Reactive vs. Preventative: The dual approaches to protecting your operations end-to-end.

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In the dynamic and unpredictable landscape of risk management, organisations face a pivotal choice: should they be reactive, addressing crises as they arise, or preventative, working to mitigate risks before they manifest?

The key is not choosing between reactive and preventative approaches but leveraging the strengths of both to build a robust and resilient strategy.

Critical Event Management (CEM) & Resilience platforms, like Zinc’s, are indispensable in today’s complex operational environments, enabling organisations to navigate crises with agility and foresight.

Let’s show you why:

Reactive management
– responding to the unexpected.

Reactive management refers to actions taken after a critical event or incident has occurred. In this context, Zinc’s platform serves as a response tool, enabling swift action to mitigate impact and restore normalcy.

Key features:

1. Incident Management: Log and respond to critical incidents across domains such as security, health and safety (H&S), facilities, operations and alarms.
2. Mass Notification: Trigger instant notifications either automatically when an incident occurs based on pre-defined rules or manually to inform stakeholders and coordinate responses.
3. System/Alarm Integrations: React to triggered alarms or system alerts from 3rd party systems such as fire alarms, panic alarm (PA) activations, intruder alarms, IoT/building system alerts etc. in real-time to mobilise resources effectively.
4. SOPs & EOPs: Emergency and Standard Operating Procedures streamline incident management, offering step-by-step guidelines for immediate action during critical events to ensure swift, consistent, and effective responses.
5. Patrols & Inspections: Quickly adjust schedules or conduct reactive checks to ensure safety – for example conducting patrols in a specific location area, where an unauthorised access breach has been identified.
6. Mapping: Dynamic mapping tools support reactive management by visualising incidents, tracking resources, and identifying impacted areas, enabling efficient coordination and informed decision-making during critical events.
7. Incident Analysis: Document incidents and critical events to analyse response efficacy to learn and improve.

When a significant security event occurs, the average decrease of the businesses stock price is 29%.

Preventative management
– staying ahead of the curve

Preventative management focuses on identifying and mitigating risks before they escalate into critical events or incidents. Critical event management platforms with predictive analytics and risk assessment tools enable organisations to stay proactive.

Key Features:

1. Threat Intelligence: Monitor evolving threats, such as weather events, cyber risks, or geopolitical instability, to anticipate disruptions.
2. Inspections, Audits, and Checks: Conduct regular assessments to address potential risks before they escalate.
3. Patrols, Inspections, Checks & Audits: Proactive patrol scheduling and monitoring enhance preventative management by identifying potential risks, ensuring compliance, and addressing vulnerabilities before they escalate into critical incidents.
4. Risk Assessments: Ongoing monitoring identifies potential threats while preparing to respond if those threats materialise.
5. Resource Library: A comprehensive hub providing access to training materials, best practices, checklists, templates, and tools to support proactive risk mitigation and compliance strategies.
6. Scenario Planning: Develop contingency plans for identified risks and simulate responses.
7. Digital Forms and Tasks: Streamline operational processes for preventative measures like compliance checks and scheduled maintenance.
8. Dynamic Playbooks: Predefined plans guide preventative measures but can pivot into reactive mode when necessary.
9. Risk Intelligence & Insights: Leverage data and analytics to identify vulnerabilities and areas for improvement.
10. Dashboards: Use centralised dashboards to visualise and track preventative measures and risk metrics.

Companies that rely solely on reactive maintenance can experience maintenance costs up to 50% higher and decrease asset lifespans by up to 30% than those implementing preventive strategies.

A unified approach
– protecting operations

In reality, the most effective strategy combines both reactive and preventative elements. Zinc’s platform serves as the foundation for protecting operations, bridging the gap between reactive and preventative activities. It offers capabilities that empower organisations to adopt both approaches, enhancing their overall resilience.

Here are the top 10 reasons why:

1. Scalable solution: Allows organisations to scale their operations and adapt to growth and evolving risks.
2. Operational Efficiency: Reduces redundancies by integrating tools for reactive and preventative management and enabling faster response to resolution times.
3. Enhanced Coordination: Streamlines communication and collaboration across departments for more efficient crisis response and risk mitigation.
4. Centralised Insights: Provides a single source of truth, consolidating data for informed decision-making.
5. Risk Reduction: Proactively identifies vulnerabilities, mitigating risks before they escalate.
6. Continuous learning: Consolidated risk data refines both reactive and preventative strategies over time.
7. Cost Savings: Minimises financial losses through early risk identification and efficient resource allocation.
8. Improved Compliance: Simplifies adherence to standards through automated documentation and audit-ready reports.
9. Workforce Empowerment: Equips teams with unified tools and training for consistent and effective action.
10. Increased Resilience: Fosters long-term preparedness and adaptability by uniting preventative and reactive strategies.

• Critical events/incidents
• Dashboards & analysis
• Infrastructure