BCIT is committed to emergency planning and has the full support of BCIT’s president and senior management.
BCIT has planned and implemented a number of initiatives and continues to be a leader in emergency management for post-secondary education in Canada. These initiatives are overseen by a Disaster Management Committee comprised of senior and middle managers whose role it is to set policy direction for preparedness, emergency response and recovery and business continuity.
Goals
- Provide for the safety and health of all responders
- Save lives
- Reduce suffering
- Protect public health
- Protect the institutes’ infrastructure
- Protect the institutes’ property
- Restore the institutes’ operations
- Protect the enviornment
- Reduce economic and social losses
Emergency response & recovery
BCIT’s emergency planning is based on the British Columbia Emergency Management System (BCEMS) which is, in turn, based on the Incident Command System. BCEMS is a comprehensive management scheme that ensures a coordinated and organized response and recovery to any and all emergency incidents. This system is endorsed by the provincial government who mandated its application for all ministries and which has also been adopted by municipalities, regions and other agencies across British Columbia.
Business continuity
BCIT has been conducting business continuity planning since 2005. Every department and school has to produce an annually updated business continuity plan. In the event of a major crisis affecting the continuing operation of all or a significant portion of critical activities BCIT will be able to resume its business of education as quickly as possible.