Reference no: EM133180336
Article:
EMERGENCY PLAN: An emergency plan is simply the carefully prepared answer to the question, "What do we do if a disaster suddenly occurs?" Every workplace, company, institution or municipality should have one. However, the size and scope will vary depending on the size, nature and degree of risk involved. For many office workplaces, the emergency plan would consist of little more than a fire evacuation plan - get everyone to safety and call 911. For larger companies or institutions, the plan would become correspondingly more complex. And, of course, for companies with higher potential risks - think oil refineries or chemical plants - the emergency plan would be extensive, detailed and highly technical.
Creating an emergency plan (or disaster plan) is a big job that has to be done right. But there is help available - the Canadian Standards Association has a standard (CSA Z-731) and so does the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 1600). Both envision a planning process that follows a number of established steps, as outlined below.
1 Assemble a working committee composed of representatives from all the staff, departments or groups affected, and appoint a coordinator. Members are chosen to provide their specialized knowledge and to carry out tasks in their areas of expertise.
2 Identify all possible risks (see Types of Emergencies) and assess each in terms of frequency (how often they could be expected to happen) and severity (how serious the consequences could be).
3 In consultation with outside groups and agencies (e.g., neighbouring companies, the fire department and so on) determine where your responsibility ends and where your plan must interface with those of others.
4 Make a list of all available resources that may be called upon in an emergency. This would start with the obvious ones, such as local fire, police and medical emergency services, include provincial and national departments and agencies, and extend to such things as equipment rental agencies and backup suppliers of critical items.
5 Develop a system for notifying all the required people in the event of an emergency. The key elements are as follows: Who decides when people are to be notified? Who needs to be notified and in what order? How will they be notified? Who notifies them? The most common approach is the "fan-out," meaning the first person notifies two, three or four people (or their backups). They, in turn, each notify several others, and so on down the line.
6 Assign duties to individuals and departments (or agencies). All individuals with assigned responsibilities must have clearly identified backups. Groups, departments or agencies with assigned responsibilities must have detailed plans of their own.
7 Put together a management and control structure with clearly identified duties and responsibilities. (The "incident management system" detailed in NFPA 1561 is one commonly used model.)
8 Define the communications systems that will be used. Note that communications systems are often affected by large-scale disasters - phones knocked out, the Internet down and so on. (Remember also that almost all cell phone traffic travels over land lines at some point and can be knocked out when land-based systems are down.) Radio systems used in large workplaces, as well as those used by police and fire departments, have limited range and capacity. Ultimately, people delivering notes and messages, either directly or to operating communications centres, may have to be relied upon.
9 Liaise with other groups in the community to coordinate plans. These will include local emergency services, but could involve other industries, organizations and so on.
10 Put together a detailed draft of the disaster plan covering all areas noted previously. Then circulate the plan to all stakeholders, have them review and assess it, and make recommendations for improvements. Revise and circulate again.
11 Test the disaster plan. With more complex plans, it's usually best to do dry runs on each component of the plan - for example, start by testing just the notification system to see if all key players can be contacted within a reasonable time. Then test other components. Finally, test the whole plan (with perhaps a "mock disaster") to see how well the pieces fit together.
12 Revise the plan according to what has been learned in the various tests, both in terms of filling in the details required to make the plan work, and making changes, additions or deletions from the plan to make it fit local conditions.
13 Have the plan approved by the people in charge - stated as policy (i.e., a standing order from management that this is what will be done in case of an emergency) or promulgated as a bylaw in the case of a municipality.
14 Advertise and publicize the plan so that everyone knows about it. Arrange briefing and training sessions for people directly affected. As well, contact the local media to apprise the community.
TYPES OF EMERGENCIES
The basic process for determining risk requires considering all things that could occur and that have the potential for disastrous consequences. The list will differ from one situation to another. However, one place to start is with a generally accepted list of things to consider. NFPA 1600 notes that these include "natural events," such as avalanches, earthquakes, extreme heat/cold, lightning storms and snow/ice/hail storms; "technological events," such as building or structural collapse, communications failure, explosions/fire, hazardous materials releases and transportation accidents; and "human events," such as arson, economic collapse, general strike, sabotage and terrorism.
BIGGEST PITFALL: There is always the risk that a seemingly good plan that covers all the bases gets put in the filing cabinet and is effectively forgotten. That's why a key part of the plan itself must be to provide for regular review by all key personnel, and regular testing of components of the plan.
Task:
Provide a summary of the article, include your thoughts relative to how you think emergency planning has changed in the workplace, from a health and safety perspective, following the disaster of September 11th, 2001.