Safety at Home

This is the time of year when we produce our annual Safety-at-Home issue. You no doubt have plans for disruptions at work, but have you made a plan for your family and your home? You should think about the same things as you do at work – identifying risk, mitigating risk and responding to emergencies. If you haven’t done this yet, this week we offer some help to get you going. If you have thought about making a plan, maybe these articles will help you refine what you already have.

Protect your employees and their families with the resources, tools and skills to keep them safe and healthy in their homes, on the roads and in their communities. (Item #1) Here’s everything you need to know to keep your kids safe during the holidays.  (Item #2) Use these checklists to make a safety check of your home. (Item #3)

Be smart about fire and electrical safety. (Item #4) Falls are a major problem for older adults; here’s help on how to prevent them. (Item #5) Follow these guidelines for firearm safety in your home. (Item #6)

Testing & Training

While you’re closing out 2013 and getting ready for 2014, make sure you include testing/exercising your business continuity plan on your agenda. There’s no better way to start the new year than by making sure your plan will work and all your people know what they should do if and when a disruption occurs. This week’s articles can provide you with some help.

Do you really want to find out your plan doesn’t work as the building floods or the backup generator fails? (Item #1) Before you know what your testing scenario might be, you need to know a number of other things. (Item #2) Haven’t run a BC test/exercise before? Here’s help. (Item #3)

The success of a Business Continuity Program is dependent on various components working together to achieve a common goal. (Item #4) Testing can be a major challenge to many organizations. (Item #5) Don’t test your plan - Exercise your credit union business continuity plan! (Item #6)

Winter Weather

As the weather forecasters say, meteorological winter is upon us although actual winter isn’t for a couple of weeks yet. We’ve already seen big storms in some parts of the country, so it makes sense to be sure your organization is prepared for the worst. This week’s articles have good advice for maintaining your operations throughout this difficult season.

Taking these steps will help you prepare your business for winter. (Item #1) Building in accessible? Here’s some help on what to do. (Item #2) Here’s comprehensive advice to businesses on preparing for severe weather. (Item #3)

Advance preparation can help to mitigate winter weather impacts on your operations and business continuity. (Item #4) Although directed at hedge funds, this article has good advice on maintaining communication and remote access during storms. (Item #5) Make sure your home and family are safe as well. (Item #6)