The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management. Founded in 1950, RIMS represents more than 3,500 industrial, service, non-profit, charitable and governmental entities. The society serves more than 10,000 risk management professionals around the world. The membership of RIMS is made up of… Continue reading DRI International’s Participation in the RIMS-PERK

Most organizations have made the adjustment from disaster recovery to continuity of operations (COOP). Some have even ventured into the resiliency realm to review upstream vulnerabilities as far as obtaining their own supplies and vendors. To these organizations I say “bravo,” and a great deal of credit goes to authors such as Yossi Sheffi whose… Continue reading Following the Path of Downward Resiliency

When commercial, industrial, and utility facilities are faced with catastrophic events such as those experienced in the Midwestern region of the United States in June 2008 due to massive flooding not seen in hundreds of years, a very specific and detailed sequence of events must occur to return the facility to productive operation both safely… Continue reading Lessons Learned By Flood Repair of Electrical Equipment

Accurate Behavioral Assumptions are an Essential Element of Exercises In law enforcement training circles there are legendary stories from the old days, where officers were killed during a gun fight and empty shell casings were found in their clenched hands or pants pockets. Pausing to catch their brass as they were trained when reloading a… Continue reading Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Disaster recovery is both a time-consuming and expensive initiative, but for those companies that have experienced a real-world catastrophe, the investment of time and money they’ve made in designing, implementing, and maintaining a DR strategy is immeasurable. It is this very reason disaster recovery continues to rank among the top enterprise storage priorities today. The… Continue reading Increasing the Value of DR in Everyday Operations

Much has been written in recent years about the best way to select business continuity consultants. Those who have written on this topic have all seemed to do an excellent job of identifying the right prerequisites. These are categories such as: staff resumes, certifications, industry experience, references, cost factors and so forth. All are good… Continue reading Zen, Life, and the Art of Finding a Consultant

Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers, around the time of the American Revolution wrote a document, called “The Crisis.” We have all heard one of the famous lines in this document many times, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” A little later he wrote a document for the army titled “Common Sense.”… Continue reading Keep The Plan Simple, Easy To Understand, and Use Common Sense

For several years the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) has required hospitals to ensure they evaluate and mitigate risks and exposures that could impact their ability to deliver healthcare services under all conditions. By incorporating findings from our facilities risk assessment work into an enhanced HVA, we’ve produced an approach that can… Continue reading Taking Hazard Vulnerability Beyond Healthcare

Forrester Research and the Disaster Recovery Journal have partnered to field a number of market studies in business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) in order to gather data for company comparison and benchmarking, to guide research, and for the publication of best practices and recommendations for the industry. This is the third annual joint… Continue reading Crisis Communication and Risk Management in Business Continuity Preparedness

Creating an Adaptive Environment in a Tumultuous Time A frightened rabbit can jump 15- 20 feet in one bound. A chameleon, if blinded, can still change colors to camouflage itself in its environment. A cockroach can live for several days without its head. When cornered by a predator, a starfish can sacrifice a limb and… Continue reading Survival of the Fittest