The purpose of a Continuity of Operations Plan is to (select all that apply):
- Establish policies and procedures to be used in the event normal operations are interrupted to public health and clinical laboratories.
- Maintain a consistent workplace for valued public servants.
- Provide a plan for managing facilities and assets as they are retired, excessed, or discontinued.
- Provides citizens with an expectation that public health and clinical laboratories will continue to provide services that are needed, regardless of situation.
- Supports public health and clinical laboratories to respond to an event or emergency quickly, restoring the most time-sensitive operations, and eventually, recovering to full functional capacity
Which of these objectives should be considered when designing your COOP plan?
- Ensure the performance of the laboratory’s essential functions and operations during a COOP event
- Reduce loss of life, minimizing damage and losses
- Reduce or mitigate disruptions to operations
- All the above
The Record of Revisions section should contain revision number, date of revision, name of the individual making the revision, a description of the revision, and _____________.
- The applicability and scope statement
- The purpose statement
- The section revised
- The timeline for implementation
The essential functions of a laboratory must be identified and prioritized according to public health importance and time sensitivity. Time sensitivity regarding the essential functions of a COOP plan, refers to:
- How long an activity can be delayed without negatively impacting public health.
- How long an activity may be expected to continue with current resources.
- How long the budget indicates an activity may be performed with current staff and resources.
- Proposed time to failure of any activity without reprioritizing any resources.
The identification and prioritization of essential functions are the prerequisite and basis for continuity planning. It is critical to know which functions have the highest priority for recovery and restoration.The recovery/restoration priority for a function that will cause definite, irreparable harm if not restored within 24 hours is:
- Critical - Priority 1
- Urgent - Priority 2
- Business Unit - Priority 3
- Important - Priority 4
When writing the Essential Function section of your COOP plan, you should keep in mind to (select all that apply):
- Determine definitions for each set of functions based on the priority definitions
- Develop a plan to perform additional functions as the situation permits
- Establish staffing and resource requirements
- Identify all functions, then determine which must be continued under all circumstances
- Integrate supporting activities
- Prioritize the identified essential functions
The four phases of the continuity implementation process are Readiness and Preparedness, Activation and Relocation, Continuity Operations, and Devolution.
Risk management is the process of identifying, analyzing, assessing, and communicating risk. Then accepting, avoiding, transferring, or controlling the risk to an acceptable level considering the associated costs and benefits of any actions taken.
The three processes of Phase II of the Concept of Operations are:
- Decision, Alert and Notification, and Completion
- Decision, Alert and Notification, and Implementation
- Decision, Implementation, and Evaluation
- Warning, Decision, and Execution
Continuity of Operations Plan is a document that shows how an organization intends to continue doing essential functions when there is some disruption at, or lack of access to, the primary work facility.
Vital records are electronic and hardcopy documents, references, records, and databases, to include classified or sensitive data, needed to support the essential functions during a COOP situation.
An effective vital records program should account for the identification, protection, and ready availability of vital records, databases, and hardcopy documents needed to support essential functions under the full spectrum of emergencies which are critical elements of a successful COOP plan. To achieve this, you should (select all that apply):
- Exclude all sensitive data containing personal information.
- Develop and maintain a complete vital records inventory.
- Implement procedures to ensure all vital data on secure systems are current.
- Plan for maintaining vital data on redundant servers at different locations.
- Provide alternate documents when primary documents are not available.
In some cases, reconstitution may require coordination to procure a new permanent facility or a temporary operating facility.
It is recommended when considering the Orders of Succession to at least make them three positions deep, where possible, ensuring sufficient depth to ensure the laboratory’s ability to manage and direct its essential functions and operations.
A delegation of authority provides successors with the legal authorization to act on behalf of the laboratory head or other officials for specified purposes and to carry out specific duties. Delegations of authority should state specifically:
- The authority being delegated
- The authority to re-delegate those authorities
- The circumstances under which the delegated authorities become effective
- The circumstances under which the delegated authorities terminate
- The individuals qualifications from the qualifying agency
- The limits of that authority
- The specific training certification from the qualifying agency
- To whom the authority is delegated
When selecting continuity personnel, it is important to keep the following factor in mind:
- Consider combining positions
- Determine who can do the work under potential adverse conditions
- Provide cross training
- Select back-up personnel
- All of the above
Which of these is an example of an alternate work site?
- Another Laboratory
- Regional Office
- Telework
- All of the above
The COOP plan must include a pre-arranged plan to use alternate facilities to ensure continuation of the laboratory's highest priority, core public health activities. Activities considered non-essential can be suspended, but all of the essential activities must be accommodated. Laboratories should consider the following factors when selecting alternate facilities (Select all that apply)
- The geographic location relative to the primary facility
- Accessibility to electrical power and information technology infrastructure separate from the primary facility
- The availability of supplies and equipment to continue primary operations
- Interoperable communications with essential internal and external organizations and customers
- The means to secure communications if appropriate
- Emergency/backup power capability
- Housing to support personnel at or near the facility
- Sufficient levels of physical and informational security
Communications systems during a COOP event should be available as soon as possible, or within 12 hours of the activation of a COOP plan.
A laboratory's ability to execute its essential functions at its primary facility and continuity facilities, depends upon the availability of effective communications systems. Continuity of communications must (Select all that apply):
- Ensure safe access to data, systems, and services
- Provide connectivity to outside agencies and customers
- Support connectivity with other organizations, critical customers and the public
- Support full connectivity under all conditions among key leadership
- Support the performance of essential functions
Which is an example of a communication system?
- Blackberry
- Walkie talkie
- Email
- Data lines
- All of the above
The definition of devolution is:
- The merge of several laboratories to continue essential functions
- The movement of personnel from one laboratory to another to continue essential functions
- The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth
- The transfer of statutory authority and responsibility for essential functions from a laboratory’s primary operating staff and facilities to other employees and facilities
When may a devolution plan be activated? (Select all that apply):
- As a continuity measure
- As a temporary transfer of control as continuity personnel relocate to the alternate site
- When essential laboratory tests are outsourced due to laboratory closure following an earthquake
- When an essential laboratory test is moved to a different lab space in the same building because of a flood caused by a sink link.
Following a test of your COOP Plan, a series of corrective actions were identified based on the After Action Report. Should you update your COOP plan:
- At the next annual review
- At the next 6 month regular review
- Revision is required immediately
- Revision is not necessary
A vendor who provided reagents for all of your laboratory tests went out of business and is no longer shipping any products. Should you update your COP plan:
- At the next annual review
- At the next 6 month regular review
- Revision is required immediately
- Revision is not necessary