May 5, 1999 Virtual Classroom Presentation

by

Rick Ranous
Recovery and Business Continuation Planning
EQE International

with

Neil C. Blais
Senior Project Engineer
EQE International

Business Continuity Planning
A Risk Management Tool

SUMMARY

EIIP Classroom Online Presentation
Wednesday - May 5, 1999 - 12:00 Noon EDT

Business Continuity Planning:
A Risk Management Tool

Rick Ranous
Recovery and Business Continuation Specialist
EQE International

Neil Blais
Senior Project Engineer
EQE International

The EIIP Virtual Classroom was pleased to have Partner, EQE, International, back for a session on Business Continuity Planning in the context of Risk Management. The primary speaker was Rick Ranous, who specializes in Recovery and Business Continuation planning for EQE, with Neil Blais in the background, Senior Project Engineer at EQE International's Newport Beach, California. Neil was instrumental also in arranging the Round Table program.

As explained by Ranous, an effective risk management program addresses all risks to all parts of a business operation. Having a detailed plan on one component of your business, restoring management information systems for example, only marginally helps the business if the production line is down. The plan for recovery must address all aspects of the business operations. The speaker effectively used slides throughout his presentation to illustrate how to develop a business continuity plan.

RICK RANOUS

Recovery and Business Continuation Planning
EQE International

Mr. Ranous graduated from California State University Los Angeles in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. He is a registered Civil and Structural Engineer in the State of California. Mr. Ranous specialized in the evaluation and retrofitting of existing buildings covering all types of construction and occupancies.

While in the public sector, he worked for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services and was involved with the emergency response and recovery operations for a number of disasters. During these disasters, he served as the technical advisor for the OES executive Management. Mr. Ranous is now employed by EQE, International where he specializes in Recovery and Business Continuation Planning.

Mr. Ranous is a past-president of the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California; past chair of the Building Code Committee for the Structural Engineers Association of California; and past-chair of the Disaster Emergency Services Committee for the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California. He is also a certified instructor for the California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI) in the Standardized Emergency Management System, and a CSTI adjunct instructor for several training programs.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING

To be effective, a risk management program must address all hazards that can affect any part of a business operation. A thorough analysis of all the hazards and their potential impact to the business is the first step in the process of developing a proper Business Continuity Plan (BCP). The results of this analysis will provide the guidance necessary for a risk manager to protect assets, minimize business interruption, and choose mitigation strategies that are cost effective. This risk analysis will also support the risk manager in the development of effective response and recovery plans since the critical operations are clearly identified and the steps to restore operations delineated.

For any local jurisdiction, businesses with effective BCP's do not require as much support and oversight during the response phase. Business recovery is a critical step towards restoring public confidence and satisfaction in the overall emergency response and the transition into recovery.

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