Join Laurie Gilmer and Stephen Clawson on Friday, October 5th between 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM in Room 205 of the Charlotte Convention Center when they will talk about business continuity and how as a company we handled a Disruptive Event.
When the Smoke Clears: How Planning Enabled Business to Continue During the Northern California Wildfires
How ready are you for a big disaster? As a small business, when we undertook the ISO Business Continuity Management Systems certification, we knew it would be a challenge and that it would help us plan for business interruptions. However, until we experienced a real emergency and office closure, we did not appreciate how much it actually helped us prepare for what came to be known as the most destructive fire in California history. FEA’s Santa Rosa office was part of the evacuation area for the northern California wildfires that raged in October 2017. While our facility remained intact, buildings all around burned to the ground and the surrounding areas were inaccessible for weeks. Through business continuity planning, we were able to maintain business operations with little interruption. Key elements from the business continuity management system developed through our ISO certification allowed us to weather the storm. Using the lessons we learned through that experience, we will share the key planning efforts that allowed us to maintain communications and business operations during the event and through the aftermath.
