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Chandler, AZ - Expert: Be prepared for flu pandemic
Expert: Be prepared for flu pandemic
Chandler consultant says firms should be ready for disruptions
Luci Scott
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 2, 2006 12:00 AM
Could your business survive if 25 percent of the workers were out for a month? It's a question Chandler business consultant Mary Smoczynski asks as she urges companies to prepare for a possible bird flu pandemic.
"Businesses should start planning right away, not wait until the pandemic is here," she said.
Smoczynski, who has a master's degree in public health, will speak Friday at a Chandler Chamber of Commerce event designed to help local business owners create contingency plans.
Smoczynski, an expert in emergency management and wellness programs, owns her own consulting company, Strategic Safety Planning Inc. She moved to the Valley 3? years ago from Chicago, where she was the health, safety and environment manager for Quaker Oats.
In laying out scenarios, she says even if an employee isn't sick, the employee may have to stay home if a family member is ill or a child's school is closed.
"Companies should look at their critical functions and develop cross-training programs," she said.
"Say the accountant is out. What would you do?" she asks. A company may have to call in a temporary accounting agency or teach other employees how to manage the books. Other crucial areas are shipping, customer service and IT, she said.
In case a major shipping company is crippled with absences, a business should be ready with a backup shipper, she said. Or if a business gets supplies from Atlanta, and Atlanta is hard hit with flu, maybe supplies will have to come from the West Coast.
There will be competition for services such as shipping in case of a pandemic, and the company that goes to the front of the line then will be the one that gets contracts with alternative vendors now, she said.
Chandler consultant says firms should be ready for disruptions
Luci Scott
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 2, 2006 12:00 AM
Could your business survive if 25 percent of the workers were out for a month? It's a question Chandler business consultant Mary Smoczynski asks as she urges companies to prepare for a possible bird flu pandemic.
"Businesses should start planning right away, not wait until the pandemic is here," she said.
Smoczynski, who has a master's degree in public health, will speak Friday at a Chandler Chamber of Commerce event designed to help local business owners create contingency plans.
Smoczynski, an expert in emergency management and wellness programs, owns her own consulting company, Strategic Safety Planning Inc. She moved to the Valley 3? years ago from Chicago, where she was the health, safety and environment manager for Quaker Oats.
In laying out scenarios, she says even if an employee isn't sick, the employee may have to stay home if a family member is ill or a child's school is closed.
"Companies should look at their critical functions and develop cross-training programs," she said.
"Say the accountant is out. What would you do?" she asks. A company may have to call in a temporary accounting agency or teach other employees how to manage the books. Other crucial areas are shipping, customer service and IT, she said.
In case a major shipping company is crippled with absences, a business should be ready with a backup shipper, she said. Or if a business gets supplies from Atlanta, and Atlanta is hard hit with flu, maybe supplies will have to come from the West Coast.
There will be competition for services such as shipping in case of a pandemic, and the company that goes to the front of the line then will be the one that gets contracts with alternative vendors now, she said.
