Operations Report on Business Interruptions & Recoveries Q1

Blog
Apr 23, 2018

We have certainly started the year off with an active series of events, ranging from multiple Nor’easters affecting coastal regions of the Eastern US to isolated incidents across the continent. As always, our Operations Team has come to the rescue of customers, delivering on our promise. We continue to drive towards consistency, superior performance, and exceeding expectations. Thank you to everyone involved.

Operations Report on Business Interruptions

The first quarter of 2018 brought several of unique incidents and significant weather events causing, business interruptions for our customers. Throughout the first three months of the year, our Operations Team responded to 112 separate business interruptions, of which 27 required us to deploy recovery resources (declares). These 112 events took place across 28 U.S. states and Canadian Territories.

Of the 112 business interruptions:

  • 66% related to power
  • 13% related to alternate workspace
  • 10% were undetermined
  • 6% related to communications equipment
  • 4% related to computer systems/technology hardware

Declares

Operations Report on Business Interruptions Q1 2018 - Chelsea Flood Rescue

High-water rescues conducted during severe flooding as a result of the early January Bomb Cyclone Storm in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

1. Global Logistics Firm – Revere, MA – Winter Power Interruption from Bomb Cyclone (1/4/18)

The “Bomb Cyclone” that moved up the East Coast not only brought frigid temperatures and blizzard conditions to cities like Boston, it also brought abnormally high tides to waterfront communities. In the Chelsea area of Massachusetts, just northeast of downtown Boston, many businesses were flooded by the Chelsea and Mystic Rivers. This Agility Recovery customer found their entire parking lot flooded, and as a result, local utilities had failed, causing a power outage. They requested a diesel generator and 500 feet of cabling to help restore power to critical equipment inside their headquarters.

2. Consumer Beverage Bottler – Salisbury, NC – Server Outage (1/8/18)

This customer is a key supplier in many time-sensitive supply chains for beverage producers and experienced a server failure at their headquarters. This event had the potential to interrupt orders, billing, shipping, and digital communications, both internally and externally. They immediately requested that we quickship a server and several monitors to ensure they could remain operational and restore their applications as quickly as possible. The equipment was immediately deployed and utilized for about six weeks while permanent replacement hardware was procured by the customer. Of course, in this case, the only costs incurred by the customer were related to shipping the equipment back and forth from the Agility Recovery Operations Facility in Atlanta.

3. Online Retailer – Avenel, NJ – Planned Power Interruption (1/18/18)

This global online retailer was forced to schedule internal power infrastructure repairs at a key distribution facility serving the majority of the Northeast, including the New York City area. To ensure that this 24-hour production facility maintained critical operations, we deployed a 500kW generator to the site prior to power shutting down. Fortunately, the repairs only required a single day to complete, and the power provided by the on-site generator ensured the facility never skipped a beat.

Operations Report on Business Interruptions Q1 2018 - downtown silver spring

The Ellsworth Place Shopping Center is in the Downtown Silver Spring Maryland area and houses a number of national chain stores.

4. Clothing Retailer – Silver Spring, MD – Local Power Interruption (1/20/18)

A local power interruption affecting the central shopping district of Silver Spring, Maryland forced our customer to request a 300kW generator. We were able to source and deliver the requested equipment in under four hours. Luckily, the power outage lasted less than a day, and the local utility provider was able to restore power with minimal long-term interruption to area businesses.

5. International Trade Association – Arlington, VA – Virus Attack (1/26/18)

This trade association based in Arlington, Virginia represents over 300 global Heating and Refrigeration manufacturing firms. They initially requested 82 laptop computers to replace desktop computers in their headquarters, which had been infected by a virus. Our operations team deployed the pre-imaged PC’s from our Atlanta operations facility, and delivery took place on a Sunday less than 36 hours later. The customer used the Agility Recovery-owned equipment for 12 days before standing down, while their IT team solved the issue of the infected equipment. In doing so, the only charges incurred by the customer for the recovery were related to the shipping costs of the laptops.

Operations Report on Business Interruptions Q1 2018 - AGREX

The interruption occurred here, at one of the customers’ primary supply chain locations on the banks of the Mississippi River in Bettendorf, Iowa.

6. Agricultural Supply Firm – Bettendorf, IA – Communications Interruption (1/22/18)

This firm—which supplies and trades in grain, livestock feed, and other related products—operates a series of terminal locations that store and allow the movement of these commodities all over the country. Their facility in Bettendorf, Iowa is located on the banks of the Mississippi River. It serves as a critical link in the supply chain for delivering and housing products between production facilities. In this situation, their phone lines were cut by nearby utility work, which severely limited their ability to facilitate critical functions in this highly time-sensitive industry. We were contacted by on-site staff who requested immediate deployment of a Cradlepoint device, which was delivered the next day, allowing digital communications to continue.

Operations Report on Business Interruptions Q1 2018 - Streetsville

An aerial view of the long-term care facility in Toronto.

7. Long-Term Medical Care Facility – Toronto, ON – Local Power Interruption (2/1/18)

This senior living facility in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario experienced a local power outage, affecting the entire facility and all 118 patients under their care. We responded immediately, helping to determine their generator specifications and source the appropriate unit—a 650kW generator delivered in under 2.5 hours. Our service teams remained on site throughout the night to ensure power was never interrupted to the care facility, and within 48 hours the power was restored and they returned to normal operations.

8. Private College – Franklin, Massachusetts – Winter Storm (3/2/18)

This private college in southeastern Massachusetts, with an enrollment near 1,500 students, was located right in the crosshairs of Winter Storm Riley, which threatened to interrupt power and communications to their entire campus. Their VP of Facilities contacted us to request four 100kW generators to power various facilities on campus, including nearly 300 feet of cabling. Approximately 4.5 hours after the initial alert was received, delivery of the generators took place and the customer’s electrician began the process of powering their facilities. Because of the continued threat of two more subsequent Nor’easter storms, the customer retained the generators for a total of 14 days to ensure their critical facilities were never without power.

9. Biotechnology Engineering Firm – Garden Grove, CA – Planned Infrastructure Project (3/12/18)

This international firm based in California manufactures high-quality medical diagnostic products. Their Garden Grove facility was installing rooftop solar power generation panels, which required disconnecting the local power supply to the building for 24 hours. The firm requested that we source and deliver a 200kW generator and fuel for the timeframe the building would be without terrestrial power. The generator was delivered on time, and the customer’s local electrician performed the connection. It was in use for 24 hours before the customer stood down the declaration, never having lost power to their building and the sensitive equipment within.

10. Global Logistics Firm – Atlanta, GA – Office Relocation (3/14/18)

This global organization, with more than 18,000 employees, has been operating across the world for 100+ years. Based in China, they operate regional headquarters in dozens of countries, many of which are located near major transportation hubs. In this case, its facility near Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta was in the process of relocating. During the relocation, local leadership learned that the IT infrastructure—specifically their communications connectivity—would not be in place in time for the move. They contacted us requesting multiple Cradlepoint 4G LTE devices to allow for communications to continue. As part of a sophisticated, far-reaching global supply chain, it was imperative that they never lost connectivity, to ensure critical timelines for moving their customers’ shipments in and out of the country would continue. The devices were delivered within 24 hours and were utilized for two weeks until permanent infrastructure was in place and operating at full capacity. Once again, the only charges incurred by the customer were limited to the shipping costs of the Agility Recovery-owned equipment.

11. Regional Independent Insurance Firm – Mahopac, NY – Winter Communications Redirect (3/3/18)

This large insurance intermediary in upstate New York provides both commercial and personal insurance to customers throughout the region. As the onslaught of multiple Nor’easters bore down on the area, they requested that all inbound phone calls to their headquarters be redirected to employee cellphones. This request was immediately handled by our Networking Team, and all inbound phone lines were successfully redirected within three hours of the initial request.

Additional Notable Declares:

  • Large Legal Firm serving schools and governments – San Antonio, TX – Internet outage
  • Community Bank – Starke, FL – Construction accident causing communications interruption
  • Independent Insurance Firm – Glastonbury, CT – Flooding destroyed office furnishings
  • Online Retailer – Stoughton, ME – Local power interruption
  • Online Retailer – Jacksonville, FL – Temporary restroom facilities for increased staffing
  • Global Shipping/Courier Company – Brisbane, CA – Local power interruption
  • Global Seafood Supplier – Highland Park, IL – Winter storm (Bomb Cyclone) power outage
  • Adhesives Manufacturing Firm – Manchester, CT – Winter storm (Bomb Cyclone) power outage
  • Senior Care Services Provider – Pensacola, FL – Delayed relocation
  • Food Distributor – Canton, MI – Building electrical failure
  • Online Retailer – Seattle, WA – HVAC failure

Ongoing Business Recoveries from Prior Months:

We are currently supporting 33 other ongoing disaster recoveries including, the following:

  • 13 Declares for temporary restroom facilities due to increased staffing – Online Retailer
  • 10 Declares for miscellaneous space needs due to increased staffing – Online Retailer
  • 4 Declares for temporary power due to various interruptions – Online Retailer
  • 2 Declares for temporary space due to Hurricane Harvey and a planned renovation – Regional Bank, Auto Retailer
  • 3 Declares for Internet/Voice Connectivity due to isolated interruptions – 2 Financial Institutions and a Regional Bank
  • 1 Declare for IT Hardware due to winter storm – Private Educational Institution