Emergency Readiness Plans

September 19, 2024

What to know – and do – to be prepared.

Workplace emergencies can occur anywhere, at any time.

“Whether you’re a small-business owner or a large-business owner, it’s important to start thinking about the plans that you have in place to prepare for both natural and man-made disasters as soon as possible,” said Jaclyn Rothenberg, director of public affairs and planning for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Here’s what you need to know to build an effective workplace emergency readiness plan.

Know the risks

“Your safety plan could be the difference between chaos and control,” OSHA says. A risk assessment is a crucial first step.

“You need to know what threats you’re planning for, the likelihood of them and their potential impact,” said Amy Seymour, chief port security and emergency operations officer at Port Houston. “Whether it’s a hurricane, flood, tornado or winter weather, knowing what your organization is up against is key before you create your emergency plan.”

Ready.gov offers risk assessment resources for numerous potential events and hazards, including flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides and even volcanic activity.

As you begin to envision the potential hazards, think about building-related factors such as construction, processes and possible deficiencies. For example, does your building have a sprinkler system? If not, it’ll be more susceptible to fire damage.

“Each hazard could have many possible scenarios happening within or because of it,” the website states.

Seymour recommends including a diverse group of departments when forming and conducting the risk assessment to boost its thoroughness.

Rick Vulpitta is environmental, health and safety manager at Trialco Aluminum LLC and co-author of the National Safety Council’s “On-Site Emergency Response Planning Guide.” He encourages employers to develop charts related to each possible emergency.

“You want to plan for emergencies before they happen,” Vulpitta said. “Do your research. Contact your fire department and local county government emergency response agency and get a history of the disasters and emergencies during the last 50 years.

“They can assist, too, in learning what happened in the past to help you plan for today and tomorrow. Rate the type, frequency, length and impact it would have on your business’s operation, and then you can start planning how to mitigate each disaster and emergency. You’ll find weather emergencies, electric power, water, food and transportation disruptions will need to be addressed and considered because they’ll cause issues lasting several days to a couple of weeks to return to normal operations.”

Create procedures

OSHA’s standard on emergency action plans (1910.38) requires employers to designate and train workers to assist in safe evacuations. Employers also must review the emergency action plan with all workers covered by it.

Organizations with more than 10 employees must develop a written plan, while those with fewer workers can communicate it orally.

Start with simple and clear procedures so that “everybody understands what they need to do,” Seymour said. “Make sure everyone understands their role and responsibilities, and make sure it’s easy to follow. And as an organization grows or as the program itself develops, you can introduce more complexity to it.”

Ready.gov directs employers to form a team to “direct the evacuation of the building and account for all employees outside at a safe location.”

Teams should include a leader, wardens and searchers for each floor, stairwell and elevator monitors, aides for workers with disabilities, and monitors for the assembly area. Additional team members are required for organizations with multiple shifts.

Rothenberg notes that some severe-weather emergencies – such as tornadoes – require workers to shelter in place. Ensure an emergency kit with a flashlight, water and other essential supplies is available. Also, designate a person to monitor news reports for any updates to emergency instructions.

Whether the scenario requires workers to evacuate or move to a designated onsite shelter, employees need regular retraining, Vulpitta stressed. Workers should understand their role in an emergency and how to exit the building in multiple different ways.

They should also know to stay in the designated assembly area so they can be accounted for. Vulpitta said the fire department, before fighting a fire, will conduct a search and rescue if anyone is missing during a roll call. If a worker has evacuated the building but wandered from the assembly site, this could mean additional damage to the facility.

If visitors or contractors are onsite, assist them in evacuating to the assembly area, NSC’s planning guide states.

Communication and training

OSHA 1910.38(d) requires employers to maintain an employee alarm system that uses a “distinctive signal” for each emergency.

Experts recommend supplementing alarm systems with additional backup communication, whether through public-address announcements, phone trees, or email or text alerts.

“Communication is critical in any type of emergency,” Seymour said. “Having a person who is in charge of that communication is the most important thing that you can do.

“It’s important to have different approaches so that you can reach more people. If you have a large facility, you’re going to want to have a multifaceted alert system that will help you get that messaging out.”

Experts stress that the communication process must be ongoing throughout the emergency.

“To many people, the fortune is in the follow-up,” Seymour said. “Making sure that you’re communicating the before, the during and the after of the event. Sometimes, people just want to know everything is fine. If there’s something that’s not fine, then you’ll want to make sure that you’re communicating to people the timeline for the recovery and an estimation of when normal operation is estimated to resume.”

Seymour adds that “your communication is only as good as your training.” She recommends employers conduct emergency response training at least annually or as people change key roles or responsibilities. Seymour also supports regular refresher training, including short video clips that allow workers to sharpen their awareness yet keep their attention.

Drills will help keep employees sharp as well, Vulpitta said, as they allow workers an opportunity for repetition and familiarization.

Vulpitta recommends asking the fire department to observe drills and offer input. He also encourages employers to simulate different situations. Hold an evacuation drill without the use of the alarm. This will help develop a stronger plan and give workers the confidence to continue to exit if an alarm goes down.

“The better you can prepare employees, the better they’ll respond in an actual event,” Vulpitta said.