PRiMEX starts free business resiliency planning program
With support from the Economic Development Administration, the Puerto Rico Manufacturing Extension nonprofit launched the Business Resilience and Continuity program through which 350 manufacturing companies on the island will benefit from creating and having a business continuity plan.
The project was achieved
through an allocation of funds that PRiMEX requested and obtained from the EDA,
company officials said.
The plan will be “instrumental
to preserve jobs, improve the capabilities of small and medium enterprises and
manufacturers related to the recovery after business interruptions due to
unforeseen situations and disasters to minimize the potential economic
dislocations,” said program director Francisco García.
“The project has three
components; advice and direct assistance, education and training to
share knowledge and providing tools and information through a web page to help
with business continuity planning.” He said.
The selection of the companies will
be based on geographic location, degree of physical and economic damage caused
by last year’s hurricanes to its operations and the need for technical
assistance.
“We will give priority to
businesses located in the hurricane hit areas, particularly in the north,
south, east and center of Puerto Rico. We’ll have trained resources in five
regions across Puerto Rico to serve the entire island,” García said.
The counseling component involves
working with small and medium manufacturing enterprises to conduct a risk
analysis and business impact, identifying critical processes and develop a tailored
business continuity plan.
“The main objective of this
component is to minimize the risk of business failures or shutdowns due to
potential disruptions from natural disasters or uncontrolled interruptions,” he
said.
Meanwhile, the education and
training component focuses on business resilience and disaster recovery
planning.
“In June, we will hold
several training sessions in different regions of the island that will be led
by PRiMEX project managers and resources specialized in issues of business
continuity and impact to suppliers, employees, energy, logistics resources,
insurance, facilities management and communications,” García said.
Finally, the program will provide
tools to be shared on a PRiMEX web page relevant to business continuity plans.
The latter component also involves sharing information about resources
available for disaster recovery in different regions.
“The added value will be selecting
highly relevant sources of information, providing tools for business continuity
and disaster recovery. Such shared information will be more relevant and less
intimidating for entrepreneurs and managers. The information is regularly
updated by PRiMEX to ensure its relevance,” García added.
