A new list of the biggest business disasters of the last 12 months contains plenty of the unexpected, as well as some surprise entries that demonstrate that serious business disruptions can come from a wide range of sources.
What do two burst pipes, three fires, three storms, one power cut and a bridge failure have in common? Give up? They’ve all threatened UK business in the last year with severe disruption, according to new research by business continuity experts IT Specialists (ITS).
The company looked at incidents which caused significant issues for UK businesses ahead of the Business Continuity Institute’s Business Continuity Awareness Week (BCAW) 2016, 16-20 May.
Although the damage caused by the three worst storms (Katie, Abigail and Desmond) of this last winter was extreme – affecting more than a quarter of a million (280,000) UK homes combined and leaving billions of pounds of damage in their wake – less cataclysmic events were also incredibly disruptive. For example, major fire incidents left a combined 7,000 homes without power in the last year alone. Interestingly, considerable disruption was caused by far less obvious issues, such as a 19-day closure to the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland and the even more mundane burst pipe.
One of the latter knocked out power to the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s A&E department, leaving medical staff using head torches, while a burst water main in Kennington inundated a major junction in central London with up to 0.5 m of water.
Whether man-made or natural, flooding is the most expensive and prevalent issue to affect the UK, perhaps unsurprisingly given the geography and the weather, but the cost is surprising indeed. Accountancy firm KPMG has estimated that the total cost to the UK’s insurance sector, businesses, individuals, communities and government as a result of winter 2015/16 flooding will top out at between £5-5.8bn.
However, at least some of these costs can be avoided by businesses with a solid business continuity strategy. Without this in place, there is a risk of negative consequences such as lost inventory, reduced productivity due to employees being unable to work remotely, property damage and the all-important revenue loss.
“Investing in forward planning can save valuable time, protect the organisation’s revenue and preserve its customer base,” said Matt Kingswood, UK head of ITS, which provides business continuity solutions, including a disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) solution, BlackVault Managed Recovery Platform.
“We urge businesses to formulate a business continuity programme to identify inefficient processes that cost the organisation money on a daily basis and can prove a barrier to disaster recovery.”
The full list of 10 business disasters is below.
Top 10 business continuity disasters
- Holborn Fire – 09/04/2015
Cause: Underground electrical fault
Burned for 36 hours
5,000 people evacuated
3,000 properties left without power
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-32231725
- Kennington Floods – 29/06/2015
Cause: Burst water main
Water 0.5 m deep on road
10 fire engines and 72 firefighters needed
15 properties affected
- Royal Berkshire Hospital Power Cut and Flood – 31/07/2015
Cause: Burst underground pipe
A&E closed to all but critical patients
2nd small fire in coronary care unit – patients moved
Fire crews from 3 separate stations pumped water for 3+ hours
Medical staff worked through night using backup generators
- Heathrow Airport Power Cut – 04/08/2015
Cause: Issue with power supplier
3,000-4,000 people without bags
50 British Airways flights left behind cases and other equipment
Power out 3 hours
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/04/heathrow-power-cut-luggage
- Hampton-in-Arden Fire – 26/09/2015
Cause: Accidental fire
Factory supplies 25% of UK’s toffee apples
Gas cylinders and oil drums on-site meant neighbours also at risk
5 fire crews and 25-30 firefighters worked 2 hours
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/toffee-apple-factory-working-halloween-10138692
- Storm Abigail – 12/11/2015
Cause: Extratropical cyclone
84 mph gusts
20,000 properties affected
Ferry services cancelled and schools shut
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34794583
- Forth Road Bridge Closure – 04/12/2015
Cause: Crack in truss under carriageway
80,000 vehicles diverted daily for 19 days
ScotRail added 6,500 train seats, 33 buses and 11,000 seats on key commuter services
£1.4bn replacement bridge
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-35165201
- Storm Desmond – 05/12/2015
Cause: Extratropical cyclone
Wind speeds up to 81 mph and severe rain
60,000+ homes without power
1,000+ people evacuated from homes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35038617
- Storm Katie – 28/03/2016
Cause: Extratropical cyclone
Winds of up to 106 mph
130 flights diverted
200,000+ homes without power
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35909651
- Saltley Recycling Site Fire – 29/03/2016
Cause: Accidental fire
800 tonnes of metal and plastic ablaze
100+ firefighters tackled fire
Power supplies to 4,000 homes cut off
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-35920013
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