Other industries, he added, don't necessarily have the same regulatory guidelines to follow. The tendency toward preparedness was based more on a company's size rather than whether it is nationally or internationally based.

Mr. Lobdell explained that organizations don't feel adequately prepared because there is "no direct measure of how much is enough." As a result, it comes down to how much effort is needed in the preparation, "and what's the payoff."

Overall, the largest companies surveyed--those with 10,000 employees or more, or 44 percent of those queried--seemed to be most satisfied with their plans. NERRTC said having access to more resources to plan, train, equip and conduct exercises could account for the increased satisfaction.

Larger companies tended to have more money to spend on preparedness and were able to dedicate employees to contingency planning, he said.

In smaller organizations, however, disaster planning and response is assigned to mid- and upper-level managers in more than half the companies surveyed. These managers, the survey found, have been tasked with disaster recovery responsibilities in addition to their primary duties.

While a vast majority of respondents across industries have updated their disaster response and recovery plans within the past year (83 percent), a considerable number reported they do not train employees on the plans or conduct exercises regularly to assess their effectiveness.

Experts caution that developing a plan without also training and exercising may be cause for concern, NERRTC said.

According to the study, the least prepared sector of the six industries surveyed was commercial real estate, which Mr. Lobdell explained includes building management and related companies of nonresidential buildings such as landmarks, offices, hotels and motels.

A majority of commercial real estate respondents--53 percent--said their companies have not conducted exercises on their disaster plans within the past year. Of those that had, 32 percent rated those exercises as "poor" or "fair."

Although the energy industry appeared to be most prepared in terms of response planning, training and exercising, nearly 19 percent of energy respondents said their companies have not conducted exercises on their disaster plans in the past year.

Most experts recommend conducting an exercise at least once a quarter, depending on the specific risks identified for the company and site, according to NERRTC.

An exercise that brings all parts of the emergency response plan together at least once a year also should be part of an overall program, as it allows companies to assess their plans and training. It also gives an opportunity to test equipment in response to a range of realistic scenarios.