City of Dallas, Texas The City of Dallas selected Tidal Basin to overhaul its Continuity of Operations (COOP) program as it undertook an initiative required by law to safeguard the resiliency and business continuity of its mission-essential functions. The outcome of this project was a city-wide COOP plan that included, among other annexes, COOP plans for 42 city departments. Tidal Basin also developed training modules for the city’s continuity teams that are user-friendly, easy to understand, and transferable to each other. The COOP plan also includes the necessary information to develop a robust disaster recovery plan. The Tidal Basin initiative included: • P erforming a gap assessment of current COOP efforts and devising an actionable, feasible plan to meet and exceed state and federal requirements • P erforming a BPA/BIA and mapped processes • Identifying all interdependencies and requirements, including all Information Technology (IT) systems and applications per essential function for each of the 42 departments, as well as for the City of Dallas • Training all 42 departments on their specific COOP plan and then planning, executing, and evaluating a functional live exercise that tested the relocation to backup facilities and IT systems and applications Tidal Basin worked with all departments to strategically identify realistic alternate facilities for each essential function. It was important to select a facility that could host the IT resources, personnel, and equipment necessary for continuity and to ensure non-use by another department. We conducted a BIA/BPA to understand the current status of critical systems, services, and capabilities. Our gap analysis identified critical gaps that could affect service continuity and resilience. We identified all IT systems and required resources, mapped processes, examined the city’s capabilities and gaps in the continuity program, and justified the funding and resources needed for improvements. The project’s culmination was a two-part functional exercise assessing the capabilities to relocate 911 services and city leadership. Part one was a 911/dispatch drill in which the 911 and dispatch staff were given a scenario that would force them to evacuate City Hall and relocate to the backup site to receive actual 911 calls and dispatch them accordingly. Part two of the drill was the relocation of all other essential departments to their backup facilities scattered throughout the city, establishing communications, and reporting back to their respective Assistant City Manager. State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC), State of New Jersey Tidal Basin updated all SEOC plans and procedures and relocated their respective digital files to a single directory on the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJOEM) computer network. Also included in the scope of work was the development and delivery of training for all SEOC plans and procedures to local staff, delivery of training on the use of E-Team software to SEOC staff, and updating the New Jersey All-Hazard Mitigation Plan per applicable State guidelines and in alignment with similar guidelines at the Federal level. Each scope of work (SOW) element contained its own subset of preparation, delivery, reporting, and logistics functions, and all activities performed under contract were specifically
When Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey, the State required additional support and solutions to manage the event. Tidal Basin provided management of Disaster Recovery Centers, Public Assistance programs, and many others throughout the state.
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COOP / BCP Services
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