DHS announces intent to adopt NFPA 1600 standard for the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program

"October 28, 2009 – NFPA 1600, Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs has been designated for adoption under the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep).

DHS/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has published a request for comments in the Federal Register seeking public input on NFPA 1600 and two other standards that it intends to use as the criteria for certification of private sector preparedness programs as mandated by Congress in legislation that implemented the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. The agency considered 25 standards and selected three based on scalability, balance of interest, and relevance to the PS-Prep program. NFPA encourages all interested parties to provide input to DHS/FEMA concerning the selection of standards for the PS Prep Program and to support the use of NFPA 1600 for this national program.

NFPA has made NFPA 1600 available for free viewing and PDF downloads. Since making it publicly available in 2005, there have been over 120,000 PDF downloads. It is also available as a free iPhone application.

Please submit your comments to FEMA by November 16, 2009. An electronic comment form and instructions are available at http://www.regulations.gov/ in Docket ID: FEMA-2008-0017-0100. Additional information on the PS-Prep program is available from FEMA.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, NFPA 1600 was endorsed in the 9/11 Commission’s report. The 9/11 Commission’s recommendation on private sector preparedness and NFPA 1600 was reiterated in Public Law 108-458 in 2004 and most recently in Title IX of Public Law 110-53. Title IX calls for the voluntary certification of private sector preparedness programs. In addition to the endorsement of the 9/11 Commission, NFPA 1600 has been adopted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the category of Incident Management System Standards along with 26 other NFPA standards.

Development of NFPA 1600 began in 1991, and the first edition was promulgated in 1995. New editions have been published in 2000, 2004, and 2007. The 2010 edition has just been completed. Throughout its history, NFPA 1600 has been developed by subject matter experts from both the private and public sectors. Private sector input has come from a broad range of industries including those that control our nation’s critical infrastructure.

NFPA 1600 addresses emergency management, business continuity, crisis communications, and recovery in a holistic framework that includes organization, management, risk assessment, prevention, mitigation, resource management, response, continuity, and recovery. NFPA 1600 is aligned with the Disaster Recovery Institute’s 10 Professional Practices for Business Continuity. The standard recognizes and provides the flexibility entities need when developing individual preparedness programs and does not preclude the use of corporate or industry best practices.

The Canadian Standard Association’s Z1600 standard correlates with NFPA 1600 and was developed under license from NFPA to be used as the national preparedness standard in Canada. Besides becoming the most widely used preparedness standard in North America, NFPA 1600 has gained significant attention in Latin American and Asia. Most recently NFPA 1600 has been adopted as the national preparedness standard in Argentina. It is translated and used by national standards bodies in Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Korea, Thailand, Tobago, and Trinidad. It is also being used by European insurance companies.

NFPA has been a worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life safety to the public since 1896. The mission of the international nonprofit organization is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education."

Links to Title IX of Public Law 110-53, NFPA 1600, the designated standards, and resources for development of your emergency management and business continuity program can be found on the Preparedness, LLC website.

Proposed Standards for Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Certification Program Announced

WASHINGTON—Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced new proposed standards for a 9/11 Commission-recommended program for the private sector to improve preparedness for disasters and emergencies.

“Preparedness is a shared responsibility and everyone—including businesses, universities and non-profit organizations—has a role to play,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Ensuring our private sector partners have the information and training they need to respond to disasters will strengthen our efforts to build a culture of preparedness nationwide.”

DHS published a notice in the Federal Register today seeking public comment on three new standards identified for adoption under the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep). PS-Prep is a partnership between DHS and the private sector that enables private entities—including businesses, non-profit organizations and universities—to receive emergency preparedness certification from a DHS accreditation system created in coordination with the private sector.

The notice proposes new PS-Prep standards to enhance operational resilience, business continuity management, and disaster and emergency management among participating private sector partners.

The notice proposes new PS-Prep standards to enhance operational resilience, business continuity management, and disaster and emergency management among participating private sector partners.

The notice proposes new PS-Prep standards to enhance operational resilience, business continuity management, and disaster and emergency management among participating private sector partners.

• NFPA 1600 “Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs”
• BS 25999
• ASIS SPC.1

The proposed standards, developed by the National Fire Protection Association, the British Standards Institution and the ASIS International, were selected based on their scalability, balance of interest and relevance to PS-Prep from a group of 25 standards proposed for consideration following the publication of a Federal Register notice in December 2008 announcing the program.

In addition to the standards in the notice posted today, DHS is establishing classifications and methods of certifications that recognize the unique needs and characteristics of small businesses.

Individuals wishing to submit comments on the proposed standards, recommend additional standards for consideration or comment on other programmatic aspects of PS-Prep may obtain a comment form and instructions for submission online at www.regulations.gov, in Docket ID: FEMA-2008-0017. DHS requests comments by Nov. 15, though it will accept submissions at any time thereafter.

For more information, visit http://www.fema.gov/privatesectorpreparedness/.

As chair of NFPA’s Technical Committee on Emergency Management and Business Continuity, which is responsible for NFPA 1600, I have been involved in the PS-PREP program since the legislation was been written by Senator’s Lieberman’s staff. I have posted links to all of the related documents and organizations to the "Standards" and "Public Law 110-53" section of “Resources” page of the Preparedness, LLC website. In addition, I have posted a self-evaluation checklist on NFPA 1600 to the website.

After the 30 day comment period is over, DHS will finalize the list of standards. ANAB now has to finalize the accreditation rule and begin the process of certifying third parties to evaluate private sector programs. Only then can the certifying bodies begin evaluating any programs.

BrightTALK's Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Summit

Checkout BrightTALK’s Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Summit on October 6. This summit will feature leading experts exploring strategies and tactics to build a strong business continuity and recovery plan within an enterprise, the right technology choices for business recovery and best practices and tips to develop a strategy and architecture to meet 24/7 availability and recovery requirements.

I will be presenting at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on the subject of “Enterprise Preparedness Using Our National Preparedness Standard.” I will be discussing the essential elements of an enterprise preparedness program and provide information on NFPA 1600’s current edition and the upcoming 2010 edition.

Click here for a link to the full program or to my webinar session.