Disaster Recovery Management Plan - SENTINEL

This article discusses a Disaster Recovery Management Plan by Vindon Scientific Limited.

To guard against interruptions to Stability Storage activities Vindon now offers ‘sentinel’ – a disaster recovery management plan tuned to individual company requirements.

• Minimise potential economic loss
• Insure against the loss of products having been on Storage for 'x' years
• Reduce critical loss to a company
• Reduce the probability of occurrence
• Provide orderly recovery

The probability of any company experiencing fire, power cuts, flood, storm, earthquake, equipment age/condition, hardware/software failure, strikes and sabotage is distinctly uncertain and any one of these events could significantly and negatively affect a company's Stability Storage operations.

The loss of products that have been on Stability Storage for a number of years could represent critical loss to a company and their customers. The loss or extended disruption of the Stability Storage operation poses substantial risk of financial loss;

Disaster Recovery Management objectives are:

• To counteract the disruption to Stability Storage activities from the effects of major failures or disasters.

Vindon believes a Stability Storage Disaster Management plan should be an integral aspect of the operation - a straightforward, uncomplicated approach to resuming Stability Storage operations in case of a disaster.

The disaster plan should be classed in the same way to insurance as it provides a degree of comfort in knowing that if a major catastrophe occurs, it will not result in financial disaster, without this “insurance” recompense for the loss of business caused by the disruption or the time lost to market a new product or drug is inestimable.

“SENTINEL” Vindon Scientific Limited’s disaster recovery management system has been launched as a recovery plan for stability stored product.

Vindon would develop a disaster management plan to suit the individual company’s requirements that is effective, incorporates strategic recovery procedures designed to minimise disruptions to the stability storage operation and its customers thereby minimising financial loss and ensuring a timely resumption of operations.

The Stability Storage disaster recovery plan which would concentrate on:

• Minimising economic loss
• Reducing the loss of products that have been on Stability Storage for a number of years as this could represent a critical loss to a company and its customers
• Reducing the probability of occurrence
• Reducing disruptions to operations
• Providing an orderly recovery
• Protecting the continuation of Stability trials

Vindon would ensure that the Stability Storage Disaster Management plan is developed taking into account the company's actual needs, the plan would:

1. Be appropriate for the company; being simple, effective and logical
2. Define all of the Stability Storage components with appropriate methods for updating
3. Incorporate Stability Storage resumption plans;
4. Include disaster management operating procedures with a mechanism to update the plan at least quarterly.
5. Include a risk assessment analysis
6. Provide a standard for testing the plan
7. Minimise decision-making during a disaster
8. Provide for the “worst case” scenario - non functionality of the Stability Storage Suite.

Perform A Risk Assessment

A risk analysis and business impact analysis would be undertaken that includes a range of possible disasters, including natural, technical and human threats. The Stability Storage area of the company would be analysed to determine the potential consequence and impact associated with several disaster scenarios. The risk assessment process would also evaluate the safety of critical documents and vital records. Fire generally poses the greatest threat to a company. Intentional human destruction, however, should not be discounted.

The risk assessment analysis would concentrate on genuine, probable risks i.e. any event that will significantly and negatively affect the company's Stability Storage operations by fire, flood, storm, earthquake, age/condition of equipment, hardware/software failure, interruption of services and issues such as, strikes, riots and sabotage.

Resources

Vindon believes that every company should take advantage of all available resources for its disaster recovery efforts and that the company should dedicate all relevant resources to critical functions first, and then secondary functions; Contacting Vindon Scientific Limited in a timely manner can form part of the process.

If a company maintains several locations and facilities, moving Stability Storage operations to an alternative site may be appropriate. If not, it should arrange to use a facility controlled by another company. Vindon can provide this service and provide estimates for the minimum and maximum number of products to continue Stability Storage protocols.

This would include access to Vindon’s off-site Stability Storage facility to:

• Store products
• Allow the company to resume stability storage
• Maintain protocols
• Provide a sense of security
• Minimise risk of delays
• Guarantee the reliability of standby systems

Vindon Scientific Limited is ideally suited for this application and provides: “SENTINEL” – Their disaster Recovery Management System.

Documentation

It is important to develop, maintain and implement an effective storage and recovery plan for a company's stability stored documentation. Recovering business operations after a disaster often requires the use of original documents and vital records not stored as electronic data. The Disaster Management plan would include plans for the consolidation and storage of appropriate original documents and vital records in a central fireproofed location, including: An inventory list of stored items, stored in two locations;

Equally as important we would develop, maintain and document an effective annual reassessment of the Stability Storage Disaster Management plan as the Disaster Management plan should be an evolutionary programme, designed to adapt to changes as they occur, our annual assessment of the plan would address:

• Personnel
• Changes
• Training
• Changes in stability storage procedures
• Alterations to the storage stability suite
• Updated Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s)

This would be a summary of all changes made to the Disaster Management plan since the last annual reassessment. A report would be presented to the company’s senior management for review and approval.

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