In the wake of the devastation that Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma visited upon the Gulf Coast, commercial real estate managers must
realize that the risk of catastrophic property damage is higher than ever.
In the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane season, risk managers asked themselves an important question: what can commercial
property companies do to better prepare for future storms and decrease their risk of damage? The answer is simple—advanced technology
solutions and hurricane management preparedness.
Facility and property managers need to think proactively while preparing for emergencies. Proactive planning and management
will better preserve their assets and reduce possible economic loss for owners, tenants and the community. To effectively develop a
disaster plan, managers must assemble a support team that can assist them in this effort. The team should include the facility owner,
insurance carrier, local and state authorities, vendors, contractors, maintenance personnel, tenants and clients occupying the facility.
All of these groups have a vested interest in maintaining the integrity of the facility and its restoration, if needed.
Risk Assessment
Preparedness begins with understanding exactly what is at risk. Otherwise, managers will have an unclear picture of their liabilities,
limiting their ability to set priorities. Below are important issues to consider during the risk assessment process:
Ensure code compliance. Larger pre-existing properties and facilities may require an engineer or architect to assess the
structure and its compliance with current building codes.
Consult your carrier. Insurers may be able to provide pertinent information on risk and loss in your area along with the requirements
for flood insurance.
Coordinate with local, state and federal agencies. They can provide risk assessment on infrastructure, utilities and disaster relief.
Develop a critical parts and supplies list. This needs to be updated on a regular basis. Suppliers may be unable to deliver critical
equipment and parts during and after a storm.
Take inventory on building systems and equipment. Emergency replacements and repairs can be completed more swiftly when you
know what is in your building. A building maintenance staff or vendor contractor can assist on the inventory plan.
Document everything. Take digital photos (“before” photos) of the facility, property and physical plant equipment to include in your
assessment. The insurance companies always ask for any photos of the building or equipment prior to the loss.
Upon completion of the risk assessment, managers should present their findings and include a plan to correct any deficiencies.
Since risk assessments may include possible capital expenditures, a cost analysis must be presented to the owner. Managers must
prioritize their needs and inform the owner of the economic impact to the facility or property if a loss is sustained.
Building an Emergency Action Plan
Upon completion of your assessment and risk analysis, managers can begin to develop their emergency action plan. Members of the
preparedness team are essential to the Building Emergency Action Plan. Tenants, clients, vendors, suppliers, maintenance personnel
and the civil authorities should have input and direction on this plan.
Tenants. Identify key personnel and their responsibilities prior to, during and after an event. Managers should understand
the criticality of tenant operations in order to support them during the event or mitigate damages after the storm.
Interview the decision maker and understand their needs and expectations.
Vendors and suppliers. Make sure that critical maintenance and service contracts are in place. Also, make sure all vendor
certificates of insurance (COI) are current and have emergency contact numbers listed with correct emergency responders
identified.
Maintenance staff. Establish an internal response plan describing duties that recognize critical areas for the maintenance
staff. Develop an easy-to-follow emergency checklist to identify critical areas prior to and after the event. Provide staff
with emergency contact numbers of vendors and key personnel. Additionally, keep inventory on emergency tools, equipment and
parts available for emergency repairs to mitigate damage to the facility.
Civil authorities. The building emergency action plan must identify evacuation options and include emergency governmental
reporting numbers and recovery options (i.e., utility companies).
Bridge line. Managers need to set up a bridge line for people to call at designated times to discuss the current status of
their facilities and property. Through these calls, it is essential for people to address the status of employees/tenants,
supplies, and possible navigation altercations in the area. This information should then be relayed to clients and employees
so they may gauge the current status of their operations.
Managers. Along with owners and clients, managers need to take responsibility to protect the assets they are entrusted with.
In the current corporate market, managers are continually asked to hold down property expenses. A hurricane scenario, while
extreme, is no exception.
Before the Hurricane Season Begins
July or August is not the time to start thinking about the coming hurricane season. Climatologists and insurance industry
experts monitor the next Atlantic storm season year-round. This kind of long-range diligence can pay huge dividends when a
Cat 5 forms on Memorial Day.
The checklists throughout the rest of this article were developed to help clients, tenants and employees better prepare
for hurricanes. The checklists draw on the expertise of facility managers, landlords and business partners, and they
consist of three different phases: before the hurricane season begins, before a hurricane makes landfall, and during/after
landfall. During Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, the steps in these checklists successfully minimized damage at the
authors’ facilities in the stricken areas.
- Conduct detailed and comprehensive property and equipment inspections and surveys each year prior to the hurricane
season.
- Conduct annual reviews of all emergency plans. Address important repairs and maintenance issues that may be impacted by a storm in
your budget, prior to the start of the hurricane season.
- Conduct one annual drill of your plan. Train and test on-site employees or first responders in procedures and corrective actions
to prevent or reduce property/equipment damage.
- Update important contact information of owners, insurers, utility companies, vital service contractors and vendors, and civil
authorities. Include building clients/tenants in your planning to understand their business concerns. Distribute copies of your
company’s emergency action plan as well as evacuation maps to all emergency responders and clients/tenants.
- Get utility emergency hot line numbers to call. (Some cities will turn off electricity to storm zones as a precaution even if there
is no direct landfall.)
- Ensure emergency equipment inventory has been updated, fully stocked and available on site (i.e., duct tape, plywood, wet-vac, mops and
buckets, first aid, tarps, necessary tools, food and water for required personnel, etc.).
48 Hours Before Landfall
Realistically, this is your last chance to make any final preparations before the storm strikes, so take advantage of
every minute you have. Preparations during this timeframe may be complicated if orders for mandatory evacuation have been
given, so take this into account as you develop your plan.
- Monitor top weather websites:
www.intellicast.com
www.nhc.noaa.gov
www.hurricanealley.net
www.weather.gov
- Activate your emergency action plan and contact your emergency response team.
- Top off building generator fuel tanks (or ensure that landlord, or business unit who owns the tank does). Test run
generator(s).
- Conduct final building and grounds inspection. Secure or remove potential flying objects from causing further loss or
damage. (i.e. roof hatches and doors, roof mounted HVAC or communications equipment, picnic tables, cigarette urns, etc).
Take pre-storm pictures of property.
- Activate any web portal-based online incident reporting and update on a scheduled basis.
- Contact security, landscape, fuel and janitorial vendors to ensure coverage and damage clean-up. Utilize vendors outside
of the area affected.
- Activate your team of top clients.
- For sites with 24/7 call centers with food service: negotiate with food service vendor to allow business unit to
purchase food (under guard’s supervision) during storm for all those stranded in the building during the storm. Also make sure that potable
water and flashlights are available for 24-hour personnel.
- Update property emergency number with current storm information, and instruct employees to look to their managers
for further instructions. Publish number to clients/tenants.
- Test outside phone line to make sure that service will be available in the event of an outage affecting the building
switch.
- Ensure all cell phones and two-way radios are fully charged.
- Have one or more battery-powered, or a crank-driven radio on hand. Check flashlights for batteries and operation.
- If the cooling tower is water-filled, is there an alternate supply of water?
- Secure all items, if possible, to withstand high winds. Consider obtaining pre-cut panels of plywood properly labeled
and placed in accessible areas for immediate use in case of broken doors or windows. Store supplies in maintenance
centers or garages not in immediate path of the hurricane. Include insect repellent, sunscreen, trash cans/bags, tubes
of caulking compound, rolls of heavy-duty plastic and sandbags.
- Prepare to staff your facility 24 hours a day for as long as is necessary or feasible. Constant operation may be required
for storm preparedness, though it should not be done at the expense of personnel safety, obviously.
During and After the Storm
Even if you have carried out thorough pre-storm planning and preparation, these events are so powerful and
unpredictable that you need to be ready to react during the storm itself. Likewise, expect the unexpected during the
storm’s aftermath.
- Check on status of first responders and employees.
- Inspect building and grounds and prepare a damage assessment checklist and report assessment to business owners.
- Perform hazardous weather check to review conditions and determine building closings, etc.
- Prioritize repairs and call in contractors to fix or repair any damage.
- Replenish emergency supplies, equipment and fuel prior to the next weather event.
- For properties that lost power, find out from the utility company when it is planned for the area to restore power.
The Orlando Utilities Commission prioritizes the restoration of return power as follows: 1) hospitals, 2) fire and police
stations, 3) emergency broadcast facilities, 4) water plants, sewage plants and lift stations, 5) food centers,
6) shelters, 7) commercial facilities, and 8) general circuits.
- Telecommuting personnel without power will want to come into the office if it does have power. Set up conference rooms with hubs
for employees to log into the system. The office becomes a more attractive place to be when it is the only building in town
with air conditioning, mobile phone recharging, Internet access and hot showers.
- Review facility security after the hurricane and take action to secure damaged buildings and resources.
- Update property emergency number with current status of the building, if the building is closed, make sure you record
when the next update will be to the line.
Living with the Risk
No one can stop a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, but with proper planning, owner/client awareness and a preventative maintenance
program utilizing a team approach, you can better prepare your organization to handle the disaster to the utmost of its
capabilities.
Ian M. Marlow is president of Gale Global Facility Services, a provider of commercial real estate services based in Florham Park,
New Jersey. Mary Slatter is a senior facility manager for the firm. Tom Wozniak is a regional facility manager.
Reprinted from Risk Management Magazine.
Copyright Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. All rights reserved.
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