Formulating an Emergency Action Plan
When coming up with safety protocols for your business, one of the most important tasks is to develop an Emergency Action Plan (EAP), which describes in detail the procedures for dealing with various disasters and accidents that can occur in the workplace. There are many parts that make up a good EAP, including directions for how to deal with violence, fires or any other kind of event that can force your employees to stop working and take shelter.
Among the many aspects of the plan that should be thought out are evacuation routes. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has some guidelines for companies that can help formulate these procedures:
- Determine which events – an accident, natural disaster, civil unrest or other emergencies – require evacuation and which ones would be better handled by having employees stay put. While it’s likely you would want your workers to leave the facility in the event of a fire or accident such as a chemical spill, this may not be the best course of action if you’re dealing with a tornado or strong hurricane, in which they would be at risk of getting injured.
- Make sure employees know evacuation routes from every part of the building. The door they should exit may be different depending on which room they are working in.
- When coming up with an EAP, you should review its contents with everyone who could be affected.
It is imperative for employers to ensure that their workers are protected by a commercial fire alarm system monitored by an Atlanta alarm company, which can alert them to the presence of smoke and flames while signaling to the fire department that the building is on fire. Contact American Alarm at (770) 645-0061 for more information.