Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery

forCollections

Presented by Kim Morris

Director

Art & Archiva l Pty Ltd

Collection Disaster Planning in AustraliaA Background

♦ In 1985 the NLA suffered a catastrophic fire♦ The NLA fire identified the need for a Collection

Disaster Plan – like all other Australian cultural institutions at the time, they didn’t have one!

♦ Through this experience the NLA became a leader in collection disaster planning

♦ By 1988 the first NLA Collection Disaster Plan was developed with a focus on preparedness and prevention

♦ Around this time it became a mandatory requirement for cultural institutions to develop and implement their collection emergency plans

♦ Emergency/Disaster Plans are now part of broader business continuity frameworks and strategies

♦ Many cultural institutions now maintain a strong focus on plan maintenance, staff awareness and training

What is a Collection Disaster?

♦ A sudden or great misfortune or calamity

♦ A sudden calamitous event producing great material damage, loss and distress

♦ An incident involving an organisation and its collection material that results in damage, loss or restricted access

The Disaster Preparedness Plan♦ Supports and assists those

responsible for managing and caring for collections, buildings and fittings to maintain disaster awareness, preparedness and prevention

♦ Provides policy and direction in disaster planning

♦ Assists in reducing risks to collection materials and the buildings that house them

♦ Covers all collection items, including external objects managed by museums and travelling exhibitions

♦ It applies to all workers, volunteers, venues and facilities

Focus on Preparedness Identified Prime RisksThe Plan is a perpetual policy and manual for routine disaster preparedness and prevention activities. It ensures effective prevention activities and procedures are maintained to mitigate prime risks to the collection

♦Identifies key staff and their responsibilities and roles ♦Outlines key preparedness actions by collection, priority, display, storage, on-site and off-site♦Identifies supplies and their locations♦Outlines post-emergency procedures

Prevention and Preparedness

♦ Risks are identified and assessed♦ Collections are prioritised♦ Resources are identified♦ Plans are prepared, updated and/or

refined♦ Key roles are allocated♦ Funding and support is identified

♦ Building maintenance and repair♦ Good housekeeping♦ Good storage♦ Correct handling♦ Staff/volunteer training♦ General staff awareness is raised♦ Resources, equipment and supplies

are identified and put into place

Awareness and Training ♦ Many incidents can be reduced in seriousness or eliminated if staff and

volunteers are aware of and trained in:– Good collection handling techniques– Good collection storage techniques– How to recognise and respond to an emergency situation– The risks to collection material– Good housekeeping practices– How to recognise and report potential problems

♦ To ensure staff and volunteers remain aware of collection disaster issues, training and refresher sessions should be held once a year

♦ Orientation training sessions for new people should include a collection disaster awareness component

♦ Managers should ensure awareness of collection disaster issues is maintained

Know Your Buildings, Know your Region♦ Cyclone♦ Flood♦ Fire & smoke♦ Earthquake♦ Storm♦ Terrorist attack♦ Weather♦ Sewage♦ Water leak♦ Poor storage & handling♦ Mould

♦ Equipment malfunction♦ Insect and vermin infestation♦ Vandalism♦ High dust levels♦ Accident♦ Theft♦ Building works/renovations♦ And many more

Conducting A Risk Assessment♦ Identify those occurrences which pose the greatest threat to your

organisation and its collections

♦ Look at past incidents. Unless your building and organisation are brand new there will be a history of past incidents

♦ Look at the building/s. Are they poorly maintained? Does the roof leak? Plumbing may be old. Is it secure? Plant and equipment? Electrical wiring and equipment?

♦ Look at the geographic location. Near a water source? In an unstable area? In an area known for bad weather?

♦ Look at the way collections are housed. Are they housed below ground or near plant and equipment and plumbing? Are they over crowded? Are they secure?

♦ Look at the way collections are used or accessed. Are they secure? Is public access and use supervised? Do staff know how to correctly handle material?

♦ Re assess risk regularly or even on a daily basis as needed

A useful model for conducting risks

High

Probability ↑ 2 1

4 3

Low High

Effect →

Response:

Knowing Your Responsibilities♦ Collection emergency response can be separated into two phases:

– Immediate response actions– Short term response actions

♦ Long term actions are recovery actions

♦ Assessment of the situation noting:– if the area is safe– source of the emergency– if collection material is affected– informing people who need to know urgently

Emergency Supplies

Disaster Bins and other Supplies

♦ Supplies are always available and accessible

♦ Locations are detailed in the plan♦ As part of post-response, bins and

supplies will be re-stocked and prepared for next time

Supplies May Include

Material Use

Bins - plastic Catching water

Broom Cleaning up, moving water

Buckets - 10 litre Catching water, cleaning up

Dust pan & brush Cleaning up

Emergency action instructions Reference

Extension lead Flexible power source

Fire extinguisher - CO2 (side) Fighting small fire

Garbage bags - 20 pack Carrying material

Gloves – rubber Health and safety

Marker pens Marking transport boxes

Packing tape Adhering sheeting

Utility knife Cutting plastic, tape

Absorbent wipes Cleaning up

Absorbent paper Cleaning up, interleaving

Writing pad and clipboard Recording material movements

Pencils Recording incident / material relocation

Marker pens Marking transport boxes

Power board Flexible power source

Extension lead Flexible power source

Torch and batteries During blackouts

Garbage bags Containing / carrying material

Plastic bags Containing / carrying material

Protective clothes, hard hats Health and safety

Tube - long plastic Directing away minor leaks

Chemical spill kit Contain spills

Evacuation of Material?

♦ Should collection material be removed or evacuated when an emergency involving it is discovered?

♦ There is no correct

answer but this issue

should be addressed in

the plan to prevent confusion.

Recovery (Long Term) actions ♦ Planning and decision making (options)♦ Communication♦ Evacuation and treatment of affected

materials♦ Rectification of the affected site

♦ Restoration of access and services to clients

♦ Assessment of the plan’s effectiveness and reasons for the occurrence of the emergency

Being Vigilant

Alice Springs Hail Storm, June 2016

♦Maintain your preparedness and your plan

General PrinciplesWhen an incident is discovered some general principles to follow are:♦ Human safety has precedence over protection of collection material

– Make sure affected areas are safe to enter– Do not risk personal safety to ‘rescue’ collection material

♦ Respond appropriately and urgently– Accurately assess the situation if possible– Report the incident to those who need to know– If safe to do so, take action to protect collection material

♦ Know your response procedures but also use your initiative– All staff should have an emergency help sheet– Help sheets should be located with all emergency supplies

♦ Seek advice and help from others

♦ Maintain communication

♦ Plan well. The faster the correct action, the better the result. So take time to ensure you plan a correct and appropriate response