Emergency preparedness is a legal requirement everywhere. Houses, workplaces, and even public places need to have an emergency plan ready for people to follow and prevent damage to life and property. You can always contact https://www.airambulance1.com/ in case of emergency.
No matter which places you are at, you can have to deal with an emergency at any point in time. Emergencies could be both man-made and natural such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, etc. Therefore, employers worldwide are obligated to introduce an emergency action plan for the employees to follow during difficulties.
The emergency action plan is necessary because you never know which situation can turn into a life-threatening situation. Therefore, employers must make a team of people and let them know their duties. In this article, we will describe some ways to be prepared for emergencies at your workplace.
Evacuation Plan is a Must
Having evacuation routes is so important. Know all the routes in your building and then decide an evacuation route for the staff to follow in emergencies. All the members of the staff should be well aware of the emergency exit route.
Additionally, make sure that workers with special needs will require some extra help to evacuate, therefore appoint a person or two to handle people with special needs and evacuate them safely.
Emergency Notification System
You can use several types of emergency evacuation systems in your office. The most used notification systems are emergency alarm sounds. Various kinds of alarm sounds are used to showcase what kind of emergency has arrived. Other notification systems include public addressing, sending text notifications, etc.
You can choose any notification system, but ensure that it can efficiently reach every nook and corner of the building. While choosing the notification system, keep in mind the differently abled employees, if need be, choose a hooter with fluctuating lights, so they know that they are in an emergency.
Keep a Complete First-Aid Kit
Keeping a complete first-aid kit is mandatory. Emergencies bring along injuries; therefore, you need to have a team of personnel who know how to use the first aid kit. Additionally, it would be great if all your employees got hands-on training on how to give CPR.
If not all, a team of 5-7 people should be equipped with CPR and other life-saving skills. As a responsible employer, ensure to provide seizure training to your workers. Give them lessons on symptoms of stroke and teach them an appropriate response to it.
You can use professional help to provide workplace emergency training to your employees. For example, if you are operating in Australia, you can check out Workplace Emergency Management. They have been providing workplace emergency training to employees for more than 15 years.
You can rest assured as they help make emergency action plans, provide extinguisher training and prepare the staff for every kind of emergency. In addition, they also prepare a team from your staff for handling various human behavior in an emergency.
Assemble the Required Stakeholders
An effective way of preparing an emergency action plan includes assembling the correct stakeholders. These stakeholders include emergency help contact numbers such as ambulance, police, fire brigade, etc. Other on-site stakeholders are the business leaders and staff members that are fit to take up the responsibility of different departments.
They need to act upon their responsibilities in times of emergencies and ensure the safety of every individual. From evacuation to medical services, all the stakeholders should be responsible and available on-site every minute. For example, if your office runs 24*7, you can choose people in each shift to be present there.
Conduct a Drill to Review Your Action Plan
It is suggested to run a drill to check the action plan. You should include all the stakeholders, take permission from the authorities and conduct an actual drill to know which areas need enhancement in your action plan. Conducting a drill also embarks confidence in employees that they are safe and ready to combat any emergency.
Final Words
Emergencies are easier to handle with a pre-planned action plan. Each individual will know their duty and responsibility. It will prevent people from creating a mess and can confidently handle the situation. Not only the prevention of loss of life, but your action plan should also include the safety of your property and business data. You can never be completely ready to combat an emergency, but having the right resources ready will make it easier to handle the situation and prevent many losses.