A Contingency plan is a backup plan in case of emergency, a continuity of operations plan is the protocol to continue business operations in case of permanent damage to the premises. If a contingency plan is throwing down a jacket and grabbing a fire extinguisher before you open the window, a continuity plan would be the fire drill to get everyone out of the building to safety.
There is a seven step process surrounding technology centric contingency plans, in regard to the system development life cycle.
- Develop the contingency planning policy statement. Draw up details and a budget.
- Conduct the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) a stark surmisal of the potential situation is imperative.
- Identify preventive controls. Inspect the permissions and controls that ensure everything works as intended.
- Created contingency strategies. No disaster ever goes as intended, be flexible in your planning.
- Develop a contingency plan. Role play the plan. Either talk it out or have a full on exercise.
- Ensure future testing, training, and trying. Many people need to the plan, in case of emergency.
- Enforce update deadlines for the contingency plan. Treat the CP as a living document.
At our studio, we have contingency and continuity plans for a number of situations. But the paramount concern in any sort of emergency is always: keep the station on the air. In our “emergency book” I have created many bulletined lists describing appropriate steps to take in case any of the equipment stops working. I have timelines set up to ascertain the point of lowest impact, or how many ad dollars we will lose in a particular hour, in case the transmitter needs to be taken down for any amount of time, but to prevent downtime, we monitor the equipment three times a day, restarting as required, per manufacturers recommendation to ensure the longevity of the equipment. Most transmitter locations have backup transmitters, in case of emergency, and a redundant audio feed as well. But that isn’t sufficient. We regularly revise our knowledge-base to reflect our evolving technical ecosystem, and make a point to regularly train employees on the contingency plans, even team members from other departments, as a way to familiarize them with different perspectives within the company, and as a preventative measure, in the very small case of them having to flip the switch in a time of true crisis. Through these steps, we maintain our radio signal.