Continuity of Operations Planning - Principles of Emergency Management - page 60

− Procedures
− The written designation of a vital records manager
3. As soon as possible after continuity of operations activation, but recommended
within 12 hours of such activation, continuity personnel at the continuity facility
should have access to the appropriate media for accessing vital records, such as
− A local area network
− Electronic versions of vital records
− Supporting information systems and data
− Internal and external e-mail and e-mail archives
− Hard copies of vital records
4. Organizations should strongly consider multiple redundant media for storing
their vital records.
5. Organizations should maintain a complete inventory of records along with
the locations of and instructions on accessing those records. This inventory
should be maintained at a backup/offsite location to ensure continuity if the
primary site is damaged, destroyed, or unavailable. Organizations should
consider maintaining these inventories at a number of different sites to sup-
port continuity operations.
6. Organizations should conduct vital records and database risk assessment to
− Identify the risks involved if vital records are retained in their current
locations and media, and the difficulty of reconstituting those records if
they are destroyed.
− Identify offsite storage locations and requirements.
− Determine if alternative storage media is available.
− Determine requirements to duplicate records and provide alternate stor-
age locations to provide readily available vital records under all conditions.
7. Appropriate protections for vital records will include dispersing those records
to other organization locations or storing those records offsite. When deter-
mining and selecting protection methods, it is important to take into account
the special protections needed by the different kinds of storage media.
Microforms, paper photographs, and computer disks, tapes, and drives,
all require different methods of protection. Some of these media may also
require equipment to facilitate access.
8. At a minimum, vital records should be annually reviewed, rotated, or cycled
so that the latest versions will be available.
9. A vital records plan packet should be developed and maintained. The packet
should include:
− A hard copy or electronic list of key organization personnel and disaster
staff with up-to-date telephone numbers
− A vital records inventory with the precise locations of vital records
− Updates to the vital records
− Necessary keys or access codes