Take the Time Now to Prepare

The timing was eerie.

In July 2005, I completed a story that encouraged shops to develop a disaster recovery plan so they’d be prepared in case a catastrophic event befalls them. The article appeared in that year’s September issue. Readers would have received the September issue mere days after Hurricane Katrina punched the Gulf Coast hard in the gut.

"When Disaster Strikes" was written with the hope that shops would take the time to prepare for a natural disaster so they’d have a fighting chance to bounce back if one were to occur. When I received that September issue, I immediately wished the article had appeared a month earlier. But because it appeared so very soon after Katrina, perhaps it served to reinforce the importance of Boy-Scout-like preparedness to those who weren’t directly impacted by the hurricane. I certainly hope so.

The article is geared specifically toward machine shops, and it explains the importance of equipment appraisals, detailed documentation of shop equipment, knowledge of exactly what is and isn’t covered under a shop’s insurance plan and so on. As you read it, though, consider how you might also apply those concepts at home.