Analysis and Assessments

Hazards Assessment
A Hazards Assessment should be completed every three to five years.  This involves a comprehensive review of current operations and hazards associated with each operation.

CRA's EM/BC Group will conduct a site assessment to gather essential data/information to support a Hazards Assessment Report.  
 
The site hazards assessment produces a working knowledge of the facility and support facilities such as waste treatment and powerhouses, etc.  It also establishes key points of contact for management, staff, and, if assigned, emergency responders, that will be incorporated into the planning effort.  The assessment also includes gathering pertinent documentation, reviewing existing plans and procedures, and validating local, city, state/province and Federal regulations.

This effort identifies voids in the plant's existing program and establishes the foundation for incorporating an emergency management model. Regulatory standards are also reviewed for applicability.
 
The compiled results create the infrastructure for supporting the hazards assessment, plan, and procedure development.

Risk Assessment 
A Risk Assessment (RA) is a research and analysis process that evaluates four main planning factors: your organization/capabilities, your facility, its location, and the area surrounding it.  This process identifies operational risks that will impact the facility's organization and operations. 

CRA's EM/BC Group can advise/recommend mitigating steps to be taken that will reduce your overall risk levels.  Risks or threat factors that cannot be mitigated or engineered-out figure prominently in the recovery strategies that are developed and documented in a CRA unique Risk Assessment Report, which is usually combined with a Recovery Plan for the facility.
 

Vulnerability Assessments
In today's environment, more and more regulations are requiring Vulnerability Assessments (i.e. Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standard [CFATS] 6 CFR Part 27.)  A Vulnerability Assessment is the analysis and examination of the interrelationships among assets, threats, vulnerabilities, and countermeasures that protect individuals, facilities, and operations. 

CRA's EM/BC Group has assembled an elite team of leading counter-terrorism and security experts to provide our clients with a methodical and practical approach for identifying assets that are most attractive from the perspective of attack by an adversary, based on the following key factors:

  •  Criticality
  •  Accessibility
  •  Recoverability
  •  Vulnerability
  •  Effect
  •  Recognizability

This is known as the CARVER methodology, which involves both a qualitative and a quantitative assessment of a facility's vulnerabilities based on offensive and defensive perspectives.  The CARVER Methodology is one of the few methodologies embraced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.


At the conclusion of a Vulnerability Assessment, the CRA EM/BC Group develops a Vulnerability Assessment and Countermeasures Report with recommendations to protect each facility and/or operations.