A thorough, knowledge-based analysis from the outset is vital to the selection of a new critical facility site. Critical facilities — including hospitals, data centers, network operations centers, communications centers, command and control centers, emergency response sites, and public safety and law enforcement facilities — need to be sufficiently robust to remain in operation and survive under stress, whether caused by natural or human agents.
Public safety officials often speak of "incidents on top of incidents" as events that create unpredictable challenges to continuity of operations. If the facility is properly sited, and external risks are fully considered and, if necessary, mitigated, the facility will be in a better position to respond to such challenges.
A recent article in Building Operating Management magazine discusses how carefully developed parameters should be determined at project initiation to identify optimal site characteristics or vulnerabilities that cannot be fully mitigated.