Business Continuity Planning Checklist

Catalog the functions that cannot pause for more than a workday: sealed deliverable issuance, active project file access, EOR review of RFIs and submittals, and ongoing CA observation reports. Tie each function to the contractual turnaround window it serves so prioritization isn't abstract.

Document upstream dependencies for production: ProjectWise / ACC / BIM 360, Revit and AutoCAD network license servers, specialty solvers (SAP2000, ETABS, RAM, HEC-RAS, IDEA StatiCa), Bluebeam Studio sessions, plotters, and Deltek Vantagepoint for billing. Note vendor SLAs and the contact for each.

RTOs differ sharply between an active CD-phase project (hours) and archived records older than the statute of repose (days). Capture the matrix so backup and failover investment is sized to actual exposure rather than averaged.

Cover the realistic set: ransomware encrypting CAD/BIM file servers, office fire or flood, key EOR incapacitation, license server outage, subconsultant failure mid-submittal, ITAR/CUI data exposure. Avoid pure-IT framings — engineering operations also fail when a single licensed PE is unreachable for two weeks.

Use the BIA outputs from Section 1. Flag any scenario whose recovery time exceeds the RTO of an active CD-phase project. Score impact in terms of contractual penalties, schedule slip, and statute-of-repose claim exposure — not just dollars lost in the disruption window.

Validate secondary office capacity, VPN headroom for full-firm remote work, and plotter access at the backup site. A remote-only fallback is acceptable for most disciplines but rarely sufficient for survey, large-format markup review, or sealed-original handling.

Test restoration of one sample project end-to-end: sealed PDFs, dated and page-numbered calc packages, native CAD/BIM, specifications, and the revision history table. A backup that hasn't been restored is a backup that doesn't exist.

Document each gap from the restoration test, assign an owner, and close before the BCP is approved. Common findings: native Revit linked-model breakage on restore, missing calc package PDFs, and CAD seal metadata stripped during sync.

Confirm fallback paths for AutoCAD and Revit network licenses, SAP2000, ETABS, HEC-RAS, RAM, and IDEA StatiCa. Standalone seat reserves or vendor cloud-license bridging both work; an unverified failover does not.

Include activation criteria, decision authority, RTO/RPO targets, per-system recovery procedures, EOR succession, and external communication. Anchor the document in the NSPE Code of Ethics paramountcy clause — public safety governs every activation decision.

Owners with active sealed deliverables, AHJs awaiting permit responses, subconsultants on critical path, the E&O carrier, and discipline leads. Include after-hours contacts; a Friday-night ransomware event doesn't wait for Monday.

Define who contacts each owner on day 1 of activation, what the comment-response and submittal-log status snapshot looks like, and how to request submittal-clock pauses with the AHJ. Pre-drafted language reduces hours of scramble during an actual event.

Walk a realistic case: ransomware encrypts the CAD/BIM environment two business days before a 60% submittal. Step through activation, EOR notification, owner communication, license-server failover, and submittal-clock pause requests. Time the response and capture friction points.

Rank gaps by RTO impact, assign each to a named owner, and set a closure date. Track to completion before the next annual cycle; an open gap from last year's tabletop is a finding the E&O carrier will notice.

Reflect PE additions and departures, state license renewals and lapses, and any revisions to EOR succession authority. A succession matrix that names a PE who left the firm three months ago is worse than no matrix.

Run a quarterly restoration test on a different sample project than last quarter. Document the evidence — the date, project number, restored artifact list, and any drift from production.