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An emergency situation happens when we least expect it, and if we don’t know how to address it, it could lead to more significant problems later on. That’s why it’s essential for facilities and companies to come up and implement an effective emergency plan that would protect the workers, contractors, and most notably, visitors.
It doesn’t matter if the company plan is under a corporate policy or being controlled by regulated industries. What’s important is that it’s widely accessible as it’s the only way for you to enjoy excellent response and lessen the dramatic impact on your employees during an emergency situation.
As we tackle emergency response plans, you should first have a basic understanding of the management process, and included in this would prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.
Prevention includes being able to avoid and stop any forms of actual act that could possess a threat to the company. Protection would be protecting the citizens, employees, visitors, and residents against any types of threats and hazards. With mitigation, it aims to reduce the loss of life and property by lessening threats, risks, and impacts.
With appropriate responders, you have to be able to act right away to save lives, protect the environment, and the property. Through this, you’ll also be able to address the human needs after an accident. Lastly, with recovery, it’s essential to have an emergency responder kit that contains road flares, fire extinguishers, first aid kit, and other materials that could help you during emergency situations.
For corporations and companies that have multiple sites, it’s highly recommended to utilize an enterprise-wide template capable of streamlining formats and function as an outline for company-mandated information, together with the regulatory compliance content.
Keep in mind though, each location plan should have site-specific details that are unique to the area, as this would have an impact on your response plan, We also suggest creating a customizable, secure web-based template that has a database containing some of the most common company planning details.
To give you a better idea, we’re here to discuss how you could create an effective plan.
Tip #1: Know Your Objectives
Take a moment to assess the preparedness and response planning performance objectives talking about your company’s program. Included in this are the hazard prevention/deterrence, regulatory compliance, emergency response, risk mitigation, and many more.
Tip #2: Determine Response Resources
You also have to determine the availability, as well as the capabilities of resources that you can use to stabilize the situation. This can include systems, equipment, and people within the facility.
Tip #3: Carry Out a Risk Assessment
Pay attention to the threat scenarios and hazard identified while you were assessing the risk.
Tip #4: Create an Incident Management Team
Response plan knowledge is essential for this, as well as role-specific training that would ensure an effective synergy among your team members.
Tip #5: Work on Applicable Regulations
It’s crucial that you try to analyze and determine the response planning regulations that you are going to use for your facilities.
Tip #6: Have a Hazard-Specific Response Procedure
This would depend on your response planning structure, and that means the required content is also part of this. As for the hazard-specific information, you have the option to include it in your response plan, or if you want, come up with a separate stand-alone plan for it. This would be dependent on your needs.
Tip #7: Create a Protective Action Response Procedure
Work on evaluating and try to include life protective action with your procedures. Part of this would be the shelter, evacuation, and many more.
Tip #8: Work with Public Emergency Services
Some of the most common emergency services include the police, fire, HAZMAT team, and emergency medical services. It’s vital that you work with them, and familiarize yourself with how to stabilize an emergency in such a case that a similar situation arises.
Tip #9: Emergency Response Training
Training is essential, and everyone on the site should know what to do during an emergency situation.
Tip #10: Be Responsive to Drills and Exercises
Make sure that you are prepared at all times and know how to handle a drill effectively. This should be part of your response plan, and that means one of your duties include being responsive at all times.
