Downtime can severely impact your business, both in your productivity and profitability. However, planned downtime and unplanned downtime are two different things, and unplanned downtime can cost you 35% more than planned downtime simply because if you know certain functions aren’t going to be available or you won’t be able to operate at certain times, you can make plans and allowances for this rather than being caught off guard for unplanned downtime.
To avoid things going awry as much as possible, you can get a few things in place to help you be prepared for as much as possible.
Buy A Generator
A generator will allow you to have power should you experience a power outage at any time. Whether a storm knocks your power out, your local grid goes down, or there is a fault in the supply, being without power can render you unable to do pretty much everything. A generator can kick in as soon as you lose your primary power source and reduce any downtime associated with no power to a minimum. Don’t forget to include your generator in your regular maintenance and repair schedule and ensure you use the right Generator Parts or have them on hand to ensure it works correctly when needed.
Have Off-Site Backups
It’s not always enough to have backups of your software and work; you need to have all of your critical information data backed up to a physical hard drive and stored in a place that is separate from your main location. This way, if anything were to happen, flood, fire, etc., you would be able to access the information you need and get back up and running quickly without experiencing a total loss. You can do this alongside backups stored in the cloud for extra peace of mind.
Have A Disaster Recovery Plan
Having a disaster recovery plan will allow you to know exactly what steps to follow to get back up and running faster. A recovery plan can help you with both planned and unplanned downtime. A comprehensive plan should follow all of the steps you need to take in the event of unforeseen circumstances to ensure that your business can continue in different situations.
Establish A Chain of Command
You need an effective chain of command in place for those times when things are straying wildly out of control. All management and employees need to know exactly what to do and be aware of what is expected of them.
Have specific people in charge of certain tasks, i.e., who to report any issues to, then who contacts the entire company to share information, who to contact for remote work to check in if people are working from home due to extreme weather, for example, and who is in charge of making the appropriate arrangements to get back up and running. Have clear steps outlined, contact numbers and information, and ensure everyone knows exactly what to do.
Monitor and Update
Monitoring the different factors that can affect your company’s ability to operate will give you a heads up on factors that can put you into unplanned downtime. Factors such as weather reports, traffic news (if traffic issues stop employees from getting to the office), faulty equipment, staff sickness, staff mistakes, or problems with your technology or software or anything else.
The more you know, the more you can plan for and prevent unplanned downtime.
Don’t forget that updating your software regularly can also reduce the risk of downtime as out-of-date versions of your software will expose you to any vulnerabilities, which can put you at risk of hacks or system crashes, leading to you losing vital information delaying projects and resulting in complications.
Have A Maintenance Schedule
Keeping on top of equipment maintenance, upgrades, and repairs will help you avoid unplanned downtime due to breakdowns or damage. The better condition your equipment is in, the less chance of it not being able to keep up with demand day in and day out. The last thing you want is to run into issues because you neglected to get something repaired when a fault was reported or upgrade vital equipment to cope with increased demand, rendering you unable to do anything. So, make sure you’re working through an active and effective repair and maintenance plan for all equipment, tools, and software to avoid any nasty surprises.
You cannot prevent unplanned downtime 100%, but there are things you can do to minimize it and turn it into planned downtime to avoid mass disruption across the board.
