Hard Lessons

Federal agencies that provide critical services after a catastrophic event could learn from the Minerals Management Service's experience in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year. Among the lessons MMS will be applying to its revised continuity of operations plan, or COOP, are the following:

• Plan to establish recovery operations, bringing daily business activities back online, in a location separate from the COOP team's emergency operations site. Otherwise, the influx of personnel sharing traumatic experiences is likely to distract team members while they perform critical tasks.
• Develop and regularly update alternative emergency contact information for employees, such as phone numbers for relatives they are likely to be in touch with. It is not enough to have only employees' cell phone and landline numbers.
• Have a backup communications system. MMS is providing all COOP team members with cell phones that include walkie-talkie and text messaging functions.
• Practice the COOP plan regularly and extensively. MMS will expand its annual exercise from a couple of days to several days.
• If a COOP plan requires aerial operations (MMS has a contract helicopter fleet that enables it to perform essential missions), try to work out pre-clearance authority to avoid having to worry about that time-consuming issue during an emergency.
• Activate the COOP plan as early as possible in a crisis.
• Have another plan if a new crisis jeopardizes operations at the COOP site. For offices in a hurricane-prone area, develop a specific storm response plan besides the more generic COOP plan.