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Press Release /10
BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING – VITAL FOR COMPANY SURVIVAL
In the face of all types of disasters, it is imperative that companies ensure their
survival. Disasters include weather events such as flood or hurricanes, but a pandemic
could also be a threat. Companies need to consider how they would carry on safely
and efficiently were a disaster to strike, and knock out fundamental parts of their
communication infrastructure, perhaps through flooding of the IT headquarters, or
remove the ability to communicate or manage, through the significant absence of
personnel due to a pandemic.
"Our members need to consider this subject in the light of their own circumstances,"
explains Hugh Williams, Chief Executive of the International Marine Contractors
Association (IMCA). "This may include the need to continue communication with, and
management of, a number of sites 24/7, whether they are a sea-going fleet or shore-based
facility.
"It would be difficult to write concise guidance for business continuity planning
that would be appropriate for all our members, and there is already good guidance
available. Our Security Task Force has instead written a high level information
note based on members' experience and advice from consultants."
An approximate guide to the necessity of business continuity planning is taken from
one consultant's information who stated that 20% of companies had a major failure
affecting business continuity every five years; 90% of failures resulted from IT;
90% had at least one security breach in two years; and 70% were affected by a systems
downtime at least once a year at an average cost of £52k per hour.
IMCA SEL 12/10 is generic but gives some major pointers toward what considerations
should be made – such as outsourcing, control of the supply chain, transport and
a variety of other risks and common failures - when developing a business continuity
plan and links to existing guidance. Like all IMCA Information Notes, this information
is readily available to IMCA's growing membership – there are well over 650 member
companies in more than 50 countries.
Further information on IMCA is available at www.imca-int.com and from the Association
at 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0AU, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 7824 5520; Fax: +44
(0)20 7824 5521; email: imca@imca-int.com.
Notes to Editors (common)
- IMCA is an international association with well over 800 members in 60 countries, as at September 2011, representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, South America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and Central & North America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training. IMCA seeks to promote its members' common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.
- IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports. These have been developed over the years and are widely distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving and ROV codes of practice, DP documentation, marine good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document, safety recommendation, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and safety flashes.
- Judith Patten is here to help you if you want any additional information on IMCA; would like to discuss a feature article; want to organise interviews with key members of the IMCA team, etc.
Press releases issued by:
Judith Patten at JPPR
34 Ellerker Gardens, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6AA, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8241 1912
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8940 6211
judithpatten@wwmail.co.uk
For more details, please contact Hugh Williams, IMCA Chief Executive
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