In a recent article written by Bob Connors, posted on the America First website and entitled “Preparing for PS-Prep – Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Certification”, we came across a great summary of past events/content and hopefully future events/content which will help our readers better understand the current state of PS-Prep, the expectations of the future state of PS-Prep, and what this PS-Prep program  is and what it is not.

First of all Mr. Connors wants to make it very clear that PS-Prep “…will not and is not intended to prevent a disaster like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico”. 

He goes on to state that while there is a risk management element to PS-Prep addressing risk assessment and mitigation strategies, we should not be fooled into thinking that PS-Prep could have prevented a disaster like the BP oil spill. 

He continues to make a strong point that PS-Prep will enable businesses to be prepared to respond to and recover from a disaster and will also be enabled to resume normal business operations effectively and efficiently.

Much of the content stated in this article attempts to address the basic premise and answer a question that occurs when you are trying to assess an organization’s level of preparedness or resiliency — i.e. how do you know, measure or realistically tell if that company is as resilient as they might say they are?

Mr. Connors also suggests a few requirements that he believes to be key to the success of PS-Prep:

1.  Allow for a maturity model certification process so that small-medium sized businesses don’t have to the same levels of requirements as larger companies.
2. Allow for professionals in the business continuity and risk management field –i.e. do this for a living – to review and comment on the proposed standards.
3. Allow for self-assessments so that small so that small –medium sized businesses can benefit.
4. Allow businesses/industries who have regulatory requirements in place and which meet or exceed the proposed PS-Prep standards to achieve certification instead of going through a different process.
5. Provide incentives and information to help build a strong business case in support of PS-Prep certification.

Our staff likes a lot of what Mr. Connors has to say in this article and believes it should be added to the library of content and required reading for all business continuity and risk management team members in organizations.

In summary, we would like to again take the following advice from this article—

“It’s time to get knowledgeable about PS-Prep and position your business to achieve certification of compliance for one of the approved standards. The 21^st Century incidents are increasing in frequency, scale, and consequence and the private sector needs to be prepared to bounce back and help our nation recover.

If that’s not compelling enough, consider that we may be one crisis away from this voluntary program becoming mandatory.”  

Click here to read the full article by Bob Connors.

Many of our readers rely on our consistent and timely posting of relevant and valuable content regarding the DHS PS-Prep program.  We welcome any and all comments, critiques, and suggested improvements to help us continue to do so.