Preparing for the Unexpected

One of the key components of any organization, which includes a core component of any Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Program, is Risk Management. Risk Management is a process that is one of the first components of creating a successful, fit-for-purpose BCM/DR Program. We'll talk to Alvaro Orrantia, Sr. Director of Global Disaster Recovery, who is also a certified Risk Professional with ISAC...

When people talk of Business Continuity or Disaster Recovery, many think of getting their key processes up and running or restoring their IT services, but what if what you do is a matter of life and death? East Bay Municipal Utility District provides water to approximately 1.3 million people in the Oakland and Berkeley, California area and is considered an essential service so it's BCM Program has...

For this episode we talk about community programs and 1st aid training with former St. John Ambulance regional representative, Brian Pittana. St. John Ambulance is known for helping train the community with 1st aid training programs and being there to help individuals in needs when 1st responders aren't immediately available. Brian talks about the various programs that St. John Ambulance offers fr...

The Disaster Recovery Institute Canada (DRIC) is an esteemed organization when it comes to training and certification for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery professionals. This episode we are honoured to have with us the new President of DRIC, John Yamniuk. John has many years experience in the world of Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity. We touch base on the future of DRIC and its many...

Creating a resilient organization is something many organization strive for but many fall short in their goals. This week we'll speak with Scott Teel from Agility Recovery who'll provide some great insight on what Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planners need to consider - and do - when turning their organization into a resilient organization. Leveraging his extensive background and usin...

This episode will focus on the Ontario Association of Emergency Management (OAEM). We'll talk with the president of the OAEM, Mr. Mike O'Brien and how he and his OAEM colleagues are building a central community for Emergency Managers. We'll discuss topics such as; the OAEM conference (October 2018), the organizations goals and objectives, what sets Emergency Management apart from Business Continui...

One of the most important aspects of building a Business Continuity or Disaster Recovery Program is ensuring the quality of planning and execution of a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). The BIA is the foundation upon which a strong program is build. Leveraging information contained within his book Business Impact Analysis: Building the Foundation for a Strong Business Continuity Program, Alex Fullic...

In April 2015 the world watched in horror as Nepal was decimated by a massive earthquake; an earthquake from which the country is still recovering. Listen to this week's show when we speak to Professor Meen Chhetri from Katmandu, Nepal, who will discuss the impacts of the earthquake and how the country responded - and how the Nepal's views on Disaster Management and Preparedness has changed. You'l...

We put allot of energy into creating our BCM/BCP/DR plans and some can contain reams and reams of information but the bigger the plan doesn't always equate to a better plans. To often the plans contain information that doesn't help the user because there is too much fluff in the plan and not enough actions. This week's show will identify 12 segments of information that doesn't need to be included...

We can learn allot by learning from others and this week's show will focus on the first hand experience of a business owner James Marshal of North Coast Wholesale & Distribution located in Lismore, Australia whose business came to a grinding halt when Lismore experienced a massive flood in March of 2017. James will provide us some hands on experience of what his business did to prepare for the flo...

This week we talk about Communications and Public Relations with globally recognized PR expert and author, Gerry McCusker. Communications is key in any disaster situation and the battle for who controls the narrative rages strong due to social media. Gone are the days of press releases; today you've got to be quick to get your message out there and know how to get the right message out there - and...

In our final part of the 3 part series on testing BCP/DR plans, we focus on what you should be doing during the test, how to collect findings information and how to package the information for Executive consumption. All to often tests just happen and people move on to other things but to ensure success and ensure that objectives have been met, proper findings documentation and Executive Summary(s)...

Carrying on from our last episode, this week's show focuses on the various ways we can test our Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans; from basic walkthroughs to full scale simulations. We'll discuss how to start documenting the planning process; from walkthroughs to full scale simulations. The Test Charter will ensure that all teams involved work from the same 'playbook' allowing for a...

We can spent allot of resources on creating Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity and Emergency Response plans full of content that might help us during a disaster but the content doesn't mean a thing if it hasn't been validated through testing. This episode, Part 1 of a 3 part series about testing our BCM / DR plans, will focus on obtaining the value of testing and how to obtain buy-in from an o...

Have you ever watched news reports after disasters and seen animals wandering looking for their owners, or owners upset because they can't find their pets? You've probably seen the scenes - they pull at our heart strings. This week's episode will focus on often forgotten elements that people forget when it comes to pets; choosing the right pet, pet care, integrating pets into a household and carin...

When people think of Fire Services the first thing that comes to mind is usually a large fire truck with sirens blaring, heading towards black smoke, yet there is so much more to Fire Protection than just red trucks, fire hoses and black smoke billowing from a burning building. This episode of Preparing for the Unexpected will focus on all areas of Fire Protection and Fire Services and how we can...

Resiliency; a term very misunderstood and communicated in the BCM/DR industry. Some believe it's a product you buy off a shelf while others think they can hire someone to come in for a short time and suddenly their organizations become resilient. But that's not the case. Resiliency is much deeper than that. This week's guest, Ken Simpson, a driving and pioneering expert on what resiliency really i...

In this week's episode we talk about one of the most critical aspects of any Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery program - communications! Communication is highly misunderstood and many individuals, organizations and communities don't quite get it right; from idea inception to planning to execution. When communications are managed exceptionally well, amazing things can result but when communic...

In this episode of Preparing for the Unexpected, we will talk with long-time BCM and Information Security expert, Alvaro Orrantia. We'll be discussing BCM / DR programs at the overview level and touch on some key concepts with some interesting perspectives and insight. We'll touch on key topics such as; a) distinguishing Business need with IT capabilities, b) Validation/testing and test governance...

Quite often BCM/DR professionals will find their efforts fall off the rails and their disaster and business continuity programs aren't running as smoothly as they'd expected. That's because they may not be are of some key aspects that help manage their efforts; Project Management. This weeks show will provide some key tips and ideas from Project Management expert, S. Rosalind Baker. Sue will provi...

This episode will focus on Emergency and Disaster Management, and how academia and certification and the training of individuals helps with the development and execution of appropriate disaster plans. We will also touch base on The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) and how it's mission, goals and objectives are being delivered to ensure standardization and certification in Emergen...