As Larry has noted, there are many competing interests out there. I
think we also have to parse out a number of things -- there are many
levels of need in a disaster such as Katrina, the Tsunami, or 9/11. At
each of those levels, our opportunity to "play" is different. Allow me
to take a cut at what I mean with regard to the Katrina situation.

1. Big business. Large companies that are affected should have their
own disaster recovery plans and are engaging the major disaster
recovery companies (Munters, BMS Cat, etc.) to do facility recovery. We
don't need to play there. A bunch of volunteers are going to be
unwelcome and present liability. We're not going to able to play here,
except to offer moral support to our members and help them personally.

2. Small business. While smaller businesses are going to be seriously
impacted by the situation, they too, oftentimes have arrangements with
their insurance carriers or even DR plans that are in force. They may
rely upon on educational resources or publications.

3. Individuals. I doubt we want to go there. It is a tragedy, but the
sheer scale of what is going on here negates any meaningful response by
ARMA, other than providing reference resources.

4. Civic and cultural organizations. We might be able to play here to a
point, but the major organizations should have DR plans and contractual
arrangements. The smaller organizations are probably the ones who most
need help. This one is tough because of the logistical support needed.
We're not talking about a fire in a building or a busted pipe -- this
is a regional disaster of some magnitude.

But let's look at the reality... as Larry noted, the government isn't
exactly welcoming a bunch of do-gooders down there. If you're going to
go, you need to be self-sustaining and self-contained. That means a
serious logistical adventure of obtaining food, water, clothing, and
shelter for whatever period of time people need to work. In the case of
much of that area, that also means providing a means for
decontamination of materials and people -- as well as some serious
protective gear. If you look at the TV, you see people out there with
masks, gloves, boots, and moon suits (for all intents and purposes). In
many cases, this is extremely HARD WORK. Most of us, sitting here
pecking away at our keyboards, are far removed from that sort of labor
-- as well as the conditions that it must be performed in. What the
government wants to see are groups of folks with their own logistical
infrastructure and enough sense and experience to avoid getting into
trouble.

Next bit of reality. You're gonna need your shots. Tetanus and all
sorts of water-borne illnesses. That can be costly, and for some
people, risky.

Next bit of reality. Liability. Besides disease, there are all sorts of
risks in terms of the labor itself, as well as the potential for
encounters with folks who are intent upon harm (mitigated as that
situation may be, there is still an issue there). And what if the
recovery efforts do more harm than good? Who is accountable for the
liability costs?

Next bit of reality. If you're at all dealing with personally
identifiable information or anything that is proprietary or
confidential, the people who are doing the work are going to need to be
vetted or vouched for -- plus you have the liability if something bad
would happen to the information.

All of that adds up to a very risky proposition for an organization
such as ARMA. I think ARMA can certainly provide resources of training,
education, and publications where needed. I think we can serve as a
clearinghouse to the real experts in disaster recovery. But ARMA should
not be in the business of providing disaster recovery services or
volunteers.

I'm also somewhat adverse to capitalizing upon a disaster -- to market
one's self / organization in light of something horrible is, IMHO,
counter-productive at the least. So to go out and say, "If your records
managers were members of ARMA, your records wouldn't be floating down
Poydras Street right now." is not the message we want to send (and I'm
not suggesting that Carol is looking for this sort of message).

I certainly appreciate the place where Carol's heart is -- we all want
to do something to help. But I think our efforts are best spent in
donating our time and money locally to the Red Cross or the Salvation
Army so that our local volunteer labor and donations can free up people
in those organizations to help out where professional help is needed.
Most of our companies are understanding of that sort of community
concern, I'm certain. But freeing up a bunch of records managers for
the sort of mission that I think is being suggested here seems like a
fool's errand.

Carol, if you are bound and determined to see ARMA take a leadership
role in catastrophic disaster recovery, then I think you want to make
this something formal for the organization. That means funding the
logistics and the training for a team of on-call volunteers who are
able to drop everything in an emergency to get to where they are needed
and stay as long as required. That's the sort of thing you're talking
about. And honestly, I doubt you'll find five competent, capable people
in the Association who could be able to do this sort of work. I would
prefer to see our energies spent educating our members on lessons
learned from Katrina, providing educational resources to the general
public and the media, and ensuring that the vendors providing these
services understand records management concepts and have competent
records managers as part of their teams.

Finally, as Larry noted, the first hours after a disaster are the most
important in terms of the recovery of the material. Those early hours
are long past for New Orleans and even then, that situation didn't
allow for any meaningful response.

I have a clock on my desk that was given to me when I participated in a
sand table exercise many years ago for another employer. It says, "By
planning for a disaster, you won't have to wish for a miracle." Our
best efforts are spent helping people plan for disasters and build out
contingencies. Let the pros work on recovery and restoration efforts.

Patrick Cunningham, CRM

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