Genre: Instruction

Business continuity plans must address massive air travel shutdown When the ash cloud from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano shut down air travel across Europe and beyond , the business continuity plans of stranded British comedian John Cleese included hiring a Mercedes cab and forking over the roughly $ 5 , 000 fare For many a business continuity manager , however , the punch line was probably a good deal less existential . Losses for the airlines alone surpassed $ 1 billion . That figure does not include the toll on organizations crippled by their inability to ship or receive materials by air -- or the effect on business from the stranding of employees . " What we really had here was asymmetrical reliance on one or two modes of transportation , oceangoing vehicles and air travel , " said business continuity specialist Donald Byrne , managing director of consulting firm North River Solutions Inc. " The trains were n't disrupted , and the bus lines and the automobiles were not disrupted . But you ca n't use those across the Atlantic Ocean . " Now that the dust has settled , experts like Byrne are urging business continuity managers -- including those at businesses not affected by the ash cloud -- to use the event as a teachable moment while the chaos it caused is still relatively fresh in people's minds . For starters , the volcanic eruption should serve as a sober reminder that even rare events with limited physical destructiveness can cause widespread chaos , said Roberta Witty , a business continuity analyst at Gartner Inc. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull resulted in the largest-ever interruption of global air travel . Nor may that event be so rare . Historical data shows that when Eyjafjallajökull erupts , the neighboring , much larger Katla volcano follows suit . The event pointed up other deficiencies in business continuity plans besides a lack of air travel contingency plans , however . The ash cloud did not disrupt communication channels , Witty said , and that should have allowed businesses to respond constructively to employees , although many did not . In a report published April 23 , Witty and her Gartner colleagues offered advice on ways to mitigate the impact of the next large-scale transportation disruption . Here are four takeaways , with comments from other business continuity experts : Workforce continuity : Managing and communicating with the workforce during a crisis is the first job of a business continuity manager . In the air travel disruption caused by the erupting Icelandic volcano , the Gartner report highlighted two IT systems that can enhance business continuity plans : A centralized online travel service system that gives business continuity planners a quick inventory of all employees in transit However , even the most creative and adaptable travel firms are quickly overwhelmed with requests in major travel disruptions , Witty pointed out . Therefore , it is incumbent on an organization's HR department to reach out to " each and every worker " to help with alternative plans , such as hiring buses to ferry stranded employees . A business process management ( BPM ) system that can be used to identify the critical work projects affected by the absent workforce , the status of the projects and which tasks can be transferred to other employees Such information as the " chain of command , workforce succession and backup personnel needed to continue business during any unexpected absence " could be housed in the BPM repository , which includes organizational models and roles , the Gartner report advised . The volcanic eruption underscores the need for succession planning , said Paul Kirvan , a business continuity expert based in New Jersey . " If the CEO of a company is stranded in an airport , it is conceivable that he or she would not be able to do that much , " he said . Therefore , be sure to have a plan that accounts for fulfilling the duties of those who are stranded , he added . Supply chain and customer service : The hallmark of lean supply chains is just-in-time deliveries of inventory . When those goods are transported by air , the impact on the supply chain -- from flight delays and cancellations -- is obviously huge . Some automobile manufacturers in Europe shut down after only five days , because of volcanic dust-related supply chain disruptions , according to the Gartner report . The volcanic disruption also marked the first time that FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. said they could not honor overnight delivery service-level agreements for Europe . This event serves to remind organizations that supply chain risk-management contracts need to be reviewed for elements that could cause service disruptions : For example , does the contract rely on on-site vendor resources who are now unable to access your facility because of travel disruptions ? Can the work be shifted to another geographic location ? Keeping customers informed about delays is critical ; so is offering to help if your organization is not affected by the crisis . Gartner also recommends that business continuity managers consider ways their organizations can turn lemons into lemonade -- literally -- by offering , for example , to donate perishable goods , such as fruit , to charities or local processors . Managers should use the loss data from the air travel shutdown to drive home the need for business continuity planning , said North River Solutions' Byrne . " Certainly the supply chain issue is a huge issue , and is one of the best ways to come up with financial justification for why you should engage in preparedness and readiness planning , " he said . Remote access , telepresence : One of the foremost questions for today's business continuity managers should be how much of their organization's business can be managed remotely . Stranded business travelers likely will have the tools to connect to work through wireless devices and plug-in laptops . Staff stranded while on vacation will have fewer resources , especially those who consider it a badge of honor to unplug while they 're on holiday . The Iceland volcanic eruption points out the need for key executives to take their hardware with them on vacation , the Gartner report said . At minimum , " traveling executives should be equipped with at least some remote work capability ... based on smartphones and wireless access into the corporate VPN , " the report advised . The corporate network must be able to handle such communications , and handle them securely . While telepresence theoretically can keep stranded travelers in business -- or preclude the need for them to travel in the first place -- the technology is n't readily available at enough locations . " If you have stranded staff , then the chances of them getting to a telepresence room you can use are slim , " the Gartner report stated . H1N1 planning to the rescue : In fact , what really should have come in handy in a crisis like the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull is the business continuity and communications planning that many organizations did for the H1N1 influenza crisis , Kirvan said . " This situation is kind of analogous to a pandemic , because in a pandemic you really are n't concerned about losing technology or buildings , but loss of people , " he said . " So , in a situation like this one , take another look at your pandemic plan , pull out the appropriate pieces and fire those up . " At the end of the day , the hundreds of thousands of threats , even unusual ones like volcanic eruptions , will affect a business in probably eight to 10 ways that need to be addressed by business continuity plans , North River Solutions' Byrne said . " [ Threats ] disrupt your service , they disrupt your transportation , they deny you access to your facilities , they cause a lack of access to your staff , and so on , " Bryne said . " That 's really what you need to protect yourself against , those eight to 10 categories , whether it is from a flock of birds flying into the engine of your plane or a volcano exploding . "