Disaster Training
Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on Disaster Training
Disaster training can save lives and minimize property damage. In addition, disaster training coordinates the allocation of limited resources and the response capacity of local resources to all types of disasters. Disaster training is available free at these resources.
American Red Cross offers training classes at its local chapters. For immediate, free online training, the American Red Cross has a comprehensive course which teaches basic disaster principles.
A free series of online independent courses called Incident Command System (ICS) is offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The series provides training and helps you develop a management plan which details who does what and when. FEMA's Independent Study Program offers many courses that you can download. FEMA grants a certificate if you pass the final exam.
The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services Training program offer an introduction to disaster class in addition to courses which cover different aspects of disasters. Classes are offered at United States Salvation Army locations.
Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness has free online high-tech webinars which surpass basic disaster training.
You may download free courses at the Centers for Disease Control website (www.bt.cdc.gov). They concentrate on chemically-related emergencies such as bioterrorism attacks and bombing. The courses are available in English and Spanish.
Read more about disaster training from the links on this Business.com page.
Preparing for a Disaster
Expect the unexpected and you'll be better off in the long runBy W. Eric Martin, Keyboard pounder & synonym selecter TwoWriters.net What's better: preparing for a disaster that never comes or blowing off the chances of an emergency and losing your business when one occurs? According to the American Red Cross, as many as 40 percent of small businesses fail to reopen after natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and floods. Don't let this happen to your business. By taking action ahead of time, you can ensure that:
- You minimize damage to your business, employees, customers, and suppliers.
- Your business recovers from setbacks and reopens without unusual delays.
- Employees stay safe and will be ready to work as soon as you reopen.
Batten down your business
Depending on the natural catastrophes you face, you can take specific steps to make your business safer for those conditions.
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FEMA's Emergency Management Guide has a list of preventative steps to take for hurricanes, flash floods, winter storms, and more; click on each type of hazard for details.
Give employees direction
If you want employees to help out in emergencies, then they need to know ahead of time what they can do to help, even if "helping" simply means staying out of the way and letting you know that they're safe.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security tells you what steps you can take to make sure employees know what to do in the event of an emergency.
Practice evacuation plans
When disaster strikes, you don't want customers and employees running around in circles because they're not sure what to do.
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Work out an evacuation plan and practice it with your workers on a regular basis. If the layout of your shop changes, revise the plan so employees always know where to go.
Store data off-site
If only one copy of something exists, you risk having that item destroyed with no chance of recovery. Having this happen to your employee data or tax records can cause major headaches down the road.
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Back up all your electronic data, either off-site on a different computer or on an online storage site such as IBackup, iStorage, Streamload, or Xdrive. You can also save copies of important paper documents in safe deposit boxes, fireproof vaults, or an offsite storage specialist such as Business Record Management or DocuSafe.
Prepare for interruptions
When your business is closed by a disaster, cash flow stops. Business interruption insurance covers profits that you would have earned, based on your financial records, had the disaster not occurred; it will also pay for ongoing operating expenses.
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If disasters would put you out of commission for months or force you to move to another location, then you want to consider adding business interruption insurance to your property insurance or business owner's policy. Allstate, The Hartford, St. Paul Travelers, and Nationwide are all examples of business insurers who offer interruption coverage.
Name a successor
You hardly want to think about being in a condition that makes you unable to run your business, but you should have a plan for how the business can function without you in case you're ill or incapacitated.
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Whether you rely on a spouse, best friend, or a stellar employee, create a continuity of operation plan and find someone willing to be your second.
- If you have a voice mail system, reserve one number for messages to employees and ask them to call for messages whenever unusual circumstances arise.
- Keep obstacles off the floor so that employees always have clear walkways from their workspaces to exits.
- Review your insurance coverage, looking into situations such as flood coverage and reimbursement for physical losses.
- Install fire alarms and fire extinguishers; make sure employees know where they're located and how to use them.
- Consider where you could continue business operations should your current location become unusable. Make contingency plans now so your business keeps rolling after a disaster.
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