GASAA Continuity Planning in Print session series

A free national series of emergency contingency and continuity planning workshops for printing business owners and managers will be kicking off in early February, with the first session to be held in Adelaide.

The ‘Continuity Planning in Print’ sessions are a joint venture between GASAA and Printing Industries, and will feature over 45 industry panellists sharing their advice and knowledge on continuity and contingency planning for all printing businesses.

Funded by the government’s Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, the session series was developed in response to the impact natural disasters such as the Queensland floods and the Victorian fires have had on printing businesses in affected areas.

While prompted by natural disasters, however, the series will also answer business owners’ questions about everyday continuity planning such as sickness, machinery failure, and supplier relations, among others.

GASAA executive officer, Garry Knespal (pictured), says that the workshop series will be useful for metropolitan and rural business owners alike, with each session adapted to address the primary business continuity issues in its specific geographical location.

“This is not just about printers being caught up in a flood,” says Knespal. “It’s about simple things that can happen, such as staff leaving unexpectedly. We’ll be addressing other developments that can happen, like machinery issues, or supplier issues – there are lots of examples of how the unexpected can happen.”

Not only has GASAA teamed up with Printing Industries representatives across the country for the series, but also with the Business Continuity Institute – a network of consultants who help big industry develop business continuity planning strategies.

“From an IT disaster to a healthcare epidemic, they have offered to have a consultant at as many venues as we could arrange,” says Knespal, of the institute’s involvement in the sessions.

The sessions will be held in a Q & A format, and will be run in 13 locations across Australia. The sessions will be free to attend, and will run from 5.30pm to 8pm on their respective evenings.

To register, click here.

Session dates:

February

February 8: Adelaide
February 9: Perth
February 13: Gold Coast
February 14: Brisbane
February 20: Morwell
February 21: Melbourne
February 22: Bendigo
February 23: Hobart

March

March 6: Canberra
March 7: Bathurst
March 8: Sydney
March 13: Newcastle
March 20: Sydney