Varuplaanide

Varuplaanide refer to contingency or backup plans designed to ensure continuity of operations when normal procedures are disrupted.

In Estonian, varuplaanide is the genitive plural of varuplaan, formed from varu meaning spare or backup and plaan meaning plan.

These plans are used across sectors, including business, information technology, public safety, and government. They outline alternative actions, resources, and responsibilities that can be activated when primary processes fail or when unforeseen events occur, such as outages, supply disruption, or natural hazards.

A varuplaan typically includes the identification of critical functions, a risk assessment, activation triggers, alternative workflows, required personnel and facilities, data and communications requirements, and testing and maintenance procedures.

Development and maintenance follow a lifecycle: risk assessment and business impact analysis; plan design and approval; training and exercises; activation during disruption; deactivation and post-event review; and periodic revision to reflect changes in operations or threats.

Varuplaanide are closely related to broader concepts such as business continuity planning, disaster recovery, and incident management. They are often integrated into organizational risk management frameworks and aligned with statutory or regulatory requirements where applicable.

Examples include an IT disaster recovery plan that switches to a backup data center, a manufacturing contingency plan for alternate suppliers, and a municipal emergency response plan that coordinates agencies during a major incident.