Emergency Management Plan, Commercial Real Estate, US
Orchestral Precision
The Problem
Several times a month, this corporation’s Vice President of Operations meets with our senior advisors to discuss emerging security matters relating to its extensive portfolio of multi-tenant Class A office buildings in major cities throughout the U.S. “The concept of developing a best-practice-based Emergency Management Plan for one of our landmark office properties here in Washington, D.C. keeps coming up,” she said. “Some of our tenants have them. Some don’t. And, as you’ve pointed out, the gaps between their plans, and the needs and expectations of the city’s first responders represents a significant body of risk. Let’s put one of these plans together.”
The Solution
Our emergency management planners conducted a brief risk, threat and vulnerability review of a one-million-square-foot, three-building complex with three primary tenants — including a major U.S. federal agency headquarters located just blocks from the White House. We interviewed the complex’s property managers and other stakeholders and examined their respective emergency plans. We met with the city’s various emergency responders. Then, we drafted a master emergency management plan for the entire building that is aligned with best practices and specifically addresses important recommended guidelines developed by the DHS, FEMA and OSHA.
The Results
This plan, designed for long-term adaptability and supplemented with critical checklists and other forms, won rave reviews by the commercial real estate firm’s executive team. Two days after viewing the completed plan, the firm asked our team to begin developing comparable Emergency Management Plans for five more major landmark facilities in three different U.S. cities. And the next week, the firm set up a meeting with its insurance carrier to discuss a reduction in premium rates for liability coverage.