DHS today issued its long anticipated proposal for standards for the Voluntary Private Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep) established under Title IX of Public Law 110-53. As expected, DHS is proposing the following three standards: ASIS SPC.1-2009Organizational Resilience: Security Preparedness, and Continuity Management Systems – the American Society for Industrial Security is making ASIS SPC 1-2009 available […]
This seems to be the season for zombies. After writing my article in August, I've noticed them cropping up just about everywhere. Woody Harrelson's Zombieland is in theaters and doing well. Scott Phelps will be offering a session on zombie attacks at the upcoming International Association of Emergency Managers conference in November. Zombies may well become the […]
Mind Your Bizness is an online radio & TV show focusing on "EduTaining" content for entrepreneurs and microbusinesses. Today and tomorrow, September 28-29, you can hear an interview where I discuss some ideas of about developing effective business continuity programs and the importance of understanding corporate culture and adding value through your program You can […]
Ever been at a meeting where some poor soul was put in their place with the comment, "that's a really dumb idea"? Now, I've heard some real winners in my time, it's true, but you might want to be a bit more charitable next time. Last Thursday was the 150th anniversary of the ascession of Norton […]
No, I'm not having a meltdown here. And while the question is a bit tongue-in-cheek, it is serious…well, sort of, anyway. Are you getting just a bit burned out on H1N1 planning and finding that people just aren't feeling the old fire in your exercises? Here's a new approach you might try – using zombies […]
There was an interesting article in the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday about the Taiwanese government finally agreeing to accept international aid for Typhoon Morakot. Sadly, we've seen this sort of thing before in numerous instances such as Cyclone Nargis in Burma last year or during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. There seems to be […]
I just spent two and a half days getting up to speed on the new ASIS SPC.1-2009 Organizational Resilience standard. Aside from getting up close and personal with the standard, an interesting part of the course was an insight into how standards are developed and the rivalry between standards setting bodies. We often forget that […]
Last week I was asked to participate in a conference by a government agency seeking to improve its emergency plans. One of the main areas of interest for the agency was identifying research topics that could help improve their plans. I'm not sure why I was invited but fortunately there were a number of well-regarded academics […]
As a consultant, I read a lot of newsletters and blogs related to my areas of interest or expertise to try and stay current. One of my favorite commentators is Jonathan Bernstein, of Berstein Crisis Management, Inc. I highly recommend his newsletter and blog. His latest post shows what can happen to your reputation […]
A colleague on the International Association of Emergency Managers list recently asked this question. I foolishly thought that I could dash off a quick reply. Instead I found myself doing one of those mini-research projects that keeps me up later than anticipated and earns me a sigh from my long-suffering wife. The question was specifically […]