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FROM THE FIELD
May 2008
Where's Your Disaster Plan?
This time of year, the spring industry-meeting season, always gives us plenty to think about here. There's no shortage of items to address, and the biggest challenge is figuring out which elephant-in-the-room needs to be tackled first. As Robin writes in his own column, rebates, for example, were among the hot topics in Tucson, Ariz., at the annual meeting of the Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association in March.
In New Orleans, meanwhile, the National Restaurant Association's Multiunit Architects, Engineers and Construction Officers group was heating up its own kettle of gumbo. The two-day event included a bunch of good sessions, from what makes a good coefficient of friction in flooring materials to updates on activities at ASTM Int'l. and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
But one session that was a real stunner, especially set, as it was, in New Orleans, was a session on flood recovery presented by George Benda, CEO of Chelsea Group Ltd. Benda, who describes himself as a building-sciences consultant, deals with everything from mold and mildew remediation to chemical contaminations and, more broadly, disaster planning and response in general.
"You must plan, and you must execute the plan," he told the group. "Should you plan for a Hurricane Katrina? Yes. Assess the risk, plan escape, business interruption, recovery."
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"Don't underestimate the impact of pure mayhem. Desperate people get very weird, very quickly."
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Benda took the group from one end of the Katrina experience to the other. Some of his points seemed to go without saying, except that they're exactly the kinds of things many people overlook. For example: Keep your important documents, including the electronic ones, far away so they don't disappear during a local disaster. Have your physical plants inventoried in detail, he said. Have current insurance documentation. Outdated papers are almost as bad as none. Have photos of the property and installations of value, especially if any major pieces have been recently replaced. You don't want to get reimbursed for a fully depreciated item if you've just paid for a brand new one.
Have backup power. That's one that seems pretty obvious, but think it through. A totally dark city is totally dark. What do you do if it's so dark that you can't see the controls on the generator? Better have loads of flashlights and fresh batteries (emphasis on that last part). For that matter, what do you do if the generator is under water? New Orleans operators are beginning to install emergency-type equipment higher than ground level, sometimes on upper floors where possible. Along those same lines, set up a communication plan that allows for the possibility of widespread outages.
And don't underestimate the impact of pure mayhem in a serious natural disaster. In no time at all, civilization shows just how delicate it is.
"It was open warfare in the streets," Benda said of the days during and after Katrina. "All inhibitions against violence were gone." He said media reports of Katrina violence were "all sanitized. ...It was a thousand times worse" than what was depicted. It was so bad, he noted, that even the National Guard had to pull out of the Super Dome early on, after a Guardsman was savaged and weapons taken.
Which led to another point: Your evacuation plan should leave nobody behind. At least one New Orleans operator planned to leave one employee on site to "protect assets," but that plan was soon scrubbed.
And consider carefully what your corporate role in the community will be, Benda said. Will you offer shelter or food? If so, carefully consider how you'll need to manage that under extreme conditions.
And here's a closing thought: In the aftermath, "gouging was very severe—sometimes by a factor of 100," Benda advised. Desperate people get very weird, very quickly. So make arrangements, including pricing, beforehand with material suppliers.
And keep reviewing all plans. Issues have a way of changing.
Brian Ward
Chief Editor
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