The Corporate Emergency Access System (CEAS) Program helps businesses within the City of Philadelphia mitigate damage and loss resulting from a disaster or emergency by allowing rapid access to restricted areas following emergencies or disasters. Participating businesses are allotted a set number of CEAS access ID cards based on total employee population for critical employees. These critical employees can access work sites to assess damages and retrieve important documents and other business-related items thereby, limiting down-time and speeding recovery.
The CEAS Program gives businesses the opportunity to plan ahead. Not only does this ensure the rapid recovery of essential operations, but CEAS also provides businesses with the ability to rescue valuable assets left behind in an emergency such as cash, checks, and securities; retrieve vital records, hardware and critical equipment; stabilize and sustain core IT systems, conduct damage assessments, and much more.
Implementation of CEAS within the City of Philadelphia was done in partnership with the Business Network of Emergency Resources (BNET), a not-for-profit organization that has administered similar programs in areas such as New York City, Boston, Buffalo, Stamford and Cambridge. BNET is responsible for administering the CEAS program, including overseeing the Participant application and review process; providing training to Cardholders; production and issuance of Cards; and maintaining a database of Cardholders.
Costs for the CEAS program are borne by program participants. However, rather than charge a yearly fee to participating companies, all costs associated with the program (e.g, application management, card production and training,) are built into the cost of the cards. This allows costs to be distributed equitably, with smaller businesses paying a relatively lower fee for their few employees and larger companies paying more, commensurate with their number of critical employees.
Additional Information:
CEAS PowerPoint Presentation