UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE - Wind Energy Network

SPONSORS OF Unexploded Ordnance
UXO
Other less evident incidents
which may initiate a company’s crisis
management system..:
• Forecast of a severe storm which may
impact operations – do you hope it’s
not too bad a storm
• Public protest against technology used
or the company – do you hope it
doesn’t get too much publicity
• Recall notice from a supplier of a
faulty component which has safety or
environmental implications if was to fail
– what if it effects all your installations
• Damage and/or failure to a data centre
which is key to operations – how will
the operation continue
• Pandemic incident e.g. bird flu – do
you protect your company personnel
Of course no system will prevent these
incidents, but a management system will
certainly mitigate the potential damage
if such an event turns into a crisis or
emergency for the company.
Focus
Crisis management is focused on
the management and resolution of
emergencies and crises that affect the
business with the objective to keep the
business operational before, during and
after a disruptive incident.
Strategy
Every operating company should have a
CM strategy in place that is backed with a
response philosophy, response priorities
and response process that are tested at
defined frequencies through exercises.
Exercises provide an opportunity to
validate plans, assess individual and
team capacity and gain lessons learned
to help increase response capability. A
tiered response approach is appropriate
dependent on the potential impact of the
incident.
One would suggest the
response priorities should be...
• People – employees, contractors,
suppliers, customers
• Environment – air, water, land and
areas of sensitivity
• Property – company assets,
contractors, communities and third
party facilities/offices
• Business – supply, production and
reputation
Live process
CM is a live process that requires training
to be put in place with routine exercises
possibly on an annual basis. Training will
ensure roles and responsibilities are clear
and personnel competent for their role.
Whereas exercises provide an opportunity
to do the following...
• Validate plans (i.e., individual elements,
inter-related elements or entire plans)
• Assess individual and team capability.
Lessons learned from exercises can
be used to improve some or all of the
following...
• Plans
• Processes
• Training programmes
• Individual skills
• Team skills
UXO and Crisis Management
Returning to UXO, we may question the
relevancy within Crisis Management but,
like many other risks faced by projects
an UXO incident is one that can derail the
momentum of a project if it arises where
no planning and contingencies have been
made for the occurrence.
In these circumstances
project drivers such as schedule
and costs will be impacted, however
the severity of the impact will depend
on the project’s preparation, speed and
effectiveness and being able to deal with
an UXO incident.
Dealing with UXO contamination
is normally not particularly difficult,
dangerous, or technically challenging
providing the process to mitigate the
risk is properly managed and the work
is conducted by appropriately trained,
qualified, and supervised personnel - all
the elements of CM.
Maintaining business success
Time spent developing a CM strategy is
key to maintaining business success in
challenging conditions, if your company
has one in place then you are well placed
to manage an incident. However, if your
company hasn’t got one then we at NCOE
strongly advise you to consider starting
one now. If an unfortunate event does
happen, time will not allow you to create
or fill the gaps in a CM strategy. The old
adage ‘be prepared’ resonates deeply.
Newcastle Chambers of Engineering
(NCOE)
www.ncoe.co.uk
Click to view more info
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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