Emergency Preparedness

As the world has watched the devastation unfold in Japan over the last six days, it has been amazing to see the calm and orderly fashion with which both the government and public sectors have responded. It should bring to light for all of us that we should have emergency plans prepared and rehearsed for both our personal and professional lives.

Although I frequently write about Safety Programs and Safety Planning, it should be noted and understood that this is only half of the equation. An Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan should also be in-place. These are two different documents:

• Safety Programs and Safety Planning is what you do to prevent and accident.
• Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan is what you do after an accident, threat, or disaster has occurred.

Both involve a written plan that is regularly reviewed and updated.

Emergency Response Plans must cover a wide variety of scenarios from personnel injuries, natural events (weather, earthquake), to man-made threats like fire, public security, and other building related failures. Each scenario is unique, and so is the response.

During a fire or bomb threat you will typically evacuate a building, where a tornado or gunman on campus might require a lock-down to keep everyone in a structurally safe part of the building. Filling your concrete bunkers with scenery and props from old shows could possibly rob you of a secure space to house people.

Put the plans together with the help of professionals – they have the knowledge needed to do this, and you have the unique understanding of the building and how it is normally used and occupied.

Your plan should have designated Assembly Point (sometimes called “Muster Point”). These are not ‘Assembly Areas’ in the sense of a theatre or auditorium room, but instead are pre-designated spaces, both inside and outside of the building (depending upon the appropriate destination), where everyone is supposed to gather and allow you to get a head-count. One good way to do start this to label each door of your facility with a highly visible unique designation (A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, etc.). This is useful for a variety of things, most markedly is the ease of arranging a meeting with anyone for any reason (“Meet me at Door 23.”), to calling Emergency Services (“I have person with a twisted ankle just outside Door 14.”).

Additionally, there may be a requirement for ‘Assembly Points’ or ‘Muster Stations’ that are some distance from the building so persons don’t congregate around the entrances / exits. These places are typically marked with a sign on a post that has the international “Muster Point” symbol, a unique designator (number or letter), and maybe an Emergency Call Station.

Work with your facility Safety Team to get these critical markings into place so that First Responders can assess and address your situation as fast as possible.