What are the main premises risks my business faces?
The most common cause of Premises Interruption we see is from water damage or flooding. Normally the water escape is from within the property (pipe burst, blocked drains etc) as opposed to external flooding. Other risks include Fire, Power Failure, Criminal Damage and Denial of Access due to an incident within or close to the premises.
How often are business premises affected by disaster?
This figure depends on a wide range of factors including your Location, Type of Operation, Age of Property, Risk Reduction Measures etc. Over years of experience helping businesses manage interruption we see an average of just over 1% interruption rate each year for Premises (other forms of business interruption move the headline interruption rate to over 4% per year)
How do I know what impact loss of premises would have on my business?
This will depend on the type of premises you operate. For example if you run a Restaurant and cannot open you can multiply each day of closure by your average takings/profit. On top of this figure you should a valuation for potential loss of future business as customers find an alternative restaurant and perhaps never return. Offices are a bit harder to assess as some processes could be continued away from the office, some processes can be delayed and some are essential and dependent upon the office being available.
I have a small office so couldn't I just send everybody home?
Home based workplace recovery is increasing in popularity as more businesses embrace the Cloud for applications and data storage as well as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) for technology. The key points to consider are whether your team members can work effectively from home? are they willing to work from home? do you have the tools in place for distributed workers to communicate effectively? how will remote working affect interactions with customers (phone calls, meetings etc)? Many companies now combine Home Working and office based Workplace Recovery to deliver a total solution.
Is it possible to 'design in' resilience into our property strategy?
It is possible to ‘design in’ Premises Resilience into your property strategy. For example you could split critical teams across different offices, hold stock in two warehouses rather than one, research the flood history of your new premises before signing the lease, Google your new address to see if the neighbours are ‘accident prone!’ or operating high risk businesses.
How can I reduce the risk of fire in my factory?
There are numerous strategies you can employ to reduce fire risk and the impact of fire. These range from Detection, Compartmentation, Materials, Suppression, Training etc etc. A good place to start is to engage a Fire Risk Management consultant to review your premises and processes. One simple activity that can have a huge positive impact is to conduct a regular Thermographic Survey of your electrical infrastructure. This survey uses a heat sensitive camera to identify ‘hot spots’ that can often go on to become a source of fire.
Our customer service team cannot afford to lose access to our office, what can we do?
Assuming you do not own a second location to relocate your customer service team to, then you will need to consider a Workplace Recovery contract with a third party provider. Workplace Recovery contracts grant you fast access to fully furnished office space with technology and connectivity. As a part of this process you will need to consider whether your business requires Dedicated or Syndicated space as well as how you will seamlessly divert your calls.
Some of our neighbours have recently been burgled, what can we do to improve our security?
Aside from making sure windows and doors are locked, blinds are drawn etc, you will probably need to engage the services of a Security Consultant to advise on alarm systems, access control, monitoring, guarding etc. We work with a number of Security consultants that even provide ‘penetration testing’ services where they will test your security by gaining unauthorised access to your premises and identifying your security weaknesses.
I need to store the contents of our office short term, what are the options?
Probably the best option is to rent a small ‘self storage’ room on a rolling week to week contract. We can put you in touch with providers in your local area.
Is it possible to store pallet stock short term if needed?
Yes we work with a specialist brokerage company that rent fully managed pallet storage space nationwide. They can even organise Receipt, Handling and Despatch and other logistics services if required. This service is ideal for companies that have to divert deliveries due to business interruption at their warehouse or have sudden unexpected peaks of stock for any reason.
