Planning to Manage a Major Incident is a new guidance document from retail property organisation the BCSC.
It’s to help members assess and manage the element of risk in their retail centres, to plan for major emergencies.
The paper encourages owners and managers to develop plans to mitigate the adverse effect of major incidents on public safety and business continuity. The term ‘major incident’ refers to natural disasters including floods and lightening strikes arising from climate, a major fire, explosion or chemical accident and terrorist and criminal events.
The eight-page paper also advises on how to prepare an appropriate plan with neighbours and statutory agencies to best suit particular circumstances.
BCSC points out that the extent to which any shopping environment is adversely affected by a major incident is dependent on the extent to which management has planned for relevant risks. The Home Office has also warned that one half of all businesses experiencing a major disaster without a pre-prepared plan will fail within 12 months.
Commenting on behalf of BCSC, the chair of the Security and Safer Shopping Committee, Martin Taylor, said: "The Security and Safer Shopping Committee has produced this occasional paper to help members assess the risks which vary according to location and environment. The importance of planning for major incidents – particularly in this day and age – cannot be over-emphasised. I am confident that this paper will help and encourage owners and managers to consider risks and plan ahead, meeting any crisis head on."
Emergency services
The paper explains the Emergency Services’ tiered pyramid Gold, Silver, Bronze (GSB) structure for allocating roles and responsibilities in the event of a major incident, a structure which can be replicated in setting the private employer’s staff responsibilities. The role of PR and media communications in the process is also covered with bullet point advice on media planning plus a public communications timeline for pre-event, emergency occurrence, post-event and long-term post-event planning. The report also includes a flowchart of possible major incident options.
To get report
Copies of the report are available free to BCSC members. For non-members the price is £15 plus VAT. Please contact Kate Logan at BCSC by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling 020 7227 3461.
