How to prepare for a business power outage

Power outages are unique in the fact that they can show signs before they occur, or they can happen spontaneously. Either way, organizations must be prepared for their power to go down when they need it most.

Here are a few tips to get ready in the case of a business power outage:

1. Develop a crisis plan

If your power goes out, will your employees know what to do?

Power outages and other natural disasters are often chaotic times for organizations, which can mean panicking and making mistakes to get systems back online. Creating a business continuity or crisis plan should detail the steps needed to respond to emergencies. Marsh noted that you must establish roles and responsibilities as well as communication protocols for these events. Setting a clear, detailed strategy will help employees understand exactly what they need to do in the interim to minimize damage and maximize productivity.

Your disaster plan should delegate roles and responsibilities.

2. Test out your strategy

It’s not enough to set a business continuity plan or crisis strategy – you must also make sure it actually works. What if your backups don’t have the necessary assets? What if a key leader is absent? How will your employees react and ensure that issues are addressed? TechAdvisory suggested running a practice drill on a yearly basis to ensure that everyone has been trained on their duties. This will also provide a chance to adjust your plan if there have been any infrastructure changes. Essential equipment and UPS or generator systems should be tested every six months. For essential hardware, organizations must look for signs of deterioration and if any parts must be replaced.

“Organizations shouldn’t take a reactive approach to power outages.”

3. Implement a UPS

Organizations shouldn’t take a reactive approach to power outages, as it can cost significant amounts of money and time to recover. Instead, by proactively installing a UPS solution, businesses can be sure that power for their essential functions will seamlessly transfer over in the case of a power outage. At minimum, a UPS system can provide enough time to safely save your work and shut down your systems. Battery runtime will determine how long you can keep your critical assets running. Make sure to keep up your regular tests for your UPS system to ensure that it will activate when you need it most.

Power outages can happen to any business at any time, and it’s critical to prepare for these types of events. Rather than waiting around, organizations can create a solid crisis plan, test their strategy and install a UPS system to minimize downtime and maximize productivity.Contact Energy Control Systems today to learn more about how to prepare your business for a power outage.