The Client and Its Challenge
One of North America's largest railroad companies needed to evaluate the back-up capability of its centralized train dispatching center, which is responsible for assigning crews to locomotives and running trains between stations throughout the railroad. While the dispatch center could have withstood many hazards, senior managers recognized that the number of potential threats had multiplied dramatically over the years. The client was especially concerned about any potential crises involving nearby nuclear power reactors. The client had been advised that its back-up facility should be at least 50 miles away to be safe, which would mean that the company would have to build an entirely new facility at an estimated cost of $20 million.

The Risk Consulting Solution
The client retained Marsh's Crisis Consulting practice to evaluate potential exposures and to help determine an effective response to a possible crisis involving the nearby nuclear plants or any other dangers such as contact with chemical or biological hazardous materials, a regional power blackout, or even terrorism.

Crisis consultants assessed the potential impact of emergency incidents on the train dispatching center and determined that retrofitting an existing back-up facility could effectively protect employees and maintain business continuity during crises. Furthermore, the Crisis Consulting team researched the crisis management requirements for the dispatching center and determined that a 50-mile evacuation zone was actually the distance required to safeguard edible crops. Therefore, it was not necessary to construct a new back-up facility farther away from the power plants.

Results
The client was able to use the existing nearby facility as a back-up for the dispatch center. Even with retrofitting, the client will save an estimated $8-10 million compared to the cost of new construction. Now the client refers to Marsh as its trusted advisor for crisis management and the Crisis Consulting team has since conducted a tabletop exercise and crisis readiness review, facilitated planning for crisis management, and executed a drill to validate crisis preparedness.