Emergency evacuation plans can save countless lives. Relying on an outdated strategy or simply ignoring the fact that you need one could add to a disaster and create worse situations. Don’t allow this to happen to your company—use the following advice to create an evacuation plan for your workspace to keep your employees safe during emergencies and natural disasters.
Find Possible Escape Routes
Pull out the blueprints of your workspace and look at the possible escape routes available. You must have at least two escape strategies to ensure one path is sustainable if the other were to be compromised by the emergency. The routes should be separate from each other—the farther away from each other, the better. Walk through the exits to make sure they are viable options if there is a crisis.
Look Into Possible Emergencies You Could Encounter
Some workspaces could be more vulnerable to emergencies than others. For example, fire safety rules for industrial workspaces are essential when the work zone houses many machines, tools, and other fire hazards. Natural disasters are also a cause for concern. Your business’s location can determine the emergencies for which you should plan. Look into every possible crisis you could encounter to create the best possible evacuation plan for your workspace.
Identify Refuge Areas
Once the employees exit the workspace during an emergency, you need a refuge area to keep them safe and sheltered and to provide them space to regroup. However, just because a designated place was marked as a safe zone does not mean it is safe from emergencies or natural disasters. Ensure this space is safe, free from dangers and hazards, and easy to reach. It might be wise to have multiple secure areas to ensure employees always have somewhere to go during an emergency.
Delegate Responsibilities
Just as you have a chain of command within the workspace, you should also have one in place for an evacuation plan. Delegating the responsibility, such as shutting down machines, tending to injuries, operating fire extinguishers, ushering away employees, etc., will help make evacuating much smoother. The more people help in the event of a disaster, the calmer everyone can be.
These policies and procedures are incredibly vital to protecting workers in case an emergency were to strike. After you configure an evacuation plan, ensure you’re updating every employee with this so that know what to do when a disastrous situation occurs. What else would you add to your emergency evacuation plans?
