What’s over the neighbouring fence?
November 2008
What lurks on the other side of the fence from your business
premises? This was the question that many directors or business
owners at Buncefield probably wished they’d asked themselves.
The hugely destructive explosion two years ago was described as
the biggest in post WW2 Britain. Many business premises close to
the seat of the explosion were destroyed or severely damaged, and
local companies suffered disastrously as a result.
But did the directors of those companies appreciate that
millions of gallons of aviation fuel were stored there and that
Buncefield was a COMAH site? Short for the Control of Major
Accident Hazards Regulations.
There are some 700 or more COMAH sites around the UK and they
are principally occupied by organisations where threshold
quantities of dangerous substances identified in the Regulations
are kept or used – including chemicals, explosives, nuclear and
other industries.
Although there are safety guidelines about how close to COMAH
sites other buildings should be erected, it is clear that they did
not protect the neighbouring firms at Buncefield.
How close are your premises to a COMAH site? Before you moved
into your building or built it, your solicitor or surveyor might
have carried out searches concerning the proximity to a flood plain
or previous contamination of the site. But they probably don’t even
begin to understand the significance of a COMAH site.
Under the new Company Law Reform Act 2006 directors are open to
being sued by shareholders for failure in their fiduciary duties.
So what responsibility do they have to shareholders to ensure a
safe operating environment for the company?
The new Act makes directors personally responsible, which means
that if legal action arises against them and they lose, their
personal assets would be at risk...
So it might be worth having a walk around your local area to see
if there are any ominous storage tanks within striking
distance.
If you would like to find out how Towergate Risk Solutions
Sevenoaks can help protect you, as a director of your company, call
John Stevens on 01732 228771 or email john.stevens@towergate.co.uk
Do-it-yourself business recovery plans
Towergate offers a new website service which provides clients
with a range of free, downloadable plans and guides to produce DIY
Business Continuity Plans.
Tim Garland is Business Continuity Manager at Towergate and has
extensive, career-long experience of handling a wide range of
business continuity and recovery situations. He says: “Our website
documents are packed with checklists and practical advice, and are
ideal for a small firm with a handful of employees and maybe one
location.
“They pose a series of questions to prompt you to review your
recovery plans and encourage you to assess the impact of particular
problems which might arise from flooding or any other
catastrophe.”
The free documents include:
- Business Recovery Guide and Plan
- Business Impact Analysis
- Crisis Management Plan
- Business Recovery Guide
In addition, there are specific plans covering the roles of top
management (The Gold Team Plan), one for middle management (The
Silver Team Plan) and two papers outlining drills or exercises
management can practice for pre- and post-emergency processes.
Visit www.seamlesscontinuity.co.uk
for more details or contact Nick Fresson on 01732
228763.