In Case of Emergency: Contingency Planning at Am-Tran

We get asked routinely about contingency planning in the case of an emergency. Whether it’s an earthquake, a power outage, whatever, customers want to know—when systems break down—how we are going to keep providing the services that support their critical missions. It’s especially relevant when dealing with medical specimens, hospital supplies, pharmaceuticals, and the like.

Last month we had just such a challenge: a bug in an update from some company called CrowdStrike caused systems around the world to crash. Airline travel was snarled for days. At Am-Tran, our enterprise software, including our order entry system and dispatch portal, was completely compromised for six hours during the afternoon.

Dispatch and order entry is crucial to Am-Tran's operation. When the system went down the company had to rely on its emergency protocols: manually documenting customer calls using call sheets, manually assigning drivers and job numbers, and communicating via an independent chat messaging system. Drivers were equipped to keep manual records of chain of custody, and to relay and document job updates through chat. If customers needed tracking information, dispatchers answered the call.

We prepared for this by teaching the fundamentals of maintaining the chain of custody. We prepared for this by having paper backup systems in the dispatch office and driver vehicles. We prepared for this by having a company culture that finds solutions to overcome obstacles. In this case, most customers were not even aware of the outage.

“RP Healthcare contracts with Am-Tran to provide deliveries to our patients. The recent software issue that crashed many systems (including Am-Tran’s) had us concerned about getting medications to our patients. I was very pleased with Am-Tran’s response plan that seamlessly enabled them to provide their usual, reliable, courier service.” —John O’Connell, MS

No company likes to have their systems disrupted, but things inevitably come up from time to time. What’s truly important is how they react to those challenges. At Am-Tran we do emergency planning. It is part of our culture. It’s something that our customers can rely on.