EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP)Department Training

Jason E. SmithUniversity COOP CoordinatorEmergency Management Office734.487.0799jsmit242@emich.edu

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Objectives

• Identify the EMU interest in and method for developing a COOP program for university departments

• Define COOP and differentiate between COOP and other emergency plans

• Identify the goals of COOP planning• Identify the initial tasks and personnel responsible

for COOP planning

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What if…

• A fire is reported in your administration building?

• A tornado warning is declared for your campus?

• A water pipe bursts in your data center?• Half of your faculty and staff call in sick?• A bomb explodes in a classroom?

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COOP

What is it?• COOP is an effort within individual departments and

agencies to ensure continuity of their essential functions across a wide range of emergencies and events.

Why is it needed?• EMU can be equated to a small community. Each unit,

department, college, division and campus contributes to University life.

• In the event of an emergency, each unit needs to be able to provide uninterrupted basic services to employees, students and visitors.

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Federal Preparedness Circular

• FPC-65 Guidelines for COOP Capability– Should be maintained at a high level of readiness– Should be capable of execution both with and without

warning– Should be operational no later than 12 hours after

activation– Should maintain sustained operations for up to 30

days– Should take maximum advantage of existing

infrastructures

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Goals of a COOP Plan

• Ensure timely and orderly continuous performance of essential functions during and after an emergency

• Protect facilities, equipment, records, and other assets that support essential functions

• Reduce or mitigate disruptions to operations• Facilitate reconstitution and devolution after an

emergency• Minimize loss of life, injury, and property damage• Provide support for university personnel during an

emergency

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Emergency Management Tools/Protocols

• Standard Operating Procedures – Set of instructions having the force of a directive, covering those features of operations that lend themselves to a definite or standardized procedure. Standard operating procedures indicate in detail how a particular task will be carried out.

• Emergency Operations Plan – Immediate response to threatening event, to minimize harm to people and operations via incident detection, alerts and evacuations.

• Mitigation – Minimizes exposure to possible adverse events• COOP Plans – Minimizes disruptions to operations, especially time

critical functions via anticipatory actions• Crisis Management – Address all unanticipated and/or unplanned

threatening events

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COOP vs. Other Emergency Operating Procedures

• Emergency Operating Procedures– Address only immediate

aftermath of an incident

• IT Recovery Procedures– Focus is only on IT/data

recovery

• COOP– Addresses immediate

aftermath, short-term, and long-term (up to 30 days), with focus on continuing essential business functions

• COOP– Includes all aspects of

agency that support essential functions (including vital records, systems, and equipment)

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COOP Program Phases

Phase I:Planning

Phase II:Development

Phase III:Operation

Phase IV:Execution

• Needs awareness assessment

• Advance planning

• Risk & Vulnerability Assessment

• COOP Plan Design

• Plan Construction

• Plan Testing

• Plan Implementation

• Ongoing plan promotion (awareness)

• Training of key plan participants

• Plan Maintenance

• Plan activation

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COOP Program Phases

Business Impact Analysis

Plan Testing

Recovery Strategies

Plan Development

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Unit Responsibilities

• Appoint a COOP Planning Team consisting of key personnel and two lead coordinators

• Complete the EMU COOP planning worksheet provided by the EMU Emergency Management Office

• Develop, approve and maintain COOP Plan with assistance from EMU Emergency Management.

• Conduct tests, training and exercises of COOP Plan

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COOP Planning Template

• Designed so users only have to enter Department/Unit specific information

• Example documents are available through the Emergency Management Office

• Training and Technical Assistance provided by request from Emergency Management personnel

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Elements of a COOP Plan

• Plans and Procedures• Essential Functions• Delegations of Authority• Orders of Succession• Alternate Facilities• Interoperable

Communications

• Vital Records• Human Capital• TT&E• Devolution• Reconstitution

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Essential Functions

Essential Functions are those functions that enable an organization to:

• Provide vital services.• Exercise civil authority.• Maintain the safety of the general public.• Sustain the industrial and economic base.

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Essential Functions

Essential functions:

• Most important planning element• Basis for determining resource requirements:

– Staff– Vital information/critical systems– Equipment– Supplies and services– Facilities

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Essential Functions

Identifying/Prioritizing Essential Functions

• Agencies must determine functions that must be continued in all circumstances.

• Essential functions include those that:– Cannot be interrupted for 12 hours.– Must be resumed within 30 days.

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Essential Functions

Essential functions include all functions:

• Explicitly assigned by law or order.• Determined by the agency head to be essential.• That provide vital support to another department or unit.

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Delegations of Authority

• Identifies which authorities should be delegated & conditions triggering delegation– Per essential function– Department leadership

• Types of authority:– Emergency– Administrative

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Delegations of Authority

• Steps:1. Identify which authorities should be delegated2. Establish rules & procedures addressing

a) Conditions for delegationb) Method of notification

3. Identify limitations of delegations4. Identify to whom authorities should be delegated5. Train personnel to use delegated authority

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Orders of Succession

Orders of Succession are. . .

• Provisions for the assumption of senior leadership positions during an emergency when. . .

• The incumbents are unable or unavailable to execute their legal duties.

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Orders of Succession

Should be established for:– The department leadership– Officials down to and including office directors

responsible for performing essential functions

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Alternate Facilities

• Location where a department/work unit can carry out essential functions when primary facilities are inaccessible.

• Facility should at a minimum:– Facilitate essential functions – Facilitate logistics to carry out essential functions

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Alternate Facilities

Factors in Selecting an Alternate Facility

• Location• Building type• Space requirements• Distance/

transportation

• Communications• Security• Lodging/food for personnel• accessibility

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Communications

Interoperability:• Ability of communications system to work with other

systems or products without special effort on user’s part

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Communications

For each essential functions, which of the following systems are used?• Voice lines• Fax lines• Data lines• Cellular phones• Pagers• E-mail

• Internet access

• Instant messenger services• PDAs• Radio communications• other

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Communications

Identify and Implement Preventative Controls to Maintain a Communications System• Preventative controls attempt to avoid occurrence of

unwanted disruptions such as data loss through power outages, equipment malfunctions and destruction

• Examples:– Uninterruptible power supplies– Fire and smoke detectors– Gasoline or diesel powered generators– Fire suppression systems

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Communications

• Identify alternate providers for communications systems• List alternate modes of communications

– For example, cell phones could be alternative mode of communication for land lines

• Establish personnel Call Tree for emergency notification/COOP activation

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Vital Records

Records, systems and equipment that if irretrievable, lost, or damaged will materially impair an organizations ability to carry out essential functions• Records/documents which, if damaged, would:

– Disrupt agency operation & information– Cause considerable inconvenience– Require replacement or recreation of records at considerable

expense• Examples:

– Emergency Operating Records– Legal and Financial Records

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Vital Records

• Form:– Electronic vs. paper

• Category– EOP’s vs. Legal and Financial records

• Type:– Static vs. Dynamic

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Human Capital

Management of sum of talent, energy, knowledge and enthusiasm that people invest in their work• Right people in the right place• Increased employee flexibility• Alternate assignments for non-essential employees• Clear understanding of what to do in the event of an

emergency

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Reconstitution

• Process by which personnel resume normal operations at original or replacement primary operating facility.– Reconstitution teams/personnel– Salvage resources and equipment– Plan in place to move from COOP site (alternate

facility)– Defined procedures necessary for transition

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Devolution

• Capability to transfer statutory authority and responsibility for essential functions from agency’s primary operating staff and facilities to other employees and facilities– Worst case scenario– Prioritized essential functions– Potential triggers

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Tests, Training and Exercises

• Department staff knows their role following a COOP plan activation

• Clarify where COOP plan may require revision• Familiarity with alert, notification, and deployment

procedures• Ensures agency employees are familiar with

reconstitution proceedings

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COOP

Questions?