INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
ASSOCIATIONS underwriters may not provide full cover – requiring one to look offshore . Given the scale of this incident , I would recommend policyholders study the fine print and that they look carefully at the indemnity period , as cleaning up a site after such an incident can take many months – and building from scratch can take 12 months or longer .”
All three said the insurers had not effected an extraordinary change to policy after the event , but confirmed premiums became more expensive . Du Preez recommended all policyholders conduct a detailed risk assessment , and thereafter decide whether to self-insure or go through a third party .
Nulliah in turn recommended policyholders pay attention to their renewal process and maintain a detailed asset register .
Q : When getting facilities back up and running , what were the timelines and challenges ? Cleaning up site was relatively quick for most , though recovering from the long-term damage and loss of turnover took as long as a year . Nulliah said it took about four days to recover the site , primarily the clean-up which was performed by staff into recycling skips . Damage to vehicles and equipment required contractors to do repairs , as well as replacing computer equipment .
Sanday said operationally they were back up within a week for customers , but to re-establish all KZN took a full year , as the affected site was completely burned and contaminated . “ We were in fact fairly lucky in that we ’ d just started building a second facility the work on which was preliminary enough to change plans and expand on that site – otherwise we would never have recovered in decent time .”
“ A crisis team took control of site on Friday and we were operational by next Thursday from alternative sites – because the impact for us was only in the centre of town ,” Du Preez noted . “ But to get sales back to normality took seven to eight months , as many of our customers experienced damage to premises that took them a year to recover from .”
Q : What are your top business continuity recommendations for future crises ? “ A company ’ s risk assessment needs to accommodate every possible scenario and to have contingency plans for each – as the subsequent KZN floods further demonstrated . These scenarios must be drilled and reviewed annually ,” Du Preez said .
Nulliah added : “ Regarding the looting and rioting , I would recommend perimeter walls five or six meters high around the complete facility with highly visible access and crowd control . Have an emergency plan as to how to deal with a crisis situation .”
In turn , Sanday emphasises the importance of having a business continuity plan in case of loss of more than one location . They lost their site in KZN and he explained that there had also been rioting in Gauteng and it would have been a quite different scale had that site also been affected . “ When it comes to insurance , when calculating how much cover is needed and how long an indemnity period to select , one should consider the potential for delays in finding contractors and other suppliers such as steel . When selecting new locations carefully consider the proximity to impoverished communities rather than just convenience and price .”
The consensus was that there was a high level of coordination among the rioters . It was well thought out – warehouses stocking refrigerators were looted first and only then the food to fill those refrigerators .
The consensus was that there was a high level of coordination among the rioters . It was well thought out – warehouses stocking refrigerators were looted first and only then was food looted to fill those refrigerators .
Finally , leadership is vital . Visible leadership underpinned our success , said Du Preez . “ We got on a plane and flew down to coordinate activities and lead from the front . That freed the local team to concentrate on managing the staff .” CLA
PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ( POPI ) ACT : You are receiving this medium in accordance with the POPI Act as a registered reader , where you have accepted receipt of the publication and / or other related information as defined in the Act .
In the event that Interact Media Defined ( IMD ) and / or IMD Conferences Exhibitions and Workshops has received your details from a third party ( i . e ., association , official bodies etc .) we have the assurance that they have your permission to provide your information to us or as a result of being a member .
You have granted permission to store such information as required by the Act .
We assure readers / users that the information provided is used expressly for the intended purpose of dissemination of information by the companies print and / or electronic means and / or exhibitions relevant to your industry and is not shared beyond the scope of these businesses .
If you have reason to believe that IMD and / or IMD Conferences Exhibitions and Workshops is in breach of the POPI Act and as it relates to your personal information , please escalate to privacy @ interactmedia . co . za .
Should you not be satisfied with our company ’ s response to the handling of your personal information , you can contact the Information Commissioner : complaints . IR @ justice . gov . za . For general enquiries , contact inforeg @ justice . gov . za
COLD LINK AFRICA • June 2023 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za 7