improve UAE’s stability through development of risk reduction programs, activities, and strategies (National Supreme Security Council-1st Issue, 2012, p.7). Abu Dhabi is part of UAE thus its Civil Defence is more likely working together with NCEMA. In fact, Abu Dhabi’s “Safety in the Home”, “Safety in factories”, and other programs are joint efforts between UAE’s General Directorate of Civil Defence and Abu Dhabi government. For this reason, the role of Abu Dhabi’s Civil Defence is identical or in compliance with the general aim of UAE’s General Directorate of Civil Defence and NCEMA which according to their published strategy is improving performance and services and being aware of the challenges and obstacles in the near future (Abu Dhabi Government Portal, 2012, The Strategy). 2.2 Political, Economic, and Social Factors associated with Abu Dhabi Civil Defence management The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence main activities are in line with prevention and safety, civil protection, and operational aspects of a public organization. The social factors associated with Abu Dhabi Civil Defence is preservation of human lives and property. According to Abu Dhabi’s civil protection strategy, their activities particularly those that are related to the protection of national wealth, prevention, and public safety are politically prescribed by the decrees, laws, and ministerial decisions coming from UAE’s Civil Defence General Directorate. However, the economic factors associated with Abu Dhabi Civil Defence is in line with its operational requirements. For instance, the rapid development of Abu Dhabi resulted to bigger responsibilities that must be match with funds for more equipments and services in order to preserve and secure future development (Abu Dhabi Government Portal, 2012, Operations). 2.3 Impact of risk management in the operations of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence Risk management has a number of positive impacts on the operations of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence. For instance, analysis of the “Safety in the Home”, “Safety in Warehouses”, and other programs suggest that the motivation to conduct an awareness campaign and publication of fire safety guidelines was from a risk assessment conducted using statistical data provided by the UAE Civil Defence and other specialist about domestic fires occurring in UAE. Evidently, risk assessment changed the way Abu Dhabi Civil Defence operates as they are now more focus on prevention and education of Abu Dhabi citizens about fires (Abu Dhabi Government Portal, 2012, Safety Guidelines). 2.4 Benefits of Performance Management, Change Management, Leadership and Strategic Planning Generally, performance management has a number of benefits such as understanding how one activity and the people behind this activity can help further the overall goals of the organization. Another is identification of strengths and weaknesses and motivational requirements that can boost the organizations morale and productivity (DelPo, 2007, p.11). Effective change management on the other hand benefits an organization by reducing the adverse impact of changes in the quality of services it provides (Piper & Van der Veen, 2005, p.77). Similarly, a well-formulated strategic plan leads to strategic thinking and subsequent choices that better serve organizational goals and objectives. It enables good leadership as it provides a sense of direction to management and encourages objective choices in developing goals and strategies (Swansburg, 1996, p.52). In Abu Civil Defence, the benefits of performance management, change management, strategic planning and systematic leadership is evident in the way they recognize their strengths and weaknesses and the ability to pursue their goals further. For instance, in search of quality and excellence, the Abu Dhabi Civil Defence applied the principles of TQM or Total Quality Management in their organization and trying their best to get an ISO 9001 and 14001 certification. Its management seems so hopeful, optimistic, and determined to improve the organizations performance and services regardless of obstacles (Abu Dhabi Government Portal, 2012, The Strategy). This positive thinking is undoubtedly enabled by facts from awareness of organizational performance, understanding of the impact of change in productivity, and influence of strategic planning in leadership quality and overall organizational performance. 3. Business Continuity Plan for Abu Dhabi Civil Defence 3.1 Introduction Similar to other public organization, the Abu Dhabi Civil Defence is also aware that we need to protect the organization from any event that will disrupt the organization’s normal activities. This BCM or Business Continuity Plan provides the structure where members of the organization can actively participate in preventing disruption. It is a planned response to debilitating events and a continuing process of risk assessment and management of risk threatening the continuity of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence’s public services. 3.2 Purpose The purpose of this BCM is to ensure that Abu Dhabi Civil Defence will not suffer in case a major disruption such as fire, flood, terrorism, and other major catastrophic events occur. This BCM will enable the organization identify risk as well as possible losses that may be incurred if such events happened. It will also ensure that Abu Dhabi Civil Defence will still be able to perform its normal operation despite major emergencies and crisis. This BCM contains well-informed procedures and information that were gathered through business impact analysis and will be activated by the Crisis Planning and Management Team in the event that any of those identified in the business impact analysis occurred. 3.3 Policy The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence is not alone in its effort to provide continues service to the community as NCEMA develops a contingency plan for entire UAE. For the purpose of policy, this BCP policy complies with BS 25999-2 Section 4.3 (p.18), take into account NCEMA’s requirements, and include all activities that may be affected by a disruptive event. These include undertaking risk assessment on a regular basis, impact analysis for all critical activities, roles and functions of the Crisis Planning and Management Team, communicating the plan to all members of the organization, review and updating the plan as necessary, and testing the plan periodically. 3.4 Business Impact Analysis and Critical Dependencies One of the mandatory requirements of BS 25999-2 in order to implement business continuity is internal audit but it cannot be done without identifying critical activities and their dependencies (BS 25999-2 (2006); Kosutic, 2010, p.1). Moreover, a good BCP understand the urgency of activities and processes that need to be restored (Gelinas & Dull, 2009, p.274). For instance, the function of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence in fire prevention and protection is dependent on equipment and fire fighting staff thus it is critical dependent on supplier and availability of the workforce. Analysis of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence’s business suggests that accident prevention, public safety and health are their main concern thus activities in this area are critical. Similarly, analysis of resources used to support these activities suggests that the minimum required in order to function efficiently is to prevent loss of the following. Table 1- Critical Dependencies and BCP Solution Function/Activities Dependencies Business Continuity to Address Fire Prevention and Protection Public Health and Safety Internal Operation Fully functional Abu Dhabi Civil Defence Equipments Suppliers Information/Records IT System Staff Utilities (Electricity and Water) Significant loss to any Abu Dhabi Civil Defence department Total failure of IT system Loss of operational data Loss of essential utilities Loss of supplies and equipments Loss of workforce 3.5 Strategy for Monitoring and Maintaining Critical Dependencies The most beneficial method of monitoring these critical dependencies is to review the plan as often as possible. These include business arrangement and supplier performance, environmental changes, staff training and awareness, incident and impact review, and others that can significantly affect the reliability of the BCM (Kosutik, 2012, p.1). Monitoring critical dependencies through the following: Gather evidence of suppliers own BCM Regular review of emergency authorization procedures Update emergency contact information of key dependencies Evaluate integrity of IT systems Review and evaluate equipment performance and maintenance policies Regularly check status of critical utilities 3.6 The Crisis Planning and Management Team The Crisis Planning and Management Team are composed of the following key personnel with their corresponding responsibility as suggested by Fulmer (2004, p.9). Table 2- Responsibilities of the Crisis Planning and Management Team Personnel Responsibility Executive Board Member Emergency Authorization Procedures Head of ICT ICT and Data Back-up Back-up power Off-site storage Recovery of hardware and software Head of Property Management Recovery of property Alternative location for business Head of Corporate Communications Media handling and liaison Keep people informed Director of Policy, Planning, & Review Monitor and assess trigger points Head of Human Resources Personnel contacts BCP awareness Organizational chart Head of Records Section Key documents and information Head of Finance Insurance cover All Members Test BCP Completion of test Feedback Evaluation 3.7 Method for Triggering the Plan (Traffic Light Triggering Mechanism) The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence adopted the “traffic light” trigger mechanism as shown below. 3.8 Communicating and Embedding the Plan into the Organization It is important for an organization to continue its operation in the midst of a disaster thus having a BCP is valuable (Karmakatar, 2012, p.79; Hawkey, 2002, p.23). However, logically, the BCP will not be effective if individuals or employees of the organization are unaware of the BCP. The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence will therefore take steps to communicate its BCP to staff. These include the following key steps: List key personnel and inform them about the BCP as well as the contact number of the people who can substitute them in case they are absent. Identify and notify staff that can carry out office functions over telephone from home. Make a list of instructions to be followed by employees during a disaster and distribute it along with copies of BCP Make copies of information useful during crisis and distribute it to key personnel and store some in remote locations. Communicate the BCP to all individuals through regular meeting and train them as often as necessary Test run the plan at least once a year so all staff and external contacts will not forget the BCP procedures and familiarize themselves about the process 3.9 Methodology for testing to ensure efficiency in all circumstances The last phase of the business continuity plan is the testing phase where the BCP will be evaluated for effectiveness and ability to meet desired level of support during emergencies (GAO, 1999, p.10). The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence BCP will be tested using a test plan and a business continuity team. BCP testing will ensure that the agreed procedures will work and handle all possible situations. According to Heng (2008), BCP testing can be performed on all aspects of the plan (p.50) thus it is more beneficial to Abu Dhabi Civil Defence to conduct a complete test of the activities identified earlier in Section 3.6. Table 3- Abu Dhabi Civil Defence BCP Testing Scope Test Emergency Situation Requirements Conduct test with the Executive Board’s ability to authorize implementation of BCP Emergency Authorization Procedures Conduct data back-up procedure with IT department Test integrity of back-up power supply Evaluate appropriateness and stability of off-site storage Test hardware and software recovery procedure ICT and Data Back-up Back-up power Off-site storage Recovery of hardware and software Test property recovery procedure Conduct business operation test in selected alternative location Recovery of property Alternative location for business Test back-up media communication facilities Test media handling and liaison procedures Check for updated media contact numbers Media handling and liaison Keep people informed Conduct a simulated emergency and test changes in trigger points Monitor and assess trigger points Check HR ‘s ability to present an updated personnel contact details Check effectiveness of HR’s BCP awareness procedure by randomly asking civil defence personnel and external stakeholders Personnel contacts BCP awareness Organizational chart Check for integrity of off-site storage Check validity and completeness of key documents and information Key documents and information Check ability of finance department to process insurance and other financial matters during emergency Insurance cover 4. Conclusion The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence is a public organization well-aware of their duties and responsibilities to the people of Abu Dhabi. Internally, this public organization recognized the possibility of extreme emergency in the future and the need to continue with its operation and service delivery despite difficult situation. The Business Continuity Plan developed for the Abu Dhabi Civil Defence is in line with the political, social, and economic aspects of its operation as well as its current initiatives towards quality management. These also include consideration of the strong influence of NCEMA’s initiative and the potential of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence to comply with business continuity requirements. This BCP is structured in a manner easily understood and convenient for all members of the organization to participate during a particular disruption. The BCP’s business impact analysis take into account the requirement so BS 25999-2 for Business Continuity Management and consider several public safety programs being conducted by the Abu Dhabi Civil Defence in order to realistically identify critical dependencies. It also adopted the traffic light triggering mechanism commonly applied by UK fire and rescue service and designed the BCP dissemination or communicating procedure with practicality in mind. Lastly, the testing procedure is based on identified minimum emergency requirements and specified according to the responsibility of each member of the Crisis Planning and Management Team. 5. References Abu Dhabi Government Portal, (2012), Abu Dhabi Civil Defence General Directorate, Portal, available online at http://adcd.gov.ae/en/ BS 25999-2, (2006), Business Continuity Management- Part 1: Code of Practice, British Standards, UK, p.1-50 Burtles J, (2007), Principles and Practice of Business Continuity: Tools and Techniques, Rohtstein Associates Inc, US DelPo A, (2007), The Performance Appraisal Handbook: Legal & Practical Rules for Managers, Nolo Publishing, US Fulmer K, (2004), Business Continuity Planning: A Step-By-Step Guide with Planning Forms, 3rd Edition, Rothstein Associates, US GAO, (1999), Year 2000 Computing Challenge :FBI Needs Complete Business Continuity Plans, US General Accounting Office, US Gelinas U. & Dull R, (2009), Accounting Information Systems, Cengage Learning, US Hawkey J, (2002), Exit Strategy Planning: “Growing Your Business for Sale or Succession, Gower Publishing, UK Heng G, (2008), Managing Your Business Continuity Planning Project (Second Edition), BCM Institute, US Karmakar A, (2012), Principles and Practices of Management and Business Communication, Pearson Education, India Kosutic D, (2012), BS 25999-2 Implementation Checklist, available online at http://blog.iso27001standard.com/2010/11/16/bs-25999-2-implementation-checklist/ Pieper M. & Van der Veen, (2005), Introduction to ITIL, The Stationery Office, UK Supreme National Security Council-1st Issue, (2012), National Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management Authority, Wa Azamat Taware’e – 1st Issue, May, 2012, pp. 1-39 Supreme National Security Council-2nd Issue, (2012), National Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management Authority, Wa Azamat Taware’e – 2nd Issue, October, 2012, pp. 1-40 Swansburg R, (1996), Management and Leadership for Nurse Managers, Jones & Bartlett, UK Watters J, (2010), The Business Continuity Management Desk Reference, Jamie Watters Publishing, US Read More