Developing the Written

and An Action Plan

Developing An Action Plan
• A mission statement should be developed that serves as the basis for the entire
emergency plan.
• It should detail the purpose of the plan and the total commitment of the
company to implementing it.
A Mission Statement
The mission statement should:

• Demonstrate management support and commitment to the planning process

• Give authority for the planning group
• Define the structure of the planning group
• Define the authority and structure of the emergency response group or brigade
• Detail those activities which the response group will be trained and equipped to
handle
• Provide a realistic timeline for implementation
• Be signed by the Chief Executive Officer
Developing An Action Plan
• The plant manager can lead the initial planning but at some point an emergency planning
director or manager should be appointed by management. This individual should manage
the daily activities of developing and implementing the plan. He or she would also be the
company point of contact or liaison with outside agencies for emergency planning. This
individual would also be able to answer any questions regulatory or response agencies
might have about the plan. In the event of an emergency, this person could command the
in-plant response and coordinate support for outside agencies as they arrive.
• The team should begin developing a draft document describing tactical expectations
during various types of emergencies.
Developing An Action Plan
• This document details exactly what brigade members will be authorized to do,
the conditions, and any limitations. Initially, tasks may be limited to duties such
as: emergency notification, employee evacuation, internal communication, and
external communication with emergency response agencies. As the brigade
receives training, equipment, and confidence, duties such as manual fire
protection, hazardous materials response, and confined space rescue may be
added if the mission statement authorizes them. The outside agencies must be
informed of any increasing roles of the in-house brigade, and joint training
should be arranged to facilitate working together in emergency situations.
Developing An Action Plan
• Meetings with outside agency personnel should begin to acquaint their personnel
with your hazards and begin to develop strategies for dealing with those hazards.
Any special equipment that is essential to the success of the plan should be budgeted
and purchased as quickly as possible to permit training with the equipment.
Hazards should be prioritized based upon their potential negative impact on life,
property, continuity of operations, and community support. If a particular hazard
has the potential to kill, injure, or destroy the company, it must be dealt with first.
All hazards that can impact critical systems must also be addressed quickly.
• The planning team must study OSHA, EPA, SARA Title III, and other local, state,
and federal regulations to ensure compliance with their emergency planning and
reporting requirements.
Developing An Action Plan
• After the draft documents have been reviewed by all parties and approved, the
documents should be formalized by signing agreements committing to the plan.
This will also provide authority and protection for agencies responding across
traditional boundaries.
• The emergency plan should never be finished completely. As the response to the
worst hazards are polished to perfection, lesser hazards can be refined. Changes
in construction, production, personnel, and process will demand constant
updates to the plan.
Developing the Written Plan
• Several regulatory agencies may require you to develop emergency response
plans and document them.
• Fortunately there are some elements common to all these plans. The plan should
include the following:
Developing the Written Plan
An introductory section with:
• A statement describing the purpose of the plan and management’s commitment
to emergency preparedness
• A statement as to whether the facility will evacuate only
• A statement as to whether the facility will have some form of active emergency
response, the mission, and scope of that brigade
• The name and contact information of the individual to be contacted
concerning questions about the plan
Developing the Written Plan
The body of the document that includes at least:
• A flow chart detailing the chain of command by position titles for each type of
emergency (violence, bomb threat, medical emergency, fire, Haz-Mat release)
• A site map or series of maps detailing important emergency information
• An emergency contact list of all involved employees
• An emergency contact list of all agencies that participated in the plan and have
agreed to respond in the event of an emergency
Developing the Written Plan
• A list of communications frequencies that various responding agencies have available
(ideally all agencies would have a common set of frequencies available)
• A resource contact list of agencies and companies which may be needed in the event of
an emergency
• A description of each of the different types of hazards and emergency responses that
were identified in the risk and vulnerability analysis
• The proper action an employee should take when confronted with each different type
of emergency
• A statement describing the authority and responsibility of various agencies at each
type of response identified
Developing the Written Plan
• It is at this point that emergency response plans begin to differ from one company to another. Some
companies prefer to provide detailed response guides to each specific hazard in the main emergency
response plan. Other companies prefer to write very broad response guidelines to the various types of
emergencies (fire, medical, hazardous materials, etc.) and refer the reader and response agencies to
standard operating procedures (SOPs) developed for each target hazard identified.
• The emergency plan must be easy to use under emergency situations.
• An easy to read table of contents and/or index is another way for employees to find the information
quickly. Another idea that has enjoyed success is color coding various sections of the emergency plan
to correspond to different types of emergencies. For example, red paper might be used for fire
response information, blue paper might be used for medical emergencies, and yellow paper could
contain information about hazardous material responses.
Developing the Written Plan
• The goal of the plan is for every employee to be able to determine what to do and where to go in an
emergency.
• It also provides additional information for response agencies.
• Once the plan is written in draft form, it must be submitted to the entire team for editing and
corrections.
• After the plan has been sufficiently tested and any modifications or corrections made, the plan should
be printed and distributed to all response agencies and employees. All employees should be trained in
the proper use of the manual and if an internal response brigade exists, they should begin to train with
the appropriate sections. Creating awareness of and ability to use the emergency response manual
should be incorporated into the initial training requirements of every employee hired.
References
• Schneid and Collins. 2001. Disaster Management and Preparedness. Lewis
Publishers: London
• Related sources