On April 29, 2004, the Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, Vice Chair of the 9-11 Commission, received a recommendation on emergency preparedness and business continuity from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI is a non-profit organization with the mission to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.

The ANSI recommended a voluntary national preparedness standard based on criteria developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The 9-11 Commission will consider this recommendation as it prepares its final report to Congress and the President.

After an in-depth study, NFPA 1600—Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs—emerged as the recommended standard. NFPA 1600 presents a common set of criteria for disaster and emergency management and business continuity programs that organizations, large and small, can use to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disaster. This standard has been widely used by public emergency managers to evaluate programs at the local and state levels. Private emergency managers have used the standard less extensively because they have been unaware of it.

NFPA 1600 is not a handbook or "how-to" guide, with pages and pages of instruction on the best way to build a comprehensive program. Rather, it outlines the important components of a comprehensive plan that allows organizations to develop programs that meet their unique needs.



"Voluntary standards can assist in protection of assets, disaster recovery, and emergency preparedness, and are critical to national economic and security interests."
Mark W. Hurwitz, ANSI president and CEO, American National Standards Institute Press Release, 4/29/2004

Given this emerging national preparedness standard, and the potential climate for terrorism, as well as other hazards, executives should begin to think about questions such as:

• Do our recovery plans match our business needs?
• Have we coordinated our emergency response plans with public emergency agencies?
• Do our plans include a clear delegation of roles and responsibilities?
• Have we recently undergone changes to our organizational structure, through mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, or spin-offs, that affect our emergency response and business continuity plans?
• Are our emergency response and business continuity plans compliant with applicable local, state, and federal regulations, as well as nationally recognized standards and best practices?
• Have we put the processes in place to provide clear and effective communications to our employees, regulators, customers, suppliers, and the media in the event of an emergency?

The Risk Consulting Practice at Marsh has the tools and solutions to assist you in developing, implementing, and testing emergency response and business continuity plans. We understand the importance of complying with regulatory requirements. In fact, many of our professionals have assisted in the development of not only NFPA 1600, but also other industry and national preparedness standards. With our knowledge and expertise in emergency response, business continuity, and risk communications, we can help you develop the plans that will help ensure your organization's business continuity after a disaster.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact us.

Electronic copies of NFPA 1600 are available for public download at NFPA Web site.