Why Continuity Is a Security Function—Not Just IT
When power blinks, networks stall, or a facility incident forces evacuation, you don’t just need backups—you need a practiced playbook that keeps people safe and business moving. Security continuity planning ties protection, operations, and technology together so you can sustain essential functions under stress. It clarifies who decides, who deploys, and what happens first, second, and third—whether the disruption lasts 30 minutes or three days.
At City Wide Protection Services (CWPS), we design continuity programs that blend physical measures (access, patrols, alternate sites) with procedures (escalation trees, mutual aid, vendor call-downs) and technology (camera failover, mass notification, redundant comms). The result is fewer surprises and faster, calmer recoveries.
The Pillars of a Practical Continuity Program
Define “Essential” Before It’s Urgent
List the few functions that must never stop—life safety, incident command, dispatch/communications, access control, and critical client obligations. Give each an owner, an alternate, and a time objective (how long it can be down before consequences escalate). This is the backbone of security continuity planning and keeps response energy focused where it matters.
Build Realistic Time Objectives
Set recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) for security systems (video, access, alarms) and for human processes (guard scheduling, key issuance, SOC staffing). If a function must be back in 60 minutes, design to that standard—don’t assume it will “work out.”
Establish Decision Rights
During a disruption, ambiguity burns minutes. Name the incident lead (and two backups), define authority limits (spend caps, vendor authorizations), and publish a single escalation matrix. Keep it to one page so it’s usable at 2 a.m.
Put Alternatives on the Shelf
Alternate SOC location? Pre-wired. Redundant radios and chargers? Staged. Printed post orders and floor plans? In go-kits. Vendor list with 24/7 numbers? Verified quarterly. Continuity lives in these small, boring details that suddenly become priceless.
Want a concise walkthrough of continuity steps you can adapt to your program? FEMA’s Ready Business guide outlines a practical, six-step process for creating and maintaining a continuity plan; it’s a helpful external reference to read alongside your internal run-books (read more there): Ready.gov
From Paper to Practice: The Continuity Playbook
1) Assess and Prioritize
Start with a site walk and a tabletop: power loss, comms outage, gate failure, elevator entrapment, water leak, cyber-locked door controllers. Rank realistic scenarios by impact and likelihood. This keeps security continuity planning connected to your actual risk picture—not hypothetical disasters that never show up.
2) Engineer for Failure
- Access & Gates: Provide manual override procedures, spare readers, and offline credential rules.
- Video: Enable local recording with cloud/buffered failover and a simple method to export clips without the network.
- Comms: Stage secondary radios and a cross-functional channel for property, facilities, and security; maintain a “no-internet” phone tree.
- Power: Identify circuits that must be on backup; label panel schedules; pre-stage portable lighting for lobbies and stairwells.
3) Write Short, Usable Procedures
Each essential function gets a one-page run-book: Trigger → First 5 minutes → 60-minute plan → Stabilize. Include contact lists, vendor authorizations, and photo references (e.g., where the generator tie-in lives, which door to prop in power loss, how to set camera retention while storage is limited).
4) Train in Small Reps
Don’t wait for an annual drill. Practice 10-minute “sprint” table-tops for two scenarios per month (power blink, garage gate jam, SOC comms outage). Rotate shifts so nights and weekends get practice too.
5) Measure and Improve
Track a small KPI set: alert-to-acknowledge (seconds), stabilize time (minutes), workarounds activated (yes/no), vendor time-to-arrive (minutes), and lessons-learned items closed. Publish a quarterly scorecard so owners and insurers see progress.
Common Failure Modes—and How to Prevent Them
“The Plan Lives on One Server”
If your continuity plan is only a PDF on the network you just lost, it’s gone when you need it. Print slim, laminated copies for posts and go-kits; keep an offline copy on secure, encrypted USBs.
“Everyone’s In Charge, So No One Is”
Indecision adds risk. Pick an incident lead per site and shift. Back them with a simple authority matrix (spend limits, vendor call-outs, police liaison).
“Great Backups, No Power”
Generators are wonderful—until you learn the dock is blocked or the transfer switch is unlabeled. Pre-walk generator logistics, label panels, and confirm fueling and service SLAs.
“Access Control Locks You Out”
During network issues, door controllers can default unpredictably. Create offline credential rules and a manual key cache with strict custody logs.
How Continuity Interlocks With Daily Security
- Live Monitoring: When cameras fail over to local storage, your operators switch to voice-down and patrol verification; once networks return, clips are exported and appended to the incident record.
- Patrols: Directed tours shift to check “dark zones” and stairwells; checkpoints verify generator rooms, sump pumps, and roof access.
- Front-of-House: Concierge or lobby staff receive micro-scripts for resident/tenant reassurance—what’s happening, what’s safe, and what’s next.
- Vendors: Locksmith, glazing, tow, restoration, and power vendors get pre-cleared access and staging instructions to reduce site friction.
A Simple Continuity Template You Can Start Today
- Critical functions list with owners and alternates
- Contact tree (security, facilities, management, vendors, public safety)
- Site maps (egress, fire panels, generator tie-in, water shutoffs)
- Run-books for top five scenarios (power, comms, access, flood, elevator)
- Go-kits (radios/chargers, flashlights, printed plans, PPE, spare credentials)
- Quarterly drills and a lessons-learned log with owners and due dates
Within a month, this baseline turns into a living security continuity planning program that you refine each quarter.
Related Internal Resource (Highly Relevant)
Continuity starts with understanding your specific exposure. For a site-by-site diagnostic that feeds your plan, see our San Diego Risk Assessment overview—how site walks, camera views, access schedules, and patrol routes become a prioritized roadmap.
This dovetails with security continuity planning, ensuring quick wins are implemented and measured.
Why City Wide Protection Services
- Operational Scale — 350+ properties protected; 65,000+ responses since 2016; 30+ verifiable life-saving interventions since 2020.
- Integrated Stack — Access control, live monitoring, patrols, and 24/7 dispatch that operate even when one layer hiccups.
- Evidence-Ready Reporting — Time-stamped logs, photos, and concise after-action notes your owners, boards, and insurers can use.
Ready to Make Your Next Disruption Boring?
Let’s build security continuity planning that keeps people safe and the business on schedule—even when the lights flicker.
Call us: 888-205-4242
Email: [email protected]
We’ll map your essential functions, write one-page run-books, stage go-kits, and run short drills until the process feels routine.
