Whether to protect their companies against terrorism, hurricanesor other potential catastrophies, 83 percent of organizations havesome precautions in place but still don't feel adequately prepared,a national survey revealed.

The results were expected "in the context that the surveyindicated there were some things an industry was doing well andthere were some things an industry was not doing quite so well,"said Harrison Lobdell, director of the National Emergency Response& Rescue Training Center, which commissioned the survey. Thecenter is a division of the Texas A&M University system's TexasEngineering Extension Service.

"Our experience would have had us predict, for instance, thatthe petrochemical industry would feel as though they are betterprepared than some of the other industries," he added.

The petrochemical industry, he said, is "fortunate" in thatthere is "a lot of government regulation that requires them to dothings which are directly related to preparedness"--such asrequired drills, response resources, plans and inspections.

Other industries, he added, don't necessarily have the sameregulatory guidelines to follow. The tendency toward preparednesswas based more on a company's size rather than whether it isnationally or internationally based.

Mr. Lobdell explained that organizations don't feel adequatelyprepared because there is "no direct measure of how much isenough." As a result, it comes down to how much effort is needed inthe preparation, "and what's the payoff."

Overall, the largest companies surveyed--those with 10,000employees or more, or 44 percent of those queried--seemed to bemost satisfied with their plans. NERRTC said having access to moreresources to plan, train, equip and conduct exercises could accountfor the increased satisfaction.

Larger companies tended to have more money to spend onpreparedness and were able to dedicate employees to contingencyplanning, he said.

In smaller organizations, however, disaster planning andresponse is assigned to mid- and upper-level managers in more thanhalf the companies surveyed. These managers, the survey found, havebeen tasked with disaster recovery responsibilities in addition totheir primary duties.

While a vast majority of respondents across industries haveupdated their disaster response and recovery plans within the pastyear (83 percent), a considerable number reported they do not trainemployees on the plans or conduct exercises regularly to assesstheir effectiveness.

Experts caution that developing a plan without also training andexercising may be cause for concern, NERRTC said.

According to the study, the least prepared sector of the sixindustries surveyed was commercial real estate, which Mr. Lobdellexplained includes building management and related companies ofnonresidential buildings such as landmarks, offices, hotels andmotels.

A majority of commercial real estate respondents--53percent--said their companies have not conducted exercises on theirdisaster plans within the past year. Of those that had, 32 percentrated those exercises as "poor" or "fair."

Although the energy industry appeared to be most prepared interms of response planning, training and exercising, nearly 19percent of energy respondents said their companies have notconducted exercises on their disaster plans in the past year.

Most experts recommend conducting an exercise at least once aquarter, depending on the specific risks identified for the companyand site, according to NERRTC.

An exercise that brings all parts of the emergency response plantogether at least once a year also should be part of an overallprogram, as it allows companies to assess their plans and training.It also gives an opportunity to test equipment in response to arange of realistic scenarios.