Business Continuity: 6 Risks To Consider

In business continuity planning, address these threats to facilitate a plan that will help your organization return to productivity after a disaster hits.

New Pig, a Tipton, PA-based company that provides products, services, and training for creating clean, safe, and productive workplaces, points out six types of risks that companies should evaluate for inclusion in their business continuity plans. Addressing these will help an organization return to productivity after suffering a disaster event.

business continuity

  1. Geological (Earthquake and five other possibilities)
  2. Meteorological (Drought and 21 other possibilities)
  3. Biological (Pandemic and three other possibilities)
  4. Accidental, Human-Caused (Explosion and 14 other possibilities)
  5. Intentional, Human-Caused (Kidnapping and 27 other possibilities)
  6. Technological (Utility disruption and 11 other possibilities)

New Pig has published a white paper that facility management and other stakeholders can use to plan, create, and maintain their business continuity plans. As this document states, ”Before you can create a plan, you need to determine the types of risks your facility may face. Risks can be internal and external. Internal risks are things that the facility has some control over, such as process failures or human error. External risks are things that are not under the facility’s control, such as natural disasters or acts of terrorism.”

When assessing risks, New Pig advises in its white paper considering the following areas of vulnerability:

  • People (Lines of succession, employees, and the surrounding community)
  • Property (Buildings, land, and holdings)
  • Operations (Call centers, production areas, warehousing, etc.)
  • Essential Functions (Minimum elements needed to produce and sell the organization’s product or service)
  • Environment (Potential to harm air, water, or land)
  • Supply Chains (Raw materials, transportation, and distribution)

The white paper is available for download on the New Pig website.