|
|
December 6, 2007 DC Event Online
|
|
|
Hurricane Preparedness for LI Businesses
Huntington Hilton The Long Island Power Authority is spearheading a June 1 hurricane preparedness drill and asking business owners to participate. The drill, part of LIPA's third-annual I'm Ready campaign, will simulate a major hurricane hitting Long Island. LIPA has asked businesses to eliminate non-essential power consumption from noon to 3 p.m. and practice emergency response procedures.
KeySpan CEO Robert Catell said in a statement that 1,500 LIPA and KeySpan workers train for electrical emergencies each year. In this drill, they will respond to mock power outages and effort to restore electrical service. The New York State Office of Emergency Management, as well as the Nassau, Suffolk and New York City offices of emergency management, will participate in the drill.
The scenario will test emergency backup generation, communications equipment and municipal response plans. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration yesterday predicted 13 to 16 major storms will form during this year's hurricane season, which runs June 1 to Nov. 30. Of those, eight to 10 could become named storms and four to six could become Category 3 or higher hurricanes.
|
|
|
Hurricane Liberty
Bill Evans, ABC’s Senior Meteorologist for Eyewitness News was the keynote speaker for a table top exercise on hurricanes. Hurricane Liberty was a private sector table top exercise, with lessons learned or mistakes repeated.
Bill Evans, a member of WABC-TV since December 13th of 1989, Bill is the Senior Meteorologist for Eyewitness News in the Morning and Eyewitness at Noon. Bill, a 5-time Emmy award winner for Outstanding On-Camera Achievement in Weather Broadcasting, also broadcasts the weather with "Scott and Todd in the Morning" and throughout the day on 95.5FM WPLJ Radio. In 1985 the National Weather Service named him "Outstanding Meteorologist" for his forecasting and reporting during Hurricane Elena. Bill has authored some excellent papers and books on hurricanes.
This event was one of the most well attended meetings of the CPE. With well over 200 participants and a panel of experts from insurance, government and private enterprise, we were able to track our tabletop storm through a 6 day path. In its final 24 hours it turns towards New York. Audience participation was at an all time high working through the scenario as it related to their primary, satellite and agent offices. We were able to gain a better understanding of how utilities would respond and the insurance risks we would face if this were a real incident.
The Office of Emergency Management provided an excellent template for both this exercise and for their new evacuation planning.
|
|
|
Dr. Yossi Sheffi-The Resilient Enterprise
The Resilient Enterprise: Dr. Yossi Sheffi, Professor of Engineering at MIT and Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics,provided the CPE with a presentation and book signing. Dr. Sheffi's views are that a company’s survival and prosperity depend more on what it does before such a disruption occurs than on the actions it takes as the event unfolds. In The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage, Sheffi explores high-impact/ low-probability disruptions, focusing not only on security but on corporate resilience—the ability to bounce back from such disruptions—and how resilience investments can be turned into competitive advantage.
What happens to a company when the unimaginable occurs?
When an earthquake hits its primary contract manufacturer?
When labor strikes shut down an entire port?
When terrorists cripple a transportation system?
Sheffi provides tools for companies to reduce the vulnerability of the supply chain they live in. And along the way he tells the stories of dozens of enterprises, large and small, including Toyota, General Motors, UPS, Intel, Amazon.com, the US Navy, and others
from across the globe. Their successes, failures, preparations, and methods provide a rich set of lessons in preparing for and managing disruptions.
|
|
|
|
