It seems like we have, in the past decade, navigated an extraordinary convergence of threats Climate-related challenges have intensified, with extreme weather events occurring with alarming frequency—endangering workforces and creating operational havoc across industries. The pandemic left us reeling from disruptions, but just when things seemed to get better, we got slammed with supply chain threats and disruptions. 

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Meanwhile, the regulatory environment resembles is not just getting more complex but also  shifts unpredictably, forcing us to constantly adapt  compliance strategies across different jurisdictions.
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The dangers are not just physical: reputation management has become increasingly precarious as negative publicity can instantly amplify through social media channels, potentially devastating brand equity within hours. 
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We know the impact to the bottom line is catastrophic, and we know that our organizations need to be more resilient than ever. But with everything that’s going on, is it even possible to maintain a semblance of operational resilience?

We think the answer is yes — and that organizations that prioritize resilience not only survive disruptions but emerge stronger and more competitive.

What is operational resilience (and how is it different from business continuity) 

Operational resilience is the capability of an organization to continue delivering products or services in the face of disruptive events like the ones we described above. Unlike traditional business continuity, which primarily focuses on recovery after disruption, operational resilience emphasizes prevention, adaptation, and the ability to thrive despite adverse conditions.

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While business continuity remains essential, organizations facing environmental threats need the more comprehensive approach that operational resilience provides. The two disciplines work together—operational resilience provides the strategic framework, while business continuity offers tactical response capabilities.

In his seminal work on operational resilience and safety, “Controlling Risk in a Dangerous World” Jim Wetherbee, a retired NASA astronaut, US navy officer, and veteran of six Space Shuttle missions, argues that organizations can systematically control operational risks by applying specific principles of operational excellence developed in high-reliability industries like aviation and spaceflight.

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But the most important element of both operational resilience and business continuity is the human factor. Wetherbee argues that the techno-social organization of labor is just as important as the typical "root cause analysis”. 

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Environmental hazards: the growing threat to operations

Environmental hazards represent some of the most significant threats to operational resilience:

1. Extreme Weather Events: Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and winter storms can damage facilities, disrupt power supplies, and prevent staff from reaching work locations.
2. Rising Temperatures: Heat waves stress cooling systems, increase energy costs, and can create unsafe working conditions
3. Wildfires: Beyond direct damage, wildfires create air quality issues that affect both equipment and personnel. 
4. Sea Level Rise: Coastal facilities face increasing risks from storm surges and flooding.
5. Water Scarcity: Drought conditions can impact water-dependent operations and supply chains.

These hazards have in the past seemed regional and risky only to particular parts of the world, but the increasing spread of environmental threats has left businesses everywhere vulnerable to environmental hazards. 

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While business continuity remains essential, organizations facing environmental threats need the more comprehensive approach that operational resilience provides. The two disciplines work together—operational resilience provides the strategic framework, while business continuity offers tactical response capabilities.

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“I believe accidents are inevitable—but not in my organization—not while I am controlling risk and not when I have the privilege of leading people in dangerous operations”.    Jim Wetherbee, former NASA astronaut

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Why is he so confident?

Lack of operational resilience: a chilling real-life case study

On a late fall morning, a massive storm system swept through the Midwest. Multiple tornadoes touched down in several states, leaving devastation in their wake. In the storm’s path lay a large manufacturing facility with about 50 workers inside.

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Site leaders received a call from central headquarters: weather data predicted an imminent touchdown in their area. Emergency protocol was in place: plant managers searched for written instructions and began to notify staff. With no way to alert everyone at once, they moved through the vast space verbally telling employees to shelter in place. 

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Minutes later, tornado sirens sounded in the distance. Workers who hadn’t been notified yet raised their heads and exchanged glances, but they kept working as they awaited confirmation that this wasn’t a drill. Once they realized this was a real tornado threat, workers began to evacuate the floor, but some who couldn’t remember the designated shelter area gathered in a storage room that seemed safe.

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About 20 minutes after the sirens sounded, a tornado tore into the building, causing parts to collapse. Several workers who’d sheltered in the wrong space or hadn’t left the factory floor in time didn’t survive.

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Communications failures, lack of information, and inadequate training took their toll. In the aftermath—which involved investigations, legal action, and a decline in revenue and productivity—the most significant and lasting impact was the toll on people affected by the failure in crisis response.

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How could this have been avoided?

The role of technology in building and effective operational resilience strategy 

Wetherbee says that true operational and risk resilience—the kind that saves lives—happens at the intersection of procedural, technical efforts, and human training, awareness and attunement to dangerous situations: 

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1. Proper preparation and training for both expected and unexpected scenarios is essential
2. Teams need specific communication patterns and leadership practices to maintain situational awareness
3. Effective risk control depends on creating organizational cultures where safety is prioritized and not held in opposition to performance
4. Organizations must build systematic approaches to learning from experience as well as  near-misses
   
   

What role can technology play here? 

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First, let’s be clear: there is no technology that can replace systems thinking, an organization’s commitment to a safety culture — both operationally, and psychologically—and the right hierarchy of controls. 

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Smart leaders know this: at the recent “Safety on the Edge” conference, I heard a VP of Safety explicitly tell me that he never buys off-the-shelf software. I understand why. Companies we talk to typically buy several technology solutions to solve hazards: a weather solution, a mass notification solution, a camera solution, a biometric solution…all leading to a system of disconnected tools that make it a headache for management to understand and communicate all aspects of risk management.

This leads to situations where the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, so to speak. There is no uniform decision making; rather, decisions are made at the site level, ultimately resulting in overspending and safety risk for associates. In the end each organization requires significant customization to tailored fit to the unique needs and culture of that organization..

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Instead, modern organizations need platforms that can manage all risks: from environmental hazards to facility risk management to managing any connected devices and models. They need an orchestration of sensing devices, nowcasting and forecasting models, display tools, and sophisticated alerting systems that can integrate business workflows and decision making chains.

With such a technology:

• Data-driven decision-making reduces unnecessary downtime and ensures safety
• Analytics turn audit trails into insights for future operational planning. 
• Standardized policies ensure consistent and fair practices across all locations.
• Labor and management aligned on the level of hazard and actions required.
• Automation reduces human error, enhances responsiveness to environmental hazards.

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As a bonus, all this results in more efficient use of resources, increased employee commitment, and, of course, productivity. 

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Case study: an operation transformed 

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In the case of the factory affected by the tornado, here is what this looked like once the management took the right steps:

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1. With regular monthly drills, workers have practiced sheltering in designated locations, and responding to management and one another with status updates
2. When their critical event management software detects a likely tornado touchdown, it automatically takes over every connected device in the facility, from computers to workers’ wearable devices to flatscreens on the walls. The text displayed automatically converts to speech, so the instructions are repeated both in writing and audio
3. Both workers and supervisors receive updates every few minutes on the storm’s status. They post messages from separate shelter locations checking in on the integrity of the spaces and one another’s wellness. 
4. When they receive the all-clear and emerge unharmed from shelters, both management and workers begin assessing damage and next steps for getting the facility operational. This is followed closely by the analysis of the event response. 

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You’ll notice that none of these steps consists strictly of procedural measures. Each requires a safety-oriented culture, deeply embedded practices that everyone in the organization deems important, and advanced use of technology.

Of course, successful crisis management doesn’t make the news like catastrophes do, but empowering people to work together in an emergency builds solidarity, which builds success. 

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As Wetherbee puts it: “Safety enables great performance, which creates mission success”

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From resilience to competitive advantage

Environmental hazards present significant challenges to operational continuity, but organizations that develop robust resilience capabilities can transform these threats into strategic advantages. By taking a comprehensive approach to operational resilience—one that encompasses policy, infrastructure, technology, and people—companies can ensure they not only survive environmental disruptions but emerge stronger.