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NorthStar – LSU Tabletop Exercise a Resounding Success

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NORTHSTAR - LSU TABLETOP EXERCISE A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

Baton Rouge, LA – February 2018 was a busy time in the NorthStar Business Continuity Division’s schedule. The team planned for and executed several events in conjunction with multiple LSU departments prior to the tabletop exercise, including Phase I of the Pre-Loss Assessments on the campus and a professional drone survey.

The execution of the PLA’s on the campus, as well as the drone survey, were scheduled and executed without a hitch. The PLA team was able to complete all objectives as well as a few properties in addition to those scheduled for Phase I.

Our National Alliance partner, Data Wing Global, performed the drone surveys flawlessly and provided LSU with incredibly detailed information and analyses of two of their building rooftops. Once the information was delivered to LSU, NorthStar’s focus was set on the upcoming tabletop exercise.

After successful planning and execution of the PLAs and drone surveys, the time came for the tabletop exercise. Personnel from several of LSU’s main departments were present: Risk Management, Facilities Services, Utilities Services, Facilities Maintenance, Emergency Management, Etc. NorthStar was also present in force with team members including Chuck Bruce, Kevin Collins, Michael Leonhardt, Bobby Chiasson, John Kunert, Andres Delacruz, Andrew Kunert, and Ryan Drake.
The scenario for this exercise was developed by NorthStar and centered around a fire/water loss at the Chemical & Materials Building. Once the exercise had begun, NorthStar Operations personnel worked well in concert with LSU staff to walk through the loss response and recovery process. In the end, it was obvious that the relationship between LSU and NorthStar had been strengthened.

“The underwriters were impressed by the amount of work that has been put in toward the development of pre-loss assessments. SOP’s, and planning”, wrote Colorado Robertson, Assistant Director of Risk Management at LSU. It was also expressed that LSU is very impressed with NorthStar’s commitment to “provide both people and resources for minor and major losses that may impact the campus.”

The NorthStar Business Continuity Division expects that several more clients will be scheduling tabletop exercises in the following months. The benefits of running a tabletop exercise have drawn interest from a wide array of clients, from universities to manufacturing plants.
“Each time the various key people meet, the more cohesive we are as a team.”
– Ed Nobles, LSU Director of Risk Management

BRCCI – Business Resilience Certification Consortium International (www.brcci.org)

We are thankful to the author for allowing us to post this insightful article on our website. BRCCI provides a comprehensive training and certification program in business resiliency, continuity and IT disaster recovery planning:

1. 3-day CBRM (Certified Business Resilience Manager) is a comprehensive, all-in-one, 3-day Business Continuity Planning and Management Training and Certification course which is designed to teach practical methods to develop, test, and maintain a business continuity plan and establish a business continuity program.

2. 3-day CBRITP (Certified Business Resilience IT Professional) is a comprehensive training on how to assess, develop, test, and maintain an information technology (IT) Disaster Recovery Plan for recovering IT and telecommunications systems and infrastructure in the event of a disaster or business disruption. The training provides a step-by-step methodology to ensure a reliable and effective IT disaster recovery and continuity plan consistent with the industry’s standards and best practices.

3. 2-day CBRA (Certified Business Resilience Auditor) It provides 2 days of intensive, Business Continuity Audit training to enable students to determine the effectiveness, adequacy, quality and reliability of an organization’s Business Continuity Program. Students will learn an audit methodology to evaluate compliance of Business Continuity and IT Disaster Recovery Programs with the current industry’s best practices and standards including:

  • ISO 22301: Business Continuity Management Systems – Requirements
  • NFPA: Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs
  • ITIL: Information Technology Infrastructure Library

For information on the above program, please contact BRCCI (www.brcci.org1-888-962-7224).

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