Strengthening Business Resilience

Lessons from the Spanish & Portuguese Power Outage

 

Role of Business Continuity Planning & ISO 22301

Earlier this week, a widespread power outage brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill, affecting millions and disrupting essential services. The blackout, which also impacted parts of France, halted subway networks, traffic lights, ATMs, and phone services, creating chaos across the Iberian Peninsula. As businesses scrambled to manage the fallout, the importance of robust business continuity planning became starkly evident.

The Impact of Unforeseen Events

The outage left people stranded in buildings, lifts, and public transport, and cut off access to phones and the internet. Offices closed, traffic snarled, and essential services were disrupted, highlighting the vulnerability of modern infrastructure to unforeseen events. While power was gradually restored, the incident underscored the need for businesses to be prepared for such disruptions.

It wasn’t that long ago that the UK faced similar disruption, albeit not to this scale. Heathrow Airport recently experienced significant disruption due to a fire at an electrical substation, causing a power outage and leading to the airport’s closure for 16 hours. This incident resulted in the cancellation and delay of over 1,300 flights, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. Although flights resumed relatively quickly, the impact lasted for several days. In addition, there have been very recent reports of an electrical substation fire in London, causing an immediate need to evacuate and possible longer-term disruptions.

Business Continuity Planning

By focusing on the localised impacts of such scenarios and planning ahead, organisations can better prepare for and mitigate the effects of unforeseen events. Earlier this year, Ley Hill Solutions conducted an exercise for a client that specifically addressed the scenario of power loss due to an electricity transformer or substation failure. This proactive approach demonstrates our forward-thinking strategy and the use of realistic scenarios in business continuity exercises, enabling our clients to be more prepared than others affected by similar outages.

The Importance of ISO Standards

ISO standards provide a framework for organisations to enhance their resilience against disruptions. Among these, ISO 22301 stands out as the international standard for Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS). It offers a comprehensive approach to planning, establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining, and continually improving a documented management system to protect against, reduce the likelihood of, and ensure recovery from disruptive incidents.

How ISO 22301 Can Help

  • Risk Assessment and Management: ISO 22301 helps organisations identify potential threats and assess their impact on business operations. By understanding these risks, businesses can develop strategies to mitigate them.
  • Business Impact Analysis: This standard guides organisations in conducting a business impact analysis to determine the critical functions and processes that need to be prioritised during a disruption.
  • Developing a Business Continuity Plan: ISO 22301 provides a framework for creating a business continuity plan that includes procedures for responding to and recovering from disruptions. This ensures that businesses can maintain essential functions and services during an outage.
  • Training and Awareness: Implementing ISO 22301 involves training employees and raising awareness about their roles in the business continuity plan. This ensures that everyone is prepared to act swiftly and effectively in the event of a disruption.
  • Testing and Exercising: Regular testing and exercising of the business continuity plan are crucial to ensure its effectiveness. ISO 22301 emphasises the importance of drills and simulations to identify gaps and improve the plan.
  • Continuous Improvement: ISO 22301 promotes a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging organisations to review and update their business continuity plans regularly to adapt to new threats and changes in the business environment.

Conclusion

The recent power outage in Spain and Portugal, along with unforeseen events recently in the UK, serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of disruptions and the critical need for robust business continuity planning. By adopting ISO 22301, businesses can enhance their resilience, ensure the continuity of essential functions, and minimise the impact of unforeseen events. In an increasingly interconnected and vulnerable world, being prepared is not just an option—it’s a necessity.