How to prepare an effective Disaster planning?

No plan can be effective if the same is made to work in isolation. Integration of the disaster planning into the soul of the system of any organization is the key to the continuity and the effectiveness of any well-planned emergency preparedness program. The planner therefore has to have a vision that can harness the involvement and the commitment of the entire work force and brain of the institution. If any time the plan gets isolated from the main stream and works in vacuum or operates as separate strategy the success of the whole exercise would be definitely in jeopardy. Any plan integrated into the normal routine procedures of the organization would run and function smoothly without having the feeling that you are doing something special. There lies the success of the plan becoming a layman’s plan or a popular program.

Do not work in Isolation

A well defined and accepted routine system akin to those prescribed in the modern standard certification procedures in all matters of maintenance of the building, up keeping of the inventory, periodical review of the system in vogue all may well be integrated into a disaster planning and effective implementation. One may wonder if all these systems are already in vogue what more are you going to achieve by a separate disaster planning.

The question may seem genuine but the fact is that the co- ordination and integration of all these effective and systematic routine procedures and systems into one emergency preparedness program leads to the success of the disaster planning. An efficient climatic control system that helps solve the humidity and preservation problems of many a collection, a well defined and implemented inventory management all are good examples of such procedures that merges in to the disaster planning.

Characteristics of a good disaster plan

As we have seen no tailor made program or well defined road map can be suggested for an effective disaster planning. However there are certain basic parameters that the planner and his team have to look into. A plan to be successful and efficient it need to be comprehensive and elaborate. While we may not be able to perceive the exact nature of disaster that may strike the institution, the plan has to take into consideration all types of emergencies whether man made, or natural. It need to cover the long term and the short term requirements of the institution since you may not be able to or supposed to change the basic disaster plan frequently though timely revisions and modifications has to be built in the system or planning. It will be prudent to include facing situations that may have to deal without the normal services and facilitation tools like the communication devices, power and essential supplies. Being comprehensive does not absolve the planner from being lucid and easy to follow procedures.

You cannot expect every one to innovate and use their brain in an emergency. And clearly laid and explained procedure would be handy and efficient to work with I such situation. The disaster planning needs to define clearly the person in charge of each activity or situation to deal with like who will act as the P.R.O. and who will be in charge of the rescue operation and also the stand by for each of these activities as you do not know who will have to help and who will be in need of help! Finally the disaster planning need not be rigid and narrow. In case of an emergency the plan need to give room for flexibility, innovation and application of commonsense since all these are spontaneous to occasions and certain solutions considered as the best option in your disaster planning may not work at all as a result of un expected and unexplainable reasons. If one follows the broad frame work of the above procedures the plan would, no doubt be an effective tool in the hands of those who has to translate the ideas to solve real time problems and emergencies.