The University is once again conducting a campus wide project to document the needs of each area in the event of a disruption of business.  The operational Business Continuity Planning (BCP) data collection process is necessary to ensure the documentation of all recovery resources required to support your area following a business interruption on campus.  Our goal is to assist you in assessing the needs of your department to better respond to an emergency situation.  Remember, we are asking you for only the essentials you will need to continue to do business.

You will find a link to the automated collection form below.  Please complete and submit your completed BCP no later than September 8, 2017. 

We have scheduled training sessions during the month of August 2017 to help you complete this packet, should you need it.  You may email empower@hartford.edu to register for these training sessions or for any other assistance you might need to complete the packet.  The list of dates can be found here: http://www.hartford.edu/empower/calendar/default.aspx  

The BCP data collection form can be completed by either you or another knowledgeable member of your staff.  Complete each section where appropriate.  If you do not know the specifics of a field, indicate it as Not Applicable.  Provide as much accurate information as you can. 

Should you have any questions, please feel free to call the project contact, Lynn Thibodeau at thibodeau@hartford.edu.

 

Thank you.

B. Leadership Order of Succession

Orders of succession provide for the orderly and predefined assumption of leadership in the event that a person in a leadership role is unavailable or unable to fulfill essential duties. 

List the people who can make operational decisions if the head of your department or unit is absent. 

C. Personnel Contact Information

List all personnel assigned to your department.   Where possible, provide home, office and cellular phone numbers for each. 

Identify any special skills, training and/or certifications, (whether or not such is job related) held by your personnel.   Include any skills/training/certification that may be employed during emergency situations, e.g. Firefighter, EMT, RN, Licensed Trades, multilingual, CDL, etc..

 

D. Essential Functions and Recovery

Essential Functions are those functions that must be performed or completed by your department, even during emergencies. 

Recovery Times  are those time frames within which functions, activities and/or services must be restored after a disaster (or disruption).

Essential Functions are classified based on the functions level of importance and recovery time:

• High:  Highly critical functions that must be continued at normal or increased service. Functions cannot be paused due to life, health, safety or security concerns.
  • Recovered in the first eight hours
• Medium: While not highly critical, are nonetheless very important to the organization and somewhat flexible.
  • Recovered in eight to twenty-four hour
• Low: Those functions/activities/services that can usually be deferred without compromising the integrity of the organization as a result.
  • Recovered in 30 days or less.  

 

Identify your department’s essential functions, level of importance with recovery time, and the person(s) responsible for them and alternate person(s).

 

E. Vital Records

Vital records refers to information systems and applications, electronic and hard copy documents, references, and records (including classified or sensitive data) needed to support your department in essential job functions.

It is important to identify and protect those files, records, and databases that are imperative for departmental operations. Some records are needed to make and receive payments, protect legal and financial rights, and maintain confidential information.

Full and incremental backups preserve informational assets and should be performed on a regular basis for files that are irreplaceable, have a high replacement cost, or are considered critical. Backup media should be stored in a secure, geographically separate location from the original and isolated from environmental hazards.

F. Dependencies

Identify the products, services, and vendors upon which your department depends and the internal ( University of Hartford community) and external departments/organizations that provide them. When determining the internal and external dependencies of your department, consider the following access requirements, and check the mechanisms appropriate for your departmental continuity of operations: equipment and supplies, phones, two-way radios, mobile phones, pagers, specialty software, fax lines, other (describe).

G. Primary Work Space/Facility

Describe your department’s primary operating facility.  Please provide building, floor, and room number.

Identify your department’s information technology equipment requirements needed to perform essential functions.  Include any of the following items, as applicable:

 

Desktop or Laptop (Mac or PC), Printer, Copier, Scanner, Fax, Telephone, Cellphone, Radio, etc..

Identify any special security requirements for your department. This section is used to gather information about any security requirements that must be present to continue to provide the functions and services of your department.  For example, does your department possess items of intrinsic value, monetary value, or cash?  Identify the measures you currently take to ensure the security of these items, e.g. safe, alarm system, vault.

Identify items possessed by your department that may pose a safety risk if not properly handled, e.g. chemicals, weapons, firearms.  Identify the measures you currently take to ensure the security of these items, e.g. safe, alarm system, vault, etc.

H. Continuity Facility

In the event of an emergency, your department may not be able to access or utilize its primary facility.  All departments should identify an alternate location from which they can carry out departmental functions, services and activities. 

Alternate facilities should provide sufficient space and infrastructure to support your department’s essential functions. 

In some cases a virtual office may be employed, allowing employees to work from home or other location.

Identify your department’s alternate location.  Include specific address, building, floor, room number.

I. Single Points of Failure

 

A single point of failure is a critical person or part of a system that, if no longer exists, will stop an entire operation. Departments can reduce this risk by ensuring personnel are cross trained, files are backed up, and contingency plans are in place.

  Examples

• An essential function that is conducted daily by an employee with specialized training
• Loss of data center or other information technology (IT) environment
• Specialty equipment

Departments can reduce single points of failure by ensuring personnel are cross trained, files are backed up, and contingency plans are in place.

Identify your department’s potential single points of failure, the essential function(s) that would be affected in the event of a failure, and the person(s) responsible for the action/item identified as a single point of failure. 

J. BCP Training, Testing, and Exercising

The testing, training, and exercising of continuity capabilities is essential to demonstrating, assessing, and improving the University’s ability to execute the continuity program, plans, and procedures.

• Training familiarizes continuity personnel with their roles and responsibilities in support of the performance of an organization’s essential functions during a continuity event.

• Tests and exercises serve to assess, validate, or identify for subsequent correction, all components of continuity plans, policies, procedures, systems, and facilities used in response to a continuity event. Periodic testing also ensures that equipment and procedures are kept in a constant state of readiness.

Departments should regularly assess all aspects of their BCP to ensure it is viable and that all personnel are familiar with the plan.  At a minimum, departments should assess the following BCP components at the specified intervals:

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