Planning for the Swine Flu pandemic was the key subject at the EPS annual conference in Coventry last June. Just after the WHO declared a global pandemic, speakers including; Bruce Mann (Cabinet Office), Pat O’Riordan (Specialist in Emergency Management, Health Service Executive, Republic of Ireland) and Jonathan Van-Tam (Professor Of Health Protection, University Of Nottingham and Honorary Consultant Regional Epidemiologist For HPA East Midlands) all spoke of the impending threat of mass absence at work due to sickness and caring responsibilities. (more…)
Archive for the ‘GemaTech News’ Category
Pandemic Planning for Swine Flu a Priority at Emergency Planning Society’s Conference
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009999 Calls at Risk as Calva Bridge in Workington is Condemned
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009During the major floods in Cumbria in November the town of Workington was physically cut in half by extreme amounts of flood water. 6 bridges collapsed and the last remaining, Calva Bridge carrying utilities including telecoms cables, was condemned, putting lives at risk as 999 calls relied upon this link. (more…)
Businesses Cut Off as Drill Cuts Through Cables on London Olympic 2012 Site
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009On April 4th 2009 hundreds, if not thousands of businesses found their voice and data connections cut off or diminished when a large number of high capacity BT core network circuits/cables were damaged by a construction company boring a hole through a tunnel 32m below ground surface in East London. 70,000 PSTN customers were affected, many Featurenet and private circuits were down and emergency services also suffered breaks in communication. (more…)
Businesses Disrupted as Tooley Street Floods For Second Year in a Row
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009A number of businesses were disrupted when a burst water main caused a major flood in Tooley Street, London affected the same spot it did the previous year. It caused the same devestating damage as the previous year and affected major corporates and local retail outlets alike.
A couple of businesses who were disrupted due to the floods include: (more…)
Businesses Should be More Aware of Norovirus as Health Protection Agency Launches Monitoring Service
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Businesses should be aware of the virulence of the Norovirus in planning business continuity. The Health Protection Agency launched a web based Norovirus outbreak monitoring service in January indicating which NHS trusts were suffering outbreaks and consequently closing wards. In the first 6 months of 2009 350 outbreaks were reported. Cases of Norovirus are not diminishing year on year, and with the new reporting system, appear to be increasing. (more…)
Voice and Data Recording Will be a Priority as FSA Steps up Consumer Protection Regulation in 2010
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Financial organisations will need to ensure that they can record voice conversations and data transactions of various kinds when the FSA brings in tighter regulation to protect consumers.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will begin regulating banks’ and building societies’ day-to-day contact with their customers from 1 November 2009, covering everything from direct debits, payments, instant access and savings accounts through to unauthorised transactions and notification of interest rate changes. (source: www.FSA.gov.uk) (more…)
PageOne Launches VoiceBlast, but is it a Restrictive Solution?
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Did PageOne consider all their customer needs when they launched their VoiceBlast solution in August?
This summer PageOne launched a call cascade product called VoiceBlast. A messaging system which can simultaneously send a personalised voice message to the landline or mobile number of thousands of people within an organisation. But does this kind of very specific solution a little restrictive? (more…)
PRU Shortlisted For Most Innovative Product Of The Year At EPS Conference
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009GemaTech introduced the Portable Recovery Unit at a soft launch during the Emergency Planning Society’s (EPS) Annual Conference in June this year where it was shortlisted in the category of most Innovative Product of The Year. (more…)
Civil Contingencies Conference 2010: Promoting Resilience Against Flu, Floods and Fanatics
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009The Civil Contingencies Conference 2010 will be held on Tuesday 26th January at the QEII Conference Centre in London, providing insight and information on resilience and business continuity planning.
Confirmed speakers include: (more…)
Business Continuity Awards – Entries up by 20%!
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Award entries were up by 20% on the prvious year at May’s Business Continuity Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Attendance was the best ever, making it the largest event of its kind in Europe.
The long-running annual event is organized by CIR Magazine which has supplied Continuity Central with the following list of this year’s winners: (more…)
