Most organizations recognize the importance of maintaining continuity of operations to avoid a loss in revenue and delays in production. Therefore, it is important for every company to have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to prepare for any event that would leave the business unable to continue operating for any amount of time. Commonly considered events in a BCP include natural disasters or security breaches, but planning for illnesses such as influenza, which can be severe and affect the workplace, often goes overlooked.

Alliance Solutions Group (ASG) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of completing its innovative Medical Emergency Response Capability and Training (MERCAT) platform, first delivered to the United States Air Force in 2008 and completed in 2009. ASG has for long recognized the need to validate emergency plans and procedures, provide hands-on training and conduct realistic exercises that build capacity and capabilities in response to mass casualty incidents.

The Alliance Solutions Group (ASG) team would like to thank our veterans for their commitment and service. As a veteran-owned company that has also employed 55 veterans in its 14-year history, honoring military personnel and meeting their needs are close to the heart of ASG.

In 2005, ASG founder and CEO, Bob Campbell, desired to continue serving the U.S. Armed Forces in some way after serving in the Air Force for 10 years.

Each year, almost 20,000 incidents involving hazardous materials occur in the United States, causing fatalities, injuries, and expensive property damage (US Department of Transportation). Preplanning is a vital step toward incident preparedness and prevention, but an often-overlooked aspect of planning is testing the plan.

VA Hazmat Conference, Norfolk, VA (Sep 2019).

In 2016, Alliance Solutions Group (ASG) identified the need for more effective crisis leadership training among responders to hazmat incidents based on a series of Chemical Safety Board investigative reports.

After natural disasters strike, communities are often left reeling with what to do next. When recovery and cleanup efforts begin it is important to maintain safety as a priority. Floods specifically create many safety hazards. Personnel should be aware of hazards, such as electrocution, gas leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning, and mold growth.

Lessons learned from recent incidents such as the West Fertilizer Company (WFC) explosion and the Tianjin China port explosion reveal the need for more comprehensive pre-incident planning. While the 2015 NFPA 1620 Standard on Pre-incident Planning was updated after the WFC incident, it comes up short on details for how communities gather relevant data on hazards, conduct a risk analysis and inform the local community of the hazards pre-incident, as well as engage in crisis communications.

Lessons learned from recent incidents such as the explosion at the Tianjin port in China port, the Daesh attacks on critical infrastructure such as the Zaventem Airport in Brussels, and the Hajj stampede in Mina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reveal the need for continued professional development among emergency management officials and the need to implement best practices before, during and after incidents.

The Chemical Safety Board has identified through 14 investigations that community’s, facility’s or emergency responder’s response to chemical incidents have been deficient. They have issued 46 recommendations that cross-sect multiple areas of emergency planning, preparedness and response.

Each year there are approximately 20,000-30,000 Hazmat incidents from stationary and mobile sources (source: National Response Center database). Many of these incidents involve multi-agency response in collaboration with private industry.