A Backup Plan for Breakdowns: A Worked Template

Scenario: in the middle of a storm, a truck breaks down and its route has no cover. Direct answer: decide before the storm who covers which route, what triggers the switch, what spare equipment exists and how customers are told. The example is invented to show how the pieces fit; adapt it to your own business. It does not describe a real company.

Case: an invented contractor

Imagine a contractor with four trucks, one spare plow and five routes of different priority. The contractor writes a one-page plan before winter.

1. Priorities

• Route A (clinic and care home): highest priority, always covered first.
• Routes B and C: commercial lots, cover within two hours if possible.
• Routes D and E: residential, cover when A to C are safe.

2. Triggers

• A truck is declared down if it cannot be restarted or repaired within 20 minutes at the site.
• The driver calls the dispatcher immediately; the dispatcher decides the cover.

3. Resources

• A spare plow that fits two of the trucks, stored where it can be hooked up in 30 minutes.
• An agreement with a neighbouring contractor for emergency help, with prices agreed in advance.
• A kit with spare edges, bolts, hoses and fluids in every truck.

4. Communication

• A call list for customers on priority routes, with a script.
• A log of what was missed and when, to learn from afterwards.

Steps to build your own

A backup plan is only real when somebody has timed the switch, not just named a spare truck.

1. List routes and rank them by consequence of delay.
2. Decide how long you will try to fix a fault before switching. A number, agreed in advance.
3. Identify spare equipment and who can hook it up. A spare nobody can couple is not a spare.
4. Agree mutual help in writing with another contractor.
5. Test the plan once with a mock breakdown in autumn.

Limits

The numbers above are invented. A plan on paper does not replace maintenance that prevents breakdowns in the first place.

A one-page version

Write the plan on a single page with the priority list, the trigger, the call list and the spare equipment location. A page that fits on a dispatcher’s wall is one that gets used at 3 a.m.

Boundary: The contractor, routes and times in the example are invented and illustrate a method only.