Advice for businesses to prepare for emergency situations

Business owners in Yorkshire and the Humber are being given free advice through a new online service on how to deal with a range of emergency situations to ensure their enterprises are able to cope during major events.

The new artificial intelligence tool has been launched to provide interactive conversations for businesses across the region about how to prepare for emergencies ranging from flooding, fires and extreme weather to power outages, cyber-attacks and pandemics.

Using an artificial intelligence chatbot, the online tool will allow businesses to have real-time, two-way conversations about emergency preparedness.

Launched this week, the tool will initially be offered to businesses throughout North, West, South Yorkshire and the Humber through a website. Members of the public can also use it to talk about emergency awareness through the interactive website and QR codes.

The Mayor of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, David Skaith, who owns a clothing store in York, said: “I’m pleased to see local resilience forums coming together to develop this app. In emergency situations businesses are at the forefront of how we respond as a community and this tool will support businesses across Yorkshire and beyond to be prepared and ready for emergencies together. 

“We’ve seen how businesses across Yorkshire responded to the Covid-19 pandemic so we know there’s a strong tradition of being resilient and adapting. Through this tool businesses will be able to identify what measures they can take to reduce the impact of disruptions – whether that is a power cut during a storm, flooding, disruption to supply chains due to issues with the road networks, a mains water emergency, or a cyber-attack. 

“It is important that we engage with businesses, and later residents, in different ways and we hope this initiative will spark some great conversations about emergency planning, preparedness and awareness.”  

The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: “Our businesses are constantly having to evolve and adapt to change – changing labour markets, supply chains, technology, regulations, competition, and access to finance.

“What our businesses shouldn’t have to worry about are emergency, often preventable situations – from flooding and extreme weather events to cyber-attacks and transport disruption. So, I’m thrilled to see Yorkshire’s local resilience forums teaming up on this new, easy-to-use support. It’s a fantastic offer to business and I’d encourage all of our local firms to take it up.”

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “I’m proud to partner with mayors across Yorkshire to launch the Yorkshire Ready Together project. We’ve seen first-hand the challenges local businesses have faced in recent years, from flooding to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m determined to support the cause for increased resilience in dealing with emergencies that affect our local businesses and urge business owners to get involved with the Yorkshire Ready Together project, to allow a swift response when dealing with unfolding emergencies. Harnessing new technologies is a vital step towards supporting and protecting South Yorkshire’s businesses and minimising disruption. I hope by using this new tool, businesses will be able to support themselves and one another when faced with challenging situations.”

All conversations and insights gathered are anonymous and no personal information is recorded or held. There is also no need to download any apps or fill out any registration forms.

The project is being supported by the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, the South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, the East Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum and the Humber Local Resilience Forum.

In a survey conducted in October 2023 on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humber LRFs, 63 per cent of respondents felt community resilience to emergencies is worth aiming for. However, 78 per cent felt the lack of information and awareness about risks and how to prepare was the biggest barrier holding their community back from becoming more emergency ready. 

Visit www.yorkshirereadytogether.co.uk to find out more and join the conversation about ensuring businesses are prepared for emergency situations.

About Yorkshire Ready Together:

Yorkshire Ready Together is an accessible, free, real-time conversational tool that helps users prepare for major risks in their own time, in their own space.  

In October 2023 the four Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) that cover Yorkshire and the Humber joined together and bid for some funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). We wanted to create a way for businesses, communities and individuals to talk to an expert about any of the major risks and emergencies that might affect them.   

We knew that being prepared can reduce the mental health impacts, economic impacts and recovery time after a major emergency.  We also knew that finding the right information easily can sometimes be hard work, but speaking to an expert face to face isn’t always possible.  And because lots of other people knew this too, our funding bid was successful. 

We started working with Hello Lamp Post, an expert in new technology, to create Yorkshire Ready Together. For more information, visitwww.yorkshirereadytogether.co.uk.