procedures flowcharts Joseph McHugh and Sandesh Sheth describe how to construct an emergency procedure flowchart. Introduction: procedures are the foundation of any crisis management plan. The objective of the emergency procedures is to be able to protect lives and minimize damage to assets and to try to nip the incident in the bud before it escalates into a disaster. The authors developed the following emergency procedures flowchart during the implementation of a business continuity management system. The process flows depicted by the flowcharts enable easy understanding and also provide a quick reference guide for all concerned. Caveat: Please adapt them based on your organization s uniqueness. List of incidents covered: emergency response procedures are used to address incidents that may occur during routine operations. Below is a list of some of the incidents that would trigger the initiation of emergency response procedures: Procedures Fire Explosive Devices Civil Disturbance Power Outage Water Severe Wind Snow We will address each of the emergencies in detail in the following flowcharts. Need: The need is to create flowcharts that convey the first actions to be carried out and the escalations and process flows based on the emerging scenario. Before the construction of the flow charts the following need to be defined: contacts response team members management team members Floor Marshals Roll call / head count lists First aid trained personnel service providers contact numbers contact numbers for all employees Vendor contact numbers Call trees for employees, contractors and vendors Floor plans with detailed information Building evacuation drills
Fire Fire Activate evacuation Employees manually activates alarm No Auto Alarm activated Activate evacuation Yes Employee informs primary contact Alarm monitoring service provider contacts organization No Evacuees report to Gathering Point / Safe Area Yes contact confirms fire incident contact contacts Fire Department Roll call taken by team leads Service Provider contacts Fire Department contact informs Fire Engines arrives informs Leader briefs Battalion Chief Floor Marshals brief using floor plans Fire Department becomes Commander Fire Department gives All-Clear signal directs future actions Alarm monitoring service provider details- contact number, disabling procedure, testing procedure.
Bomb threat Employee receives a threat Verbal Type of Threat Written Collect additional information and inform 911 Activate Alarm Activate Evacuation Bomb squad arrives briefs Bomb Squad Representative Bomb Squad Leader becomes Commander Evacuees report to Gathering Point / Safe Area Roll Call taken by Leads is briefed Bomb Squad gives All-Clear signal directs future actions Procedure to handle bomb threat calls bomb threat checklist and agencies to be notified.
Civil disturbance Civil Disturbance Observed Internal Location of Unrest External 911 Police arrives Activate Alarm briefs Police Leader Shelter-in- Place Police Leader becomes Commander is briefed Police gives All-Clear signal directs future actions - Shelter-in-place procedure - Flooding within premises.
Water related incident Water Related Data Center Location of affected area Office Area Employees in Data Center will activate the Procedure Employees in Office area will activate the Procedure informs Employee contacts the informs contacts Vendors directs JIS actions Flooding incident procedure mapping of vital records locations to danger areas, location of shielding material, contact numbers of restoration vendors.
Power outage Power Outage Data Center runs on UPS Backup Generator starts No informs Yes informs checks with service provider for status report informs Fuel Service Company to refill after every X hours of continuous operations informs authorize Soft- Shutdown contacts Backup Generator Vendor informs directs JIS actions - Soft shutdown procedures - Determine reorder point of fuel for backup generator.
Medical Medical Employee notices the injured No Injured is alive Yes Employee informs Employee informs calls 911 calls 911 EMT and Police arrives informs EMT and Police verifies cause of death Suspicious Police seals area for investigation Natural EMT arrives First -Aid trained people transfer the patient to EMT contacts First-Aid trained personnel First-Aid trained personnel provide medical services informs EMT assumes control and takes actions First-Aid trained people update directs JIS actions
Severe windstorm / hurricane Severe Wind Watch Alert issued Warning Alert issued is on alert verifies alert prepares for any mobilization verifies alert informs directs future actions : - Equipment for keeping alert - Mobilization resources and procedures.
Snow storms Snow Storm Snow Storm occurrence Impending People onsite verifies alert Employee informs is put on alert informs prepares for mobilization Snow Storm occurrence Lights Out declares Skeleton Crew Lights Out Procedure Skeleton Crew Procedure directs future actions - Lights out procedures - Skeleton crew operations procedures - Mobilization resources and procedure.
Conclusion This article highlights the process to develop flow charts for emergency procedures. Each flow chart has to be complemented by the required details. The flow charts in themselves are only able to summarize what needs to be done and should be used during top-level designs, trainings and awareness campaigns. About the authors Joseph McHugh is the Executive Deputy Director Operations for Judiciary ation Systems (JIS) of the State of Maryland Judiciary, US. With more than 30 years of IT experience, he is responsible for providing mission supportive facilities and infrastructure, ensuring security and optimizing operations at JIS. He is the project champion for Business Continuity System implementation project at JIS. Joe can be reached on joe.mchugh@mdcourts.gov Sandesh Sheth is a business continuity consultant, developing and implementing business continuity management systems for organizations worldwide. He represents the Enterprise Risk Consulting Group of Satyam Computer Services Limited. Sandesh can be reached on sandesh.sheth@yahoo.com.