Emergencies are always unexpected but are a potential threat that can happen at any time. By definition, emergencies are events that can endanger one’s life and include fire, severe weather, floods, chemical spills, robberies, medical emergencies and other physical threats. These are all unforeseen events, which may occur accidentally, despite having proper prevention systems installed. A lot of them cannot be controlled directly, and may not even be caused by humans. Accidents like these are just a small example of what possible threats there are for work environments and preventing them and the bad outcome of one such unfortunate event should be top priority for any work safety system.
In order to provide best emergency response, any company must establish standards and rules that each and every employee should follow. In order to have the best outcome, it comes down to being prepared in order to avoid panic. This means that all personnel, from workers to people with proper office clearance to all areas and activities in a company must be familiar with safety and prevention procedures. Successfully responding to emergency situations requires few things:
– Establish emergency action plan. Accidents and threatening events are best handled by having an action plan. This includes and suggests exactly what all employees and employers should do in order to minimize risk for their lives, property and environment. A lot of businesses are required to have such plan established, but often times it is not a must. It is, however, a good idea to develop it, regardless of your business, to ensure that people know what to do in case a situation occurs.
– Emergency action plans should be developed by experts, but managers should be included as well. Anyone with enough clearance to access certain areas is under potential threat, and everyone in a company should be included. Employees should know what evacuation protocols to follow, what safety procedures to implement in order to avoid life threats.
– Assure that your building has proper means of detecting emergencies. This includes having the right fire detection system, security camera monitoring and other tools that will allow one to spot a potential emergency before it develops to a big threat.
– Buildings should have emergency exits. In addition to having safe routes and escape plans, any building should have sufficient equipment to help in dealing with emergencies.
– After an emergency, all workers and staff should be familiarized with follow-up procedures, such as reporting and identifying causes for the emergency, aiding the authorities and ensuring that proper waste removal and cleaning of the workplace is done, before entering the building again. Often times, professional waste removal service will be required.
– Often time emergencies will require medical assistance. Make sure that there is a trained person, who can offer assistance when it is needed. Additionally, make sure that you call the medical authorities as soon as possible. Make sure there is easy access to all areas of your building, as time is of the essence.
Developing such procedures is often times crucial for any business operation. Reducing the risk for employees and the factors that contribute to emergency situations should be a top priority for management.
