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Source: http://novascotiabusinessjournal.com...=149035&sc=107
Last updated at 3:11 PM on 02/07/08
No pandemic plan for major businesses print this article
BY STEPHANY TLALKA, TRANSCONTINENTAL MEDIA
The Nova Scotia Business Journal
TRURO ? What will you do when one third of your staff doesn?t show up for work? When an unknown and incurable infectious disease gets into the work place? These are some of the questions the Canadian government has posed to businesses in the face of a potential pandemic. And how have some busineses in central Nova Scotia responded?
We?re working on it?
For two years now, the government of Nova Scotia has asked businesses to create a Business Continuity Plan (BCP): an emergency preparedness strategy that can safeguard businesses from shutting down in a case of mass sickness. By evaluating the hypothetical scenario of a pandemic and lending an ear to forecasts from health and economic professionals, businesses can take the principles of BCP and tailor it to their own structure. In central Nova Scotia, businesses are starting to think about what a BCP could look like for them. The Nova Scotia Business Journal interviewed three companies across central Nova Scotia: PolyCello in Amherst, Grohmann Knives Limited in Pictou County and Peter Kolher Windows and Entrance Systems in Truro. In all three cases, bona fide paper plans are yet to materialize.
Hypothetically speaking, if a pandemic hit Amherst, PolyCello won?t be ready. Right now, PolyCello is starting to plan for a plan.
?We?re not actually that far down the road,? says Craig Evans, vice president of PolyCello.
Right now, PolyCello is collecting statistics, like how many people could be affected by a pandemic, how many could die and how the limited staff could operate. PolyCello employs 300 people in Amherst and 40 in Belleville, Ontario and works with suppliers from as far away as Texas. Poly Cello is a flexographic packaging company?not a dire necessity in a time of crisis?but like most businesses, shutting down for days or months could spell the end for the company.
Fortunately for Poly Cello, it has done enough research to know that working with a skeleton staff is a viable option. Since a good chunk of the staff is trained in manufacturing, the presses could keep running, even with six staff on duty. ?We?d be hanging on by our fingernails, but we could manage,? says Evans.
Hanging on by fingernails means PolyCello would tend to the presses while struggling with customers and communications. Evans says it would be bearable, but only temporarily. ?Our focus will be keep presses going and other stuff will just have to wait until everyone?s recovered,? says Evans.
PolyCello continues to research and awaits a formalized plan sometime in fall 2008. Evans says the health and safety coordinator, Frank Wilson, has attended some courses and meetings about pandemic planning, and will offer his input when he comes back from leave. Wilson proposed the idea of creating a BCP about nine months ago, but staff absences have delayed the process.
While PolyCello plans for a plan, Grohmann Knives Limited in Pictou County has no plan in place other than to do what they can with what they?ve got. Because of the demands of the job, human resources manager Mike Babinec says it won?t be too difficult to get by?even with their small staff of 15.
?We need a minimum of two people to continue to be open,? says Babinec, ?and the only reason for that is for safety: we don?t want one person working here alone.?
Babinec says the company would be in trouble if the postage and shipping companies shut down. Without the means to transport the products, Grohmann couldn?t deliver to customers overseas, meaning business would stop outright.
?If they shut down, we?d be forced to shut down too, I guess,? says Babinec.
Peter Kohler Windows and Entrance Systems in Truro takes a more intensive approach, devising plans on how to beat the problem of absences and delays that a pandemic would cause. Of the three companies interviewed, Kohler?s human resource manager Janet Sutherland was the first to mention that a competitive edge still needs to be maintained, even in the face of a pandemic. With a staff of 326?comparable to PolyCello?the company is working on cross-training staff and keeping tabs of those staff who are already trained in different areas. Like Grohmann, Kohler has many international customers, which means the company has to rely on other services that could close as well.
Sutherland says Kohler is in the preliminary stages of planning. That means going over a checklist of things the company should have in place and finding out how to get them done. In an email to the Nova Scotia Business Journal, Sutherland explained some items already in place.
?We hold annual flu vaccination and wellness clinics at no cost for our employees. We also have an attendance management plan in place and a good system of communication. As well, we have infection control materials such as hand sanitizer on the floor and in employee rest areas readily available.?
Sutherland says Kohler will have a plan up and running for the end of 2008.
With plans for plans, no plans or marked-up lists, it?s apparent that businesses in central Nova Scotia are working at their own pace to deal with a potential pandemic. However, they do have one thing in common: an admittance that if and when a pandemic happens, a paper-made plan cannot account for how unpredictable it would be.
Evans at PolyCello says you can?t plan for a pandemic like you would for a fire or flood. PolyCello could still run the presses, but what happens when key supplies run out? Grohmann might be able to run with two staff members, but it can?t predict how many staff will be working for their international customers. And Kohler?s checklist won?t have a thickly drawn check-mark beside ?finding a cure for the influenza.?
While the government says BCP?s are essential for coping with a pandemic, there is considerable uncertainty that makes it difficult to plan. Part of that plan involves admitting that key factors can?t be known until the pandemic hits.
?If it?s going to happen, it?s going to happen from something outside of our control. We?re just going to have to deal with it,? says Evans. ? Nova Scotia Business Journal
Last updated at 3:11 PM on 02/07/08
No pandemic plan for major businesses print this article
BY STEPHANY TLALKA, TRANSCONTINENTAL MEDIA
The Nova Scotia Business Journal
TRURO ? What will you do when one third of your staff doesn?t show up for work? When an unknown and incurable infectious disease gets into the work place? These are some of the questions the Canadian government has posed to businesses in the face of a potential pandemic. And how have some busineses in central Nova Scotia responded?
We?re working on it?
For two years now, the government of Nova Scotia has asked businesses to create a Business Continuity Plan (BCP): an emergency preparedness strategy that can safeguard businesses from shutting down in a case of mass sickness. By evaluating the hypothetical scenario of a pandemic and lending an ear to forecasts from health and economic professionals, businesses can take the principles of BCP and tailor it to their own structure. In central Nova Scotia, businesses are starting to think about what a BCP could look like for them. The Nova Scotia Business Journal interviewed three companies across central Nova Scotia: PolyCello in Amherst, Grohmann Knives Limited in Pictou County and Peter Kolher Windows and Entrance Systems in Truro. In all three cases, bona fide paper plans are yet to materialize.
Hypothetically speaking, if a pandemic hit Amherst, PolyCello won?t be ready. Right now, PolyCello is starting to plan for a plan.
?We?re not actually that far down the road,? says Craig Evans, vice president of PolyCello.
Right now, PolyCello is collecting statistics, like how many people could be affected by a pandemic, how many could die and how the limited staff could operate. PolyCello employs 300 people in Amherst and 40 in Belleville, Ontario and works with suppliers from as far away as Texas. Poly Cello is a flexographic packaging company?not a dire necessity in a time of crisis?but like most businesses, shutting down for days or months could spell the end for the company.
Fortunately for Poly Cello, it has done enough research to know that working with a skeleton staff is a viable option. Since a good chunk of the staff is trained in manufacturing, the presses could keep running, even with six staff on duty. ?We?d be hanging on by our fingernails, but we could manage,? says Evans.
Hanging on by fingernails means PolyCello would tend to the presses while struggling with customers and communications. Evans says it would be bearable, but only temporarily. ?Our focus will be keep presses going and other stuff will just have to wait until everyone?s recovered,? says Evans.
PolyCello continues to research and awaits a formalized plan sometime in fall 2008. Evans says the health and safety coordinator, Frank Wilson, has attended some courses and meetings about pandemic planning, and will offer his input when he comes back from leave. Wilson proposed the idea of creating a BCP about nine months ago, but staff absences have delayed the process.
While PolyCello plans for a plan, Grohmann Knives Limited in Pictou County has no plan in place other than to do what they can with what they?ve got. Because of the demands of the job, human resources manager Mike Babinec says it won?t be too difficult to get by?even with their small staff of 15.
?We need a minimum of two people to continue to be open,? says Babinec, ?and the only reason for that is for safety: we don?t want one person working here alone.?
Babinec says the company would be in trouble if the postage and shipping companies shut down. Without the means to transport the products, Grohmann couldn?t deliver to customers overseas, meaning business would stop outright.
?If they shut down, we?d be forced to shut down too, I guess,? says Babinec.
Peter Kohler Windows and Entrance Systems in Truro takes a more intensive approach, devising plans on how to beat the problem of absences and delays that a pandemic would cause. Of the three companies interviewed, Kohler?s human resource manager Janet Sutherland was the first to mention that a competitive edge still needs to be maintained, even in the face of a pandemic. With a staff of 326?comparable to PolyCello?the company is working on cross-training staff and keeping tabs of those staff who are already trained in different areas. Like Grohmann, Kohler has many international customers, which means the company has to rely on other services that could close as well.
Sutherland says Kohler is in the preliminary stages of planning. That means going over a checklist of things the company should have in place and finding out how to get them done. In an email to the Nova Scotia Business Journal, Sutherland explained some items already in place.
?We hold annual flu vaccination and wellness clinics at no cost for our employees. We also have an attendance management plan in place and a good system of communication. As well, we have infection control materials such as hand sanitizer on the floor and in employee rest areas readily available.?
Sutherland says Kohler will have a plan up and running for the end of 2008.
With plans for plans, no plans or marked-up lists, it?s apparent that businesses in central Nova Scotia are working at their own pace to deal with a potential pandemic. However, they do have one thing in common: an admittance that if and when a pandemic happens, a paper-made plan cannot account for how unpredictable it would be.
Evans at PolyCello says you can?t plan for a pandemic like you would for a fire or flood. PolyCello could still run the presses, but what happens when key supplies run out? Grohmann might be able to run with two staff members, but it can?t predict how many staff will be working for their international customers. And Kohler?s checklist won?t have a thickly drawn check-mark beside ?finding a cure for the influenza.?
While the government says BCP?s are essential for coping with a pandemic, there is considerable uncertainty that makes it difficult to plan. Part of that plan involves admitting that key factors can?t be known until the pandemic hits.
?If it?s going to happen, it?s going to happen from something outside of our control. We?re just going to have to deal with it,? says Evans. ? Nova Scotia Business Journal