Emergency preparedness does not stop once an emergency ends. Long-term impacts can include repair and replacement challenges, delays in the restoration of power or water, and even delays in production. According to Ready.gov, recovery should include strategies to help get critical systems back online while stabilizing other potential hazards on-site.

Also In This Series: Phase 1: Mitigation Checklist | Phase 2: Preparedness Checklist | Phase 3: Response Checklist

Review the below business recovery checklist to ensure your plan looks ahead to account for the long-term impacts of an emergency, prioritizes repairs and includes a process for making updates as risks change.

Critical Systems and Equipment Checklist

• Do you have a response and recovery plan to bring critical systems back online?
  
• Are critical systems identified in your plan, including life safety and communication equipment such as fire protection systems, chemical containment systems and alarms?
  
• Are spare parts or critical supplies for the most important equipment identified and stocked before emergencies?
  
• Has damaged equipment been identified, replaced and inspected before returning to service?
  

Long-Term Impacts Checklist

• Do you have backup sites or systems in place in the event of long-term downtime to critical equipment and facilities?
  
• Are external resources needed for recovery, such as contractors or vendors, identified in the plan?
  
• Do you have long-term recovery materials, such as pens and paper, flashlights and food and water stocked?
  
• Does your plan account for delays in bringing critical systems back online?
  

Updating the Plan Checklist

• Is there a process for reviewing and updating your emergency preparedness plan?
• Do you have a process to identify areas of improvement in your plan after each test or emergency?
  
• Is your plan regularly updated to prepare for new types of emergencies your facility could face as risks change?
  

Please note this list is not comprehensive of all of the steps you may need to take to recover from emergencies, but each question can and should be answered as part of your plan.

Check out these resources for other ways to help you recover from an emergency.