Ever since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Nevadans have had to learn to become more cognizant of their surroundings and the people and objects occupying those surroundings. We have all had to become “watchdogs” for ourselves, our families, and even our employees and co-workers. The war in Iraq brought up new concerns, as the National Threat Level was raised to orange (“high risk of terrorist attack”). Even though Al Quaida did not use the war in Iraq as an excuse to launch another disastrous terrorist attack (as of press time), homeland security experts warn citizens not to become complacent. It is still important for business owners and executives to keep workplaces safe, and homeland security will remain a concern for the foreseeable future.
Assistant Sheriff James Lopey of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office warned, “I don’t think the situation has really changed. Even though Iraq will no longer be sending money to terrorist groups, state-supported terrorism still exists in many other places in the world. As far as I’m concerned, we’re still on a high state of alert.”
William Conger is Commander of the Office of Homeland Security Support Services Bureau for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. “Just like anyone else, business owners need to be cognizant of any potential disaster, whether man-made or natural. Terrorism is ‘man-made’ – an intentional act to create fear,” said Conger. “We have had several emergency disasters in this community: the Pepcon blast, the Chlor-Alkali explosions, the hotel fires at the MGM and Hilton. Business owners need to be prepared for things like fire, flood and wind, and now – post Sept.11 – man-made disasters.”
Lopey agreed that people need to have coordinated plans in place, which can prepare them not only for terrorist attacks, but for other dangerous situations, including fires, earthquakes, hazardous material spills, and violence in the workplace. “It’s important that employees be able to recognize a threat, and have an evacuation plan in case of an emergency,” he said. “We know it’s important that schools conduct fire drills, but businesses should also have regular drills to prepare them for emergencies.”
Conger stated that preparedness is just one facet of the entire coordinated effort businesses need to make. “In the emergency management community, we talk about preparedness, response and recovery and mitigation. Now we’re talking about prevention and deterrence,” he said. “To better serve the community, we created a Joint Terrorism Task Force, which interfaces local, state and federal government agencies for coordinated efforts. This agency serves as a way for people to communicate with us.” In Washoe County, an Anti-Terrorism Working Group serves the same function.
To ensure the safety of their workplaces in case of disaster, business owners must first assess their risks, according to Conger. “They need to think about deterrents – how they’re going to make their properties less vulnerable,” he said. “They need to think about what is most critical to their business to keep it operating – power, water, air conditioning, communications – and how they can protect those assets. This isn’t a police problem – this is everybody’s problem. Everyone, including the police, fire, medical and business communities must be involved together. If they’re not, that’s where our weakness will be and that’s where we’ll get hit.”
An emergency can happen at any time. “Sept. 11 brought [security and safety] right to the top of everyone’s mind, but it should have been there already,” said Conger. “Employers need to ensure that an emergency plan has been developed and should practice using it at least every six months. A preparedness plan, like Metro’s HANDSS (Home and Neighborhood Disaster Safety and Security) booklet should exist in every company.” (The HANDSS publication was printed in the January 2003 Sprint telephone directory for Southern Nevada.)
As with anything, education is a top priority when talking about workplace security and safety. While there is often no warning, employees need to be educated about potential terrorist threats. A threat management employee or team should be selected and provided with the appropriate training, should an incident occur. This person or committee must conform and cooperate with national, state and local regulations, as well as submit reports to the authorities where required. They must also establish policies, procedures and training strategies to cover all areas related to safety and security. They should delegate responsibilities to various department heads, departments and specific employees. These people are the ones who will communicate to the organization at large regarding the implementation of widespread training, including drills and simulations.
As part of this training process, companies should conduct a site facility assessment. Through this process, they can determine a company’s current security situation, identify strengths and weaknesses and recommend measures to strengthen security and prevent acts of targeted violence.
Conger said businesses need to be prepared to be self-sufficient for seven to 10 days. They need to plan for catastrophic failure – for example, what if the power goes off? What kind of plans do business owners have to mitigate that problem and make it less costly? The government has preparedness plans; now, businesses need to think along those same lines. “Businesses need to start thinking in those terms,” said Conger. “A business owner needs to realize, ‘I need to protect my people, my company, my building, all of the things that are associated with it.’” The companies that can get back in business fastest are the ones that will do better in the long term.
“Plans are no good if nobody knows about them,” said Conger. “Communication with employees is crucial. The planning aspect includes pre-planning, positioning critical thinkers, training employees and letting employees think independently if something happens. They need to be able to look at a situation, assess it and start acting accordingly.”
To further drive this point home, Metro conducts training with city and county government employees. “We also do training with security officers, as well as lots of community presentations,” said Conger. “We keep things general during training, as no two emergency situations are the same.” Lopey suggested business owners in Washoe County contact the Sheriff’s Office to ask about trainings, which can include how to conduct a threat assessment, as well as how to prepare the workplace and the home for emergencies. He also praised the work of the American Red Cross in educating the public about preparedness.
Business owners need to ask themselves the following questions: How can we make our company less vulnerable to someone attacking our critical infrastructures (computers, electrical, communications, etc)? How can we make it more difficult for someone to attack? How often do we back-up our computer files and where do we store them? What if our main server suffers a catastrophic failure?
IT Strategies International Corp., a computer consulting firm for both private companies and public organizations, began offering “Disaster Recovery Plans” in early 2002, at a time when storing valuable and critical data off-site was becoming increasingly popular. A growing number of businesses are turning to off-site collocation centers for a variety of reasons, including fear of terrorism attacks and protection from fires and flooding, said the company’s president, Michael Beardslee. “Especially in today’s world, many businesses, like banks, casinos and hospitals, are moving forward with efforts to find extra protection for their critical data,” he explained. “Creating solid disaster recovery plans is a crucial element in pursuing this avenue and thwarting disruption of the workplace.”
Beardslee said the company’s consultants develop plans and analyses customized to businesses, including everything from researching the market for appropriate collocation center locations, to determining which records are critical, to developing full-blown disaster recovery plans. “This is the wave of the future and allows business executives to feel secure that their company information and their customer information are protected in the utmost manner,” said Executive Vice President Mike Marriott.
Conger stated that, just as emergency preparedness plans need to be in place, employees need to be cognizant of their surroundings and of things that don’t look “right.” “When I go into a business and they tell me they’ve had a bomb threat, they want to know if I can tell if there’s a bomb inside. Frankly, I wouldn’t have a clue, since I don’t know the place. It’s for this reason that employees need to always be aware of things that look out of place. If people have suspicions, they need to call the authorities.”
Nevada is in a unique situation because of its constantly changing tourist population. The large resort hotels follow stringent guidelines in regards to safety and security. Hotel managers usually have clearly written instructions to guests for cases of emergency and fire, informing them of what action to take. In addition, bellmen are instructed to point out emergency exits to newly arrived guests. “Hotels do it well,” said Conger. “They are responsible for people’s lives and were leading the way before Sept. 11. They have demonstrated that we all need to give up a few of our individual rights to live in safety – otherwise, we’re going to be a target.”
