Weathering the Storm: Hurricane Plan Enables GCA to Keep Business Going

Imagine having your business threatened by a natural disaster. Now picture this occurrence four times in the same month. This was the unwelcome reality facing uniform manufacturers and store owners throughout Florida as the state was pummeled by four major hurricanes during the month of September, giving it the dubious distinction of being the first state since Texas in 1886 to be hit by so many storms in one season. While the cost of the damage inflicted by Charley , Frances , Ivan and Jeanne is still being tallied, the Miami Herald puts the figure at $26 billion, a substantial increase from the original $8 billion estimate.

With storm-torn Florida the primary focus of the news media last month, UniformMarket News Magazine decided to investigate the impact this unusual weather pattern had on the uniform industry in the Sunshine State , and what types of measures, if any, owners took to minimize the obvious interruption to their businesses. Did manufacturers and retailers develop an effective contingency plan? Can you ever plan for such a catastrophe?

If you’re Garment Corporation of America , a leading manufacturer of industrial uniforms and career apparel, the answers to these questions are an unequivocal yes. While sunny South Florida is usually a great place to live and work, GCA’s world headquarters are located on Miami Beach , which is often in the “line of fire” during hurricane season. As an island, Miami Beach must be evacuated whenever a hurricane warning is issued, meaning that hurricane landfall is expected within 24 hours. An evacuation, of course, means an interruption of normal business activities. “It is the cost of doing business in Florida ,” notes GCA President David Shulevitz. “For the most part, being headquartered in the state has been a tremendous advantage for us. Customers are eager to visit, and it gives us the opportunity to show them first-hand what our company can do for them. But we are located on a barrier island, and during hurricane season, this can present many challenges.”

With a hurricane threat ever present, it was essential for GCA to develop a strategy that would enable them to conduct business under any circumstances. What they came up with not only fulfilled this requirement, but was achieved without the customer ever knowing of its existence.

After Andrew hit South Florida in 1992, a category five storm that left a path of death and destruction in its wake while devastating the region’s economy, GCA knew it had to develop an emergency operations center far removed from its Miami Beach location. Called a cold site, so named because it stays dormant or “cold” until needed, it is housed at GCA’s distribution center in Atlanta , Georgia . “The cold site came about as a direct result of what we learned from Andrew,” notes Shulevitz.

Once a hurricane watch is posted, meaning that a storm could strike within 72 hours, GCA personnel begin implementing its emergency preparedness program. The decision to activate the cold site needs to be made days in advance, and requires careful monitoring of the weather event. “Airline tickets have to be purchased, and key employees need to be ready to fly up to Atlanta ,” Shulevitz notes. “Since the airports could shut down on a moment’s notice, it is critical to stay on top of the situation, which is ever changing. If we wait too long and our employees are stranded, then our business suffers.”

Remarkably, the cold site has been utilized only once this year, during Frances . Forced to shut down because of mandatory evacuation orders, GCA Miami went “cold,” while GCA Atlanta sprang into life. Before leaving, employees must first, however, prepare the Miami location to reduce the risk of damage. “Since our offices are on the second and third floors of a large office building, we can’t just ‘board up’ like other businesses, so we take precautions,” says Roberta Warner, GCA’s operations supervisor. “All computers are moved into interior offices and covered with plastic, and all pictures and glass items are moved as well.” Important files are covered. A complete backup system is taken offsite, and an additional one is made for the trip to Atlanta . Customer service order lines are switched to the Atlanta site via a phone call.

Housed in a suite of offices in the Atlanta facility, the cold site is large enough to accommodate eight employees and includes a main AS400 computer that is identical to the one in Miami . Ample computer terminals enable employees to conduct business as usual. Among the first personnel dispatched to the site are computer support technicians and customer service representatives. Representatives from Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and the Credit Departments are also on hand and are prepared to do their jobs for as long as needed over an extended period of time. “Fortunately, our longest stays have only been about two days,” notes Warner. What about garment manufacture? Although the need for it has never arisen, Shulevitz has “handshake” agreements with other manufacturers in the state. If one goes down for an extended period of time, the other will have use of the unaffected factory.

Customers, for the most part, are unaware of the alternative site. “The only ones who know about it are the ones who ask, and they’re generally shocked but pleased to see we’re still operating,” says Customer Service Manager Michele Paige.

And that’s exactly the way it was designed. “It is seamless, invisible to the customer,” notes Shulevitz.

Yet all the uncertainty does take its toll, particularly on employees. “It can be stressful, but you have to have a sense of humor,” admits Warner. “We all worry about our families.” And employee apprehension can affect productivity. How do you balance corporate goals against employee needs? Compassion with the bottom line? Says Shulevitz: “We work very hard to send the message that GCA’s viability is directly linked to them. We reward the people who travel and compensate them well for doing so. Their sacrifices are acknowledged publicly, and they are identified to their peers as GCA ‘heroes’.”

And even though the financial cost of such an operation is considerable, it’s a cost Shulevitz is willing to absorb, and for a very good reason. “It’s a greater financial burden not to do this,” he says. “If a customer can’t reach me, they’ll call someone else, and that’s the reality nowadays.”

For those in the industry without a cold site, Shulevitz nonetheless predicts advantages in the long term. “If a hurricane warning is issued and you close your business but the storm never comes, your business will clearly suffer. But that hasn’t been the case this year. Billions are coming into Florida from the government and insurance industries. Workers involved in the rebuilding effort will require uniforms. So while the storms have been disruptive, there is a big side benefit too.”