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Disaster preparedness - Kim Morris
This document outlines the key steps for developing an emergency preparedness plan for collections. It discusses the three phases of disaster planning: before, during, and after an incident. The nine steps provided to develop a plan include identifying risks, prioritizing collections, determining on-site and off-site resources, allocating responsibilities, writing the plan, and maintaining it over time. Regular updates are important to ensure plans remain useful in an emergency situation.
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Disaster preparedness - Kim Morris
- 1. COLLECTION EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Presented by Kim Morris Art & Archival P/L
- 2. A Bit ofHistory ¨ Collection emergencies can occur anytime, anywhere ¨ In 1985 the NLA suffered a devastating fire that identified the need to plan for Collection Disasters ¨ No collection disaster plans existed in Australia at this time ¨ Many different types of incidents have affected cultural collections before and since ¨ Business recovery planning, risk management, insurance requirements and auditing have made disaster planning more essential
- 3. The 3 Phasesof Disaster Planning Before Preparedness and Prevention ¨ Risks identified and assessed ¨ Collections prioritised ¨ Resources identified ¨ Plans prepared, updated and/or refined ¨ Key roles allocated ¨ Funding and support identified
- 4. Prevention (or riskreduction) is easy ¨ Building maintenance and repair (maybe not so easy) ¨ Good housekeeping ¨ Good storage ¨ Correct handling ¨ Staff/volunteer training ¨ General staff/volunteer awareness ¨ Resources, equipment and supplies identified and put into place
- 5. During Response (Immediateand Short Term) ¨ Identify, assess, report, attend to incidents ¨ Document what’s happened ¨ Stabilise situations quickly and safely ¨ Develop a recovery plan
- 6. After Recovery (LongTerm) planning ¨ Plan prioritise and make decisions ¨ Protect or evacuate and treat affected collections ¨ Restore access and services to clients/visitors ¨ Assess of your plan’s effectiveness and reasons for the occurrence of the emergency
- 7. 9 steps todeveloping your disaster plan
- 8. 1 Identify risksthat may effect your building/s and collections Flood Fire & Smoke Earthquake Storm Terrorist (Bomb) Weather Sewage Water leak Poor storage & handling Mould Equipment malfunction Insect and vermin infestation Vandalism High dust levels Accident Theft Building works/alterations And many more depending on your assessment
- 9.
- 10. Canberra Hail Storm,January 2007
- 11. 2 Determine thetype of materials in your collection ¨ Books and other bound material ¨ Large and small sheet material (unbound) ¨ Artworks on paper, canvas, and other supports ¨ Vellum, parchment and leather materials ¨ Photographic materials ¨ Electronic and magnetic media ¨ Sound recordings and film ¨ Objects (organic and inorganic) ¨ Large and small technology items ¨ Material on loan to your organisation
- 12. ¨ Different collectionmaterials can require different response and handling techniques depending on the type of incident that has affected them
- 13. 3 Prioritisation Thereare many ways of prioritising collections: ¨ Significance ¨ Value ¨ Uniqueness ¨ Cultural significance ¨ Rarity ¨ Owned by someone else ¨ And others depending on your organisation’s collection focus and policies
- 14. Prioritisation can bea complicated process that requires good knowledge of collections, and careful consideration, debate and planning by managers and staff A simple categorisation of collections: ¨ Category 1 items: those it is essential to save ¨ Category 2 items: those it would be good to save ¨ Category 3 items: those that it is not essential to save (at least in their original form)
- 16. 4 Determine resourcesthat already exist on-site ¨ An established security structure ¨ Good Building maintenance ¨ Cleaning personnel and supplies ¨ Good cleaning practices ¨ Emergency supplies ¨ Emergency plans, risk management reports, business recovery and crisis management plans, etc. ¨ Good storage ¨ Smoke detection and Fire suppression systems ¨ Fire safety precautions ¨ And many more Recommendations for improvement in established resources can be made based on your findings.
- 17. 5 Determine resourcesthat already exist off-site ¨ The fire brigade ¨ Police ¨ Emergency services ¨ Armed forces ¨ Government agencies and services ¨ Electricity Gas and Water Companies ¨ Contractors Plans should be developed in close consultation with the fire brigade. They may be in control of your building in the event of a major incident
- 18. 6 Availability ofresources to make your plan achievable ¨ Funding ¨ Equipment for dealing with response and recovery ¨ Personnel resources ¨ Outside resources Plans must reflect reality and allow for possible shortfalls
- 19. 7 Write yourplan Based on the information you have gathered: ¨Prevention procedures ¨Preparedness procedures: key contact list with allocated responsibilities and roles ¨Awareness and training policy ¨Emergency equipment and supplies lists and locations ¨Emergency action procedures ¨Special handling instructions for affected collections ¨Outside resource lists The plan structure may vary depending on your organisation’s needs
- 20. 8 Allocate keyresponsibilities and tasks ¨ Committee: Policy direction, funding, decision making ¨ Collection managers: Knowledge of collections, prioritisation ¨ Building manager: Building maintenance, upgrading building, cleaning, security ¨ Personnel manager: Staff and volunteers, counselling, OH&S, training, resources ¨ IT: Maintenance of computer services, data bases ¨ Public relations: keeping people and media advised ¨ Front of House: visitor safety ¨ Collection emergency recovery team: response and recovery In small organisations these responsibilities may be under the control of a few people
- 21. 9 Maintain yourplan on a regular basis Plans can quickly become outdated and should be revised regularly to remain fully useful Areas that need updating can include: ¨ Key staff ¨ Contact phone numbers ¨ Outside Suppliers ¨ Contractors ¨ Collection priorities and locations ¨ Emergency actions An out of date plan can be useless where quick decisive action is needed