The real test of a business continuity plan is not the first hour of an incident, it’s day three. Organisations across the UK are increasingly facing prolonged disruptions: extended power outages, sustained protest activity, severe weather events, cyber-physical incidents or infrastructure failures. In these scenarios, the immediate response phase gives way to a more complex challenge: maintaining safe operations, controlled access and workforce resilience over time…
Staffing resilience beyond the first shift
Most security teams can mobilise effectively for short-term incidents. The difficulty emerges when disruption extends across multiple days or weeks.
Fatigue, shift cover gaps and decision fatigue can quickly erode operational discipline. In prolonged incidents, maintaining perimeter integrity, access control and situational awareness requires structured rotation planning, clear delegation and support for frontline supervisors.
Leading organisations in 2026 are stress-testing not just their response plans, but their people capacity models. This includes identifying reserve staff, cross-training personnel, and building agreements with external providers for surge cover that can be activated rapidly.
Managing contractor dependency
Modern estates depend heavily on contractors, from maintenance engineers to specialist security system providers. During extended incidents, these dependencies can become vulnerabilities.
Access restrictions, transport disruption or competing client priorities may limit contractor availability just when it is needed most. Security leaders must therefore map critical contractor relationships in advance, identifying which services are essential to continuity and what fallback arrangements exist.
In some cases, organisations are building limited in-house capability for high-risk functions to reduce reliance on single external providers.
Controlling public and tenant access
For commercial estates, healthcare sites or transport hubs, public access cannot simply be switched off during disruption. Instead, access must be carefully managed to maintain service while reducing risk.
Prolonged incidents often require revised access permissions, rerouted footfall and temporary closures of specific zones. Clear signage, updated digital access controls and consistent communication are essential to prevent confusion.
Security teams must also anticipate behavioural shifts. Frustration, uncertainty and misinformation can increase the risk of confrontation or non-compliance, particularly in public-facing environments.
Communication and coordination
Extended disruption places strain not only on operations but on coordination. Security must align closely with facilities, IT, HR and senior leadership to ensure decisions are consistent and proportionate.
Regular briefings, centralised incident logs and defined escalation thresholds support clarity under pressure.
Designing for endurance
Continuity under pressure is about endurance. Systems that work during a short-term incident may degrade if not designed for sustained operation.
The most resilient organisations are those that view prolonged disruption as a realistic scenario, not an exception. By planning for staffing resilience, contractor reliability and controlled public access, physical security leaders can maintain safety and service even when disruption refuses to resolve quickly.
True resilience is about sustaining control over time.
Are you searching for Business Continuity solutions for your organisation? The Total Security Summit can help!
Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash
