Should Contingency Plans Cover Flooding

4/24/2014 Should Contingency Plans cover Flooding?
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- ISO/TS 16949 - International Automotive Quality Systems Standard
(http://Elsmar.com/Forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25)
- -
Should Contingency Plans cover Flooding?
(http://Elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=63445)
jelly1921
31st March 2014 05:58 AM
Should Contingency Plans cover Flooding?

A plant encountered a flood last year, which caused the plant stop production for a couple of week.
They will go through follow up audit of TS 16949 in next month.
My question is that whether or not the plant should prepare Contingency plan for flood?
Thanks!
TPMB4
31st March 2014 07:02 AM
Re: Should Contingency plans cover flood?

Well I'm not sure about the standard;s requirements for contingency plans but we have one for floods.
We are sited in an area near a tidal river that used to flood each year. Our area did not flood but it is
close enough to be included in all the flood warnings alongside the locations that did flood. It was
considered good business to have at least some idea how we could continue or recover quickly should
the flood include us.
So far the only issue was getting people and goods past the floods to us since our factory has not been
flooded. Since those days there have been millions of pounds spent on flood defences which have held
so is not a problem now.
My question to you is if the site has already had a flood why would they not prepare for it happening
again? Irrespective of any quality standard there is a risk to the business that is real. Unless you are
talking about a freak event of course I would make the assumption it could happen again. How did the
last flood (used the word "last" deliberately) affect the company? Serious or just an inconvenience? No
plans could shut down the shop/business.
Miner
31st March 2014 07:03 AM

I have been out of automotive for a few years, so others may have more current recommendations. The
approach that I took was to identify credible risks then develop contingency plans for those risks. This
could be a streamlined FMEA approach. Specifically, identify failure modes severe enough to interrupt
production and with a credible occurrence rate.
Unless the flood which you experienced was a "100 year flood", it appears that for you it is a credible
risk. If you are in a flood plain, it would be a risk. If you were in the desert, it would probably not be a
risk.
Ron Rompen
31st March 2014 07:52 AM
Re: Should Contingency Plans cover Flooding?

In the past, I have dealt with things like this with a general contingency plan; i.e. what would we do if
there was a fire/flood/catastrophic failure of equipment which would cause the plant to be unable to
supply our customers as per our normal process.
It doesn't have to be failure-specific - just shows that you have considered the possibility of something
happening, and have some kind of a plan to deal with it.
jelly1921
31st March 2014 08:21 AM

Quote:
In Reply to Parent Post by TPMB4 (Post 546413)
Well I'm not sure about the standard;s requirements for contingency plans but we have one for
floods. We are sited in an area near a tidal river that used to flood each year. Our area did not
flood but it is close enough to be included in all the flood warnings alongside the locations that
did flood. It was considered good business to have at least some idea how we could continue or
recover quickly should the flood include us.
So far the only issue was getting people and goods past the floods to us since our factory has
not been flooded. Since those days there have been millions of pounds spent on flood defences
which have held so is not a problem now.
My question to you is if the site has already had a flood why would they not prepare for it
happening again? Irrespective of any quality standard there is a risk to the business that is real.
Unless you are talking about a freak event of course I would make the assumption it could
happen again. How did the last flood (used the word "last" deliberately) affect the company?
Serious or just an inconvenience? No plans could shut down the shop/business.
They do have a plan how to get people out of danger if the flood came, and how to recover the facilities
asap after the flood receded, but nothing to do with production or continously to supply the customer
during the disaster.
This is real story happened in Shanghai last Oct.! It is far away from the center of the city --- would
take about two hours if drive a car.
Jelly
Bev D
31st March 2014 08:32 AM

its important to remember that weather isn't homogenous over the last 1000 years....we are currently
experiencing 100 year and 10 year events quite a bit more frequently than previous experience...
BradM
31st March 2014 08:35 AM

I certainly can't speak to the requirements side of it; I just don't know. But from an Operations
perspective, I would say "yes".
In your contingency plan, you can certainly cite the probability of the occurrence as "low". But you don't
want to end up in a position where you don't document the "lessons learned" from the last flood. Surely
you learned how to deal with things a little better.
Do you sit and wait it out?
What point will you evacuate?
Is your Information Technology secure?
What kind of plan do you have when the waters recede?
Do you establish a short term agreement with a 3rd party to perform your work until you resume?
Your contingency plan doesn't state something will happen; only what you will do if it happens. :)
WCHorn
31st March 2014 11:06 AM

What great timing, in light of the recent Hollywood release of the story of the great flood. Put that one
in your contingency plan!:tg: Should we have an ark on standby?
qpled
31st March 2014 02:08 PM

To add to BradM's list (maybe as part of "plan for when the water recedes"): Check all
equipment/furniture/inventory for damage.
Taliesyn
3rd April 2014 10:40 AM

Depending upon your industry, you may be in a position where the failure to supply is not an option (I'm
talking automotive Tier 1 here) - and would result in the complete loss of a major customer's business if
you are not a completely unique supplier. Our normal disaster recovery plan includes flooding even
though the risk is low as it is required by our insurer!
Mikishots
3rd April 2014 11:01 AM

Quote:
In Reply to Parent Post by jelly1921 (Post 546411)
A plant encountered a flood last year, which caused the plant stop production for a couple of
week.
Thanks!
I would say that experience is showing that it would be a very good idea.
Where I work, we have a disaster recovery plan even though we have not experienced one yet. We do,
however, have our headquarters located on the Ring of Fire.
qusys
10th April 2014 07:59 AM

Quote:
week.
Thanks!
More than focusing on a specific natural disaster like flood ( or earthquake, fire etc), you should prepare
contingency plan in case of utility interruption, labour shartage, key equipment failure and field returns.
You shall concentrate on this four item.
In the natural disaster you should also consider snow for example if you are in a place characterized by
it.
Michael_M
10th April 2014 10:02 AM

I don't know about the standard, but having a plan for every event does not make sense to me.
Have a general plan for non-specific events (fire, flood, revolution, space station falling on your plant,
etc). If there is a likely hood of something happening (Your building is in the middle of a forest in
California), have a specific fire plan. If your plant is located in Miami Florida, you probably don't need a
specific event for a blizzard.
:sarcasm:
If you create specific events for everything that can happen, your asking fate to throw something at
you that you don't have a plan for. Like the International space station falling out of the sky and hitting
your plant. I don't think anyone has a plan for that. :lmao:
SimpleIsGood
10th April 2014 12:05 PM

Quote:
week. Thanks!
Well, there's your answer. Not only is flooding possible at your location, it has ALREALDY happened and
disrupted production. (Darned global warming--er, I mean, global cooling, no, er, darned WEATHER! Wait,
are we blaming the weather on Bush or Obama this year?)
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