Powering the plan`

The increasing threat of severe weather, energy shortages and terrorist attacks has caused many businesses and organisations in the UK to review operational procedures and contingency plans. This has seen vast investment in solutions that, in the event of a crisis, should safeguard business continuity and integrity.

For many companies, this investment could prove invaluable in terms of protecting against high financial losses, or even going out of business. Having a business continuity plan in place is essential for all organisations, regardless of size. But what happens when an incident occurs and the lights go out? It is no use having a plan and systems in place, if there is no back-up power.

In our experience, many businesses are forgetting to consider the most important aspect of any business continuity plan (BCP) – back-up power. Only by having a reliable back-up power solution which is fit for purpose and regularly tested will organisations be able to activate the systems they have invested so heavily in.

Let there be light

Implementing a back-up power solution is not simply a case of ordering the equipment and waiting for the delivery. It requires a thorough power needs analysis and an understanding of an organisation's exact requirements. Operational needs, power use and seasonal power trends need to be carefully analysed and evaluated.

For a number of organisations, a stand-by power solution will be required indefinitely but may not be in frequent use. It is often assumed that generators required for long periods should be purchased, but when it comes to back-up or stand-by power generation there is no 'one size fits all' solution. In some instances, for example, due to the size and numbers of generators, or where the equipment is run infrequently, it is often more cost-effective to hire one or more generators as and when required.

The space that a generator takes up can often cost more than hiring the generator itself. For example, within the square mile of London's Chelsea and Kensington, a generator can take up the space of two car parking spaces and there is a huge cost and demand for parking in the area.

In these circumstances, those organisations with limited space may choose an innovative four hour plug and play solution. This allows all of the preparatory work to be carried out in advance, with a generator simply being delivered and plugged in as and when required. Organisations ranging from Premiership football clubs to retail outlets prefer this method.

Local government plans

The recent flooding of the Midlands and Yorkshire has highlighted the need for local authorities to have effective plans in place to look after the people within their community. The good news is that a number of local authorities are well on the way in safeguarding power supplies to fire their BCPs.

For example, Newark and Sherwood District Council commissioned a risk assessment of its operations at Kelham Hall, its administrative centre, and it was quickly identified as key to keeping the council's services in operation. The assessment included a power analysis survey to look at how much power was needed to meet three levels of operation:

“Generators will be on site and fully operational in four hours

emergency enough power to operate the emergency control room and the main hall in case a power outage occurred during a local or general election

medium enough power to operate critical services such as benefits, waste, social services, CCTV, etc

full all services back-up and fully operational.

Following the power analysis survey, Mark Henry, emergency & CCTV planning coordinator at Newark and Sherwood District Council, realised that having a back-up power plan in place was essential for the council's business continuity plan to be a success. “Over the years the council has invested significant funds to ensure that services are backed up and running with minimal disruption in the event of an emergency,” he says. “To this end, we realised that a back-up power solution was core to the rest of the business continuity plan kicking in.”

Following a consultation between the council's in-house team and engineers, hook-up points were fitted so that four generators could simply plug and play in the event of an emergency. In addition, the council has an agreement in place with its provider to ensure that generators are available at all times. “The beauty of this arrangement is that we do not have to purchase four generators in one go,” says Henry. “Yet, should we need them, they will be on site and fully operational in four hours. This way we are not playing Russian roulette over whether we can get hold of a generator in an emergency. It also means that we do not have to worry about servicing the equipment.”

Our work was also extended to supplying a generator to each of the council's emergency reception areas, an area where we have assisted several other local authorities following the recent floods and terrorism attacks.

Importance of testing

A recent report from the Chartered Management Institute highlighted the fact that only 37% of organisations that have a BCP in place have actually tested their plan, which is of specific concern to back-up power solutions. From an operational perspective, generators need to be regularly tested and maintained to ensure they are in optimum condition as and when they are required. In addition, companies may find themselves short of power if they have expanded their premises or installed additional equipment.

This is the hidden danger for organisations that have installed a back-up power solution. Organisations need to ensure they have a regularly tested plan in place and review their back-up power requirements when planning any site expansion.

The concerns over mains power failure are not set to abate in the near future. Only those organisations that incorporate a back-up power solution at the core of their BCP will be able to go on operating if the lights go out.