How can you use FM emergency and contingency planning to gain a competitive advantage?

1 Assess your risks and resources

The first step in developing an effective FM emergency and contingency plan is to identify and evaluate the potential risks and threats that could affect your facility, such as natural disasters, fire, power outage, cyberattack, or pandemic. You should also assess your available resources and capabilities, such as staff, equipment, technology, communication, and backup systems. This will help you to prioritize your actions and allocate your resources accordingly.

2 Prepare your response and recovery

The next step is to design and implement your response and recovery procedures, based on the scenarios and impacts you have identified. You should define the roles and responsibilities of your team, the communication channels and protocols, the emergency equipment and supplies, the backup and alternative solutions, and the recovery and restoration processes. You should also document and communicate your plan clearly and regularly to your staff, clients, and stakeholders.

3 Test and improve your plan

The final step is to test and improve your plan, by conducting drills, simulations, audits, and reviews. This will help you to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of your plan, identify any gaps or weaknesses, and make any necessary adjustments or improvements. You should also monitor and update your plan regularly, to reflect any changes in your facility, environment, or regulations.

4 Showcase your value

By having a robust FM emergency and contingency plan, you can showcase your value to your clients and stakeholders, by demonstrating your professionalism, reliability, and quality. You can also use your plan as a marketing tool, by highlighting your achievements, best practices, and lessons learned. This will help you to build trust, reputation, and loyalty among your existing and potential clients.

5 Enhance your resilience

By having a resilient FM emergency and contingency plan, you can enhance your resilience to any unexpected events, by minimizing the disruption, damage, and loss to your facility, operations, and clients. You can also use your plan as a learning tool, by analyzing your performance, feedback, and outcomes. This will help you to improve your skills, knowledge, and processes, and prepare for future challenges.

6 Foster your innovation

By having an innovative FM emergency and contingency plan, you can foster your innovation to any emerging opportunities, by adapting, improvising, and creating new solutions for your facility, operations, and clients. You can also use your plan as a development tool, by exploring new technologies, methods, and partnerships. This will help you to increase your efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?