If your company has a business continuity plan in place, how can you judge whether it’s adequate? And if your company doesn’t have such a plan, how can you ensure that you create one that covers all the bases, including safety incidents? One way to ensure that your company’s business continuity plan is effective is to base it on an established standard. Here are some standards you should consider using.

CSA Z1600. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has developed a Canadian business continuity standard called “CSA Z1600 Standard on Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs.” This standard, which was published in August 2008, reflects Canada’s regulatory system and requirements, terminology and definitions.

NFPA 1600. CSA Z1600 has specifically been harmonized with the US National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 1600: Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Plans. NFPA 1600 is a comprehensive framework standard that integrates emergency management and business continuity using a risk based, all hazards approach.

BS 25999. The British Standards Institution’s BS 25999 Business Continuity Management is designed to improve a company’s resilience when faced with the disruption of operations. BS 25999 provides a process that a company can follow to restore its ability to supply critical products and services to an agreed level and within an agreed timeframe following a disruption. Adopting the standard can also enable the company to develop the capability to manage a disruption and protect its reputation and brand. BS 25999 has two parts:

• 1:2006: a code of practice that establishes the processes, methods, principles and terminology for business continuity management; and
• 2:2007: a specification that details the requirements for a business continuity management system. The requirements are auditable – that is, your company could be audited for compliance with the standard’s requirements and earn certification.

Conclusion

Next week, we’ll tell you about the five sections your business continuity plan should include at a minimum.

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