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Original Date: 02/19/2007
Revision Date: / /
Best Practice : Business Continuity Planning Program
Raytheon’s Network Centric Systems Manufacturing Center in Largo, Florida, implemented a comprehensive and executable business continuity plan for hurricanes and other potential disasters. The new process provides clear lines of communication and responsibility, provides satellite and other more reliable communications, coordinates with higher-level continuity plans for engaging corporate support as needed, provides continuity plans in an easy- to-use plan book and on the corporate Web site for easy reference, and prioritizes available regional recovery resources.
Raytheon’s Network Centric Systems (NCS) Manufacturing Center in Largo, Florida, required a comprehensive and executable business continuity plan for hurricanes and other disasters. A new business continuity plan was developed to overcome previous shortfalls that included unclear lines of communication and responsibility, limitations from unreliable land-line and cell phone communications, inconsistencies between local and NCS business-level plans, a large and difficult-to-use plan book, and no prioritization of regional resource response- sharing.
The new plan is consistent with Raytheon enterprise preparedness initiatives, an example of which includes the use of a dialogic mass notification system to supplement phone-tree notification, and provides needed coordination of resources (Facilities, IT, Security and Human Resources) between Raytheon’s adjacent Largo and St. Petersburg sites. The recovery plan also flows down actions to the department functional level in the organization. Expanded communications are provided that include satellite phones, broadcast notification systems, walkie-talkies, amateur radios, emergency operations control software, and PDA text-messaging to supplement vulnerable land-line and cell phones. Other features include integrated Largo and St. Petersburg IT recovery plans, a definition of “up-the-line” coordination with NCS headquarters, a minimum of two exercises a year, expanded employee training and awareness that includes a comprehensive set of emergency procedure tags to attach under ID cards, and emergency phone contact-number tags.
The new business continuity plans have corrected the previous shortfalls in contingency and recovery planning, with the following benefits to the Raytheon Largo (and St. Petersburg) facilities:
Prioritized recovery plans that ensure a logical progression of recovery efforts with their shared resources
Establishment of a dedicated severe weather management team to provide an effective severe weather response
Department-level plans that focus recovery responsibility on appropriate functional managers
New, more capable communication tools that greatly reduce the possibility of being unable to communicate
Expanded employee training and awareness that have increased the efficiency of response efforts and increased employee confidence
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
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