1. EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP)
Department Training
Jason E. Smith
University COOP Coordinator
Emergency Management Office

2. Define COOP and differentiate between COOP and other emergency plans
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 2 2

3. A fire is reported in your administration building?
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? 3 3

4. 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.
COOP – an internal effort within individual components of an organization to ensure the capability exists to continue essential functions across a wide range of potential emergencies, including localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack related emergencies.
Whether the hazard is the result of a natural or human-induced event, an “all-hazards” approach assures that, regardless of the emergency, essential functions will continue.
The development of a COOP plan outlines what an agency must do to assure it has the capability to continue essential agency functions across a wide range of potential emergencies.
While severe weather may capture headlines, almost 90% of emergencies are quiet catastrophes. These are low profile disasters that have as great a potential to disrupt an agency and cause problems as do high-visibility cataclysmic events.
voice and data communication failures
software/hardware failures malfunctions
human error
power outages
accidental damage or destruction of physical plant 4 4

5. 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 5 5

6. Reduce or mitigate disruptions to operations
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
Key purpose of COOP is to reduce the consequences of a disaster to acceptable levels. Although when and how a disaster will occur is not known, the fact that future disasters will happen is certain. A COOP plan provides a framework that establishes operating procedures to sustain essential functions when normal procedures are not possible to perform, and provides a guide for the restoration of normal operations and building functions. 6 6

7. 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 7 7

8. COOP vs. Other 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)
COOP is an effort within an organization to ensure the continuation of its essential functions across a wide range of emergencies. COOP seeks to ensure the ability to operate throughout the disaster.
It is not:
Building Emergency Plans
Fire Evacuation Procedures (Emergency Response Plans)
Organizational Safety Plans
EOP’s
Procedural
Activated as the event unfolds
Ensure staff and student safety as a primary objective 8 8

9. COOP Program Phases Phase I: Planning Phase II: Phase III: Operation
Development
Phase III:
Operation
Phase IV:
Execution
Needs
awareness
assessment
Advance
planning
Risk &
Vulnerability
Assessment
COOP Plan
Design
Plan
Construction
Testing
Implementation
Ongoing plan
promotion
(awareness)
Training of key
plan
participants
Plan
Maintenance
Plan
activation 9 9

10. Business Impact Analysis
COOP Program Phases
Recovery Strategies
Business Impact Analysis
Plan Development
Plan Testing 10 10

11. 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 11 11

12. 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 12 12

13. Delegations of Authority Orders of Succession Alternate Facilities
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
Essential functions – those functions that an agency must perform after an emergency
Human capital and key personnel – the people needed to perform the functions
Delegations of Authority and Orders of Succession – planning for the possibility that personnel who usually perform a task may be unavailable
Vital Records – the information and equipment needed to perform essential functions
Alternate facilities – where an agency performs its essential functions after an emergency
Communications – communications planning for the time after an emergency
Reconstitution and devolution – options for returning to normal operations after the emergency is over/more than 30 days have elapsed
Tests, training, and exercises – strategies for ensuring an effective COOP plan
For the purpose of EMU’s COOP program, these elements are intertwined and dependent upon one another and enable a plan to be
implemented smoothly and effectively during an emergency. Additionally, identification of the COOP elements will provide an easy
transition back to normal operations at the primary facility when the time is appropriate. 13 13

14. Provide vital services. Exercise civil authority.
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. 14 14

15. Most important planning element
Essential Functions
Essential functions:
Most important planning element
Basis for determining resource requirements:
Staff
Vital information/critical systems
Equipment
Supplies and services
Facilities 15 15

16. 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. 16 16

17. 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. 17 17

18. Delegations of Authority
Identifies which authorities should be delegated & conditions triggering delegation
Per essential function
Department leadership
Types of authority:
Emergency
Administrative 18 18

19. Delegations of Authority
Steps:
Identify which authorities should be delegated
Establish rules & procedures addressing
Conditions for delegation
Method of notification
Identify limitations of delegations
Identify to whom authorities should be delegated
Train personnel to use delegated authority 19 19

20. 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. 20 20

21. Should be established for:
Orders of Succession
Should be established for:
The department leadership
Officials down to and including office directors responsible for performing essential functions 21 21

22. Facility should at a minimum:
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 22 22

23. Factors in Selecting an Alternate Facility
Alternate Facilities
Factors in Selecting an Alternate Facility
Location
Communications
Building type
Security
Space requirements
Lodging/food for personnel
Distance/
accessibility
transportation 23 23

24. Communications Interoperability:
Ability of communications system to work with other systems or products without special effort on user’s part 24 24

25. For each essential functions, which of the following systems are used?
Communications
For each essential functions, which of the following systems are used?
Voice lines
Internet access
Fax lines
Instant messenger services
Data lines
PDAs
Cellular phones
Radio communications
Pagers
other 25 25

26. 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 26 26

27. 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 27 27

28. Records/documents which, if damaged, would:
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 28 28

29. EOP’s vs. Legal and Financial records Type: Static vs. Dynamic
Vital Records
Form:
Electronic vs. paper
Category
EOP’s vs. Legal and Financial records
Type:
Static vs. Dynamic 29 29

30. Right people in the right place Increased employee flexibility
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 30 30

31. Reconstitution teams/personnel Salvage resources and equipment
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 31 31

32. 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 32 32

33. 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 33 33

34. COOP
Questions? 34 34