PreEmpt, Inc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      2002 Survey Results  Home
 

2005 Survey Results

How Far is Far Enough?

(Results of a survey concerning how far an alternate facility should be from the primary operations facility.)    

 

 

Assuming that an organization is vulnerable to the threats listed on the chart, the blue bars indicate the distance, in miles, that survey respondents indicated should exist between the primary and alternate site.

 

Analysis & Comments

How the Survey Was Conducted

How Averages Were Calculated

White Paper

Survey Form

 

 

 

Analysis & Comments

When sorted by distance to the alternate site, the sequence by threat remained basically the same as that for the 2002 survey, with the exception that Volcano moved from second to fourth position.  Hurricane remained at the top (greatest distance) and Civilian Airport remained at the bottom.  However, distances in all categories were higher, and in some cases significantly higher.  No categories showed a decrease.  The survey was conducted during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which may have had an influence on the results in that category.

 

Comparison of 2002 & 2005 Survey Results

Threat / Risk

2002 Distance

2005 Distance

Change +/(-) in Miles

Hurricane

105

151

46

Ice/Snow Storm

68

125

57

Earthquake

60

125

65

Volcano

75

116

41

Tsunami

51

87

36

Transportation Disruptions

not included

79

n/a

Military Installation

44

50

6

Terrorism

not included

47

n/a

Civilian Airport

26

32

6

 

 

Four other questions surveyed, regarding critical infrastructure at an alternate site, are listed below:    

General Questions

Agree

Disagree

An alternate site should always be on a separate power grid from the primary site

96%

4%

An alternate site should always be supplied with power from a power plant other than the one that serves the primary site

 72%

28%

Neither of the two previous items matters if an alternate site is fully supported by generator

31%

69%

An alternate site should always receive telephone service from a central office other than the central office that provides service to the primary site

86%

14%

 

How the Survey Was Conducted

All surveys need a target audience for collection of data.  In reviewing potential sources, we decided to ask for participation from the ACP chapters for a number of reasons: 

  •  The group was definable and has an interest in the outcome of the survey.

  •  They were easily accessible and mailing lists were already in place.

However, the primary reason for selecting this group is: 

  •  They practice business continuity on a daily basis.  

For this reason, we felt ACP members would provide better information and their responses would reflect real-world experience and first-hand knowledge.   

To begin the information-gathering process, an email with a copy of the survey form was sent to and distributed from the national ACP office requesting that chapter members participate in the survey. 

In answering the survey questions, all participants were asked to assume they had only ONE alternate facility.  Additionally, they were asked to answer all categories (not just the ones that apply to their location) and to make their answers general and not specific to their industry.

Completed surveys were received and compiled by PreEmpt.  The results reflect analyzed data from a total of 97 surveys returned as of 9/30/2005.

How Averages Were Calculated

Responses to distance ranged from a low of 5 miles to an upper limit of 1000 miles in certain categories.  However, extreme responses were the exception and, to avoid skewing survey results, the upper and lower 10% of responses in all categories were eliminated before average calculations were made. 

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