Risk Index Case Study

This week's featured DRI2013 session is "The Business Continuity Management Risk Index (BCM-RI) Implementation Case Study," presented by Michael Kadar of DTE Energy.

Is there a metric that clearly can demonstrate to executive management the overall value of the business continuity management (BCM) program to the organization? Can BCM professionals quantitatively measure current risk levels that can be compared with established risk tolerances and report them to management in a meaningful way that drives both risk management and BCM initiatives? How could such a metric actually be implemented successfully in a large organization?

This session will explore these questions and present a case study of how the BCM-RI was developed and implemented at DTE Energy.  You will learn how the BCM-RI was implemented to measure the overall risk/preparedness level of DTE Energy business units, departments, subsidiaries, and the entire organization. You will see how gap analyses were performed to effectively compare BCM-RI levels to risk tolerance levels previously defined by management. Finally, you will learn how DTE Energy plans to expand the BCM-RI to develop risk indices for use by enterprise risk management and business resilience management programs.

Register now to attend DRI2013 and catch the exciting session! Click here to register, and click here for more information about DRI2013 to be held June 4-7, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Who Is the Service Provider of the Year??!!

Just log into your MyDRI account and click on the Awards of Excellence Voting Booth. If you need a hand with MyDRI, just call us at (866) 542-3744. You must be certified and in good standing to vote. Voting closes April 15, 2013.  The awards will be presented at the Awards of Excellence Gala to be held June 6, during the DRI2013 conference in Philadelphia, PA.

The nominees are:

• Thomas Carroll, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
• Richard Fairlamb, Fairlamb Int'l LLC
• Sue Hornstra, GE Capital
• Frank Perlmutter, Strategic BCP
• Jeffrey Yu, DRI China

• Ernie Bryan, Engineering Solutions, Inc.
• Bruce Gillespie, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
• David Mahoney, Northrop Grumman

Tano: Mom, why do we have a picture of somebody going potty hanging in our car?

Good question. So, after I explained to my ever-curious boy (he gets that from me) what that sign really means, we got into a discussion of why I need it. And we talked about how there are some places I can't go anymore because there are no ramps and I can't climb stairs - well, not easily. 

A couple of months ago, I went to a concert. I assumed the theater would be handicapped accessible. It wasn't. And after a grueling trip up EIGHT flights of stairs (yup, we were in the nosebleed seats), I was in tears and out of breath. We left at intermission because I needed to lie down and because the Fab Faux (a Beatles tribute band) should be renamed Faux No! Take it from me, Glen Burtnik's Beatles shows are the way to go.

Anyway, as I was slowly and painfully descending the stairs in this beautiful, historic theater, I found myself wondering what would have happened to me if this was an emergency. What if there was a fire, a gunman, or even a power outage? Would I have gotten out safely? Would I have gotten out at all?

And so, today I thought I'd remind you about people like me, the ones with those signs in our cars. Here are a few resources to help you help me:

Inclusive Preparedness Center

Disabilities: Emergency Preparedness Training

Disability Employment Policy Resources: Emergency Preparedness

Individuals with Access & Functional Needs

National Organization on Disability: Emergency Preparedness Materials

Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities

Emergency Management Research and People with Disabilities

Please consider us when you're planning. We get by with a little help from our friends, after all.

Buffy Rojas

You're giving a presentation and your mind goes blank. What do you do? How about handling hecklers and equipment malfunctions? This Forbes article, "What to Do When Speaking Disaster Strikes," tells you how to work around and overcome the top seven most likely speaking disasters.

Good to practice what you preach, especially when you're giving a presentation, right? There's nothing worse than the continuity expert being brought to a halt by an unforeseen mishap, especially if it's your shot at upper management. Check it out and plan accordingly.

Rappler.com reports global losses from natural disasters of $138 billion in 2012, according to the United Nations. Half that amount can be attributed to drought and Superstorm Sandy in the United States, according to yesterday's report.

Sandy caused about $50 billion of the losses recorded in 2012, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) said. A drought in the U.S. also cost $20 billion.

This was the third consecutive year in which losses linked to natural disasters topped $100 billion, and the 10th in the past three decades, UNISDR said.

"A review of economic losses caused by major disaster events since 1980 shows that since the mid-90s there has been a rise," UNISDR chief Elizabeth Longworth told reporters. "This has turned into an upwards trend as confirmed by losses from last year when, despite no mega-disaster such as a major urban earthquake, economic losses are conservatively estimated in the region of $138 billion," she said.

Read the full story here.

The Japan Times reports that the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency plans to test a disaster warning system using Internet-based social-networking services this summer.

The system, which will be based on a major disaster, will tap into the Internet, which is more accessible than telephone lines in times of disaster, and help in mobilizing prompter assistance, the officials told the Japan Times. The test will simulate people caught up in disasters using their computers or mobile phones to summon for help via such sites as Twitter and Japan's social-networking site Mixi, the officials said.

For more on the system and the test, click here.

DRI is pleased to organize and deliver a special business continuity management (BCM) forum on May 9, 2013 in Abu Dhabi for our members and industry practitioners in U.A.E. This forum is organized in conjunction with the newly launched U.A.E BCM Standard and also seeks to create a knowledge sharing platform for DRI members and practitioners across industries.

The forum presents a pool of subject matter experts who will share their knowledge and experience. These experts include Al Berman, Executive Director of DRI International; Mohammad Ahmad Al Junaibi, Dir. Safety & Prevention of NCEMA; Khalid al Mequemi, Director of EHS (and BCM) at Abu Dhabi Department of Transport; Colin Hannan, Director of Special Projects (Water)/Regulation & Supervision Bureau; Guy Peterson, Senior Associate of Booz Allen and Hamilton; and many other industry experts and practitioners. Click here for free registration or contact carol.chia@dri-malaysia.org, cdemrovsky@drii.org, or joanne.lim@dri-malaysia.org for further details and assistance.