Knowledge Zone

Here you will find articles, archive blogs and case studies that PlanB have used or created over the years. To find information please type a keyword into the search box or click on the relevant tag.

We publish weekly updates from the business continuity world, covering recent news items or reflecting on our travels and experiences with clients.

Charlie addresses topics from a Business Continuity perspective and you might be surprised how much of today’s news relates to BC! Providing valuable insight, Charlie raises critical questions which will surely encourage you to reconsider your Business Continuity plans.

Should We Be Using AI to Transcribe Incident or Crisis Team Meetings?

In today’s bulletin, Charlie talks about transcribing in meetings and looks into the pros and cons of recording meetings. I was having a long discussion with my colleague, Jamie Lees, this morning all about a talk we are giving for Business Continuity Awareness Week. We have a working title of “Man or Machine: Who Should Run Your Next

Heathrow Power Outage: Unseen Lessons

In today’s bulletin, Charlie discusses Heathrow Airport’s recent power outage and gives advice on how we can learn from the event. I did a load of research for this week’s podcast, so I thought I would use that research to write the bulletin as well. I wrote a bulletin some time ago on the CrowdStrike incident and whether consultants should add their

Who Should Lead Your Crisis or Incident Team?

In this week’s bulletin, Charlie discusses the role of a leader in a crisis team and looks at some of the key things to consider when choosing a leader. I went to an interesting and informative webinar this week titled ‘How to Lead Effectively in a Crisis‘, with Jonathan Hemus asking the questions and Sean Cunningham, Group Crisis

Some Observations On The Baroness Mone of Mayfair OBE’s Crisis Management

In this week’s bulletin, Charlie discusses the controversy surrounding Michelle Mone and her husband Douglas Barrowman, and provides some advice around how we can improve our crisis management. I was listening to the news on the radio this morning, and they were talking about the recent revelations about the tax schemes which Michelle Mone’s husband, Douglas Barrowman, is

The Post Office Scandal – Why Now?

In this week’s bulletin, Charlie discusses the Post Office scandal and why, only now, has the scandal become headline news. You can’t avoid the post office scandal in the news this week, so I thought I should write about it. What I find interesting about this scandal is why it is now mainstream news, with the conservative government

The ‘Great A9 Disaster’ of 8th December 2023

This week, Charlie talks about his experiences with dealing with an incident on the road and discusses what he learnt from the situation. As I have mentioned a few times on this bulletin, I spend a lot of my time telling people how to respond to incidents rather than being part of the response myself. I have been

Use of Cyber Threat Intelligence to Guide Crisis Response: A Checklist for Crisis Teams

In this week’s bulletin, Charlie discusses the questions that organisations should be considering when carrying out a potential response to a cyber-attack, including how the attacker got into the system and what their potential motives could be.   When organisations are the subject of a cyber-attack, many plans I have seen do not include some questions or a

A Conversation about Resilience during the Ukrainian War

Charlie Maclean-Bristol FBCI and Gianluca Riglietti CBCI discuss resilience at a time where the conflict in Ukraine dominates the global scene.  During this informal conversation, Charlie and Gianluca address arising issues from the war in Ukraine such as cyber security and supply chain disruptions, as well as discussing related topics including the power of fake news and propaganda,

Boris, Watt and the Footballer

Charlie discusses the three biggest headlines dominating the news this past week! He covers topics from Boris to BrewDog and football. Kim and I went to Cheltenham last week to help our daughter settle into her new flat. Since we travelled on Friday, I decided to take a week off writing the bulletin. One thing we listened to

Crisis Support Teams – What are they & do I need one?

Creating an effective crisis management team can be complex as you have to take many factors into consideration. In this bulletin, Charlie outlines his thoughts on creating a crisis support team, and what their functions and roles could be. Four years ago I started working on my PhD with the University of Glasgow. After a few false starts

The Future of Incident & Crisis Management Rooms Post COVID – In a Hybrid Working World

Need a more effective way of conducting video meetings in this new hybrid world? Charlie discusses the pros, cons and solutions for utilising Microsoft Teams within your team and company. With most organisations adopting hybrid working, it is becoming more likely that incidents will be managed by a combination of people in the office and those at home.

Is Crisis Management Only For “Unprecedented and Extraordinary Events”?

In this week’s bulletin, Charlie discusses the debate around the definition of crisis management and what he thinks crisis management should cover. I was chatting with one of my clients in Renfrewshire and we talked through his crisis management plan, which he had taken from the book ‘prTS 17091, Crisis Management – Guidance for Developing a Strategic Capability’

Isle of Coll Fire – A view from the frontline

This week I talk about the recent fire on the remote island of the Isle of Coll. I discuss how the professionals and community responded and how this incident compares to others he has read about. I tell people how to manage disasters not actually take part in one! As a consultant, I tell people how to manage disasters and

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