EASTERN MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY
Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP)
Department Training
Jason E. Smith
University COOP Coordinator
Emergency Management Office
734.487.0799
jsmit242@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
• Needs
awareness
assessment
• Advance
planning
• Risk &
Vulnerability
Assessment
Phase II:
Development
• Plan
Construction
• Plan
Testing
• Plan
Implementation
Phase III:
Operation
Phase IV:
Execution
• Ongoing plan
promotion
(awareness)
• Training of key
plan
participants
• Plan
activation
• Plan
Maintenance
• COOP Plan
Design
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COOP Program Phases
Recovery Strategies
Business Impact
Analysis
Plan Development
Plan Testing
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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 delegated
2. Establish rules & procedures addressing
a) Conditions for delegation
b) Method of notification
3. Identify limitations of delegations
4. Identify to whom authorities should be delegated
5. 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?
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