Emergency Evacuation Plan

Emergency Evacuation Plan

What are the 4 main steps of an emergency action plan?

• Write the plan.
• Establish a training schedule.
• Assign responsibility for training.
• Coordinate plan with outside organizations.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

Your Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan should:

• Identify areas of safety/refuge*.
• Determine safe routes to a place of safety.
• Name anyone appointed to assist the person in an
emergency.
• List specialist equipment that may be necessary.
• Identify where staff training is needed.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

10 Essential Elements of an Emergency Evacuation Plan

Extreme weather, bomb threats, combustible dust explosions — these all require
manufacturing companies to switch into emergency gear. Since these situations
invariably cause panic, the best way you handle them is by having a plan in
place. OSHA identified these elements, and we adapted them to include visitors as
well as employees.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

1. Conditions requiring an evacuation

Many conditions can create an emergency situation. But not all of them would require an
evacuation. Whether or not you need to evacuate depends several factors. These include
the type of emergency and the characteristics of the building (e.g., how many stories, the
construction material). Your plan should specify exactly the conditions that require an
evacuation.

2. Conditions under which it may be better to shelter-in-place

In some cases, it would be safer to stay indoors, for example, if the outside environment
contains toxic chemicals. In these situations, you should have a designated interior room
(preferably with no windows) where employees and visitors can gather.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

3. A clear chain of command

Who is responsible for assessing the situation and deciding if an evacuation is necessary?
Who will take charge on each floor of a high-rise building? What about notifying emergency
services? Make sure everyone knows exactly what their role is and is trained to perform it.

4. Specific evacuation procedures

The locations of all emergency equipment, routes, and exits should be marked and kept clear
of obstructions at all times. If your building has many interior spaces, such as stairwells
without windows, consider painting arrows and marking exits with photoluminescent paint,
which glows in the dark.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

5. Specific evacuation procedures for high-rise buildings

High-rise buildings pose special evacuation challenges, and OSHA identifies special responsibilities
for both employers and employees. Chief among them: posting evacuation plans on each floor,
identifying and training personnel on each floor who will be responsible for getting people out, and
making sure everyone is accounted for. A visitor management system can assist here by providing a
digital visitor log. This will help you account for any non-employees who were in the building.

6. Procedures for assisting visitors and employees to evacuate

A good rule of thumb is to have one “evacuation warden” for every 20 employees or visitors. The
evacuation warden checks offices, closes fire doors, and so on. The warden should also consult the
visitor log to make sure all visitors — who might not be familiar with the building evacuation routes
and exits — get to safety.
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7. Designation of who will remain after the evacuation alarm to shut down critical operations
or perform other duties
In a manufacturing facility, it isn’t always feasible to shut down everything at once. In this
case, certain employees may need to stay behind to turn off the machines and utilities. If you
have people filling this role, be sure they also know when it’s time to jump ship for their own
safety.

8. A way to account for all visitors and employees after an evacuation

This is where a visitor management system will really come in handy! OSHA recommends
designating assembly areas and taking head counts. But, these procedures won’t necessarily
account for everybody. For example, the evacuation warden for floor 20 might know that 34
people work on that floor. But without a visitor log, they wouldn’t know that there were three
visitors in the building when the alarm sounded. A visitor management system provides a
cloud-based digital visitor log that your evacuation wardens can access on their phone to
make sure everyone — not just the employees — is safely out.
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9. Special equipment
In some emergency situations, you may be required to supply personal protective equipment
(PPE). These include, but aren’t limited to:
•Safety glasses, goggles, or face shields
•Hard hats and safety shoes
•Chemical suits, gloves, hoods, and boots
•Special body protection for abnormal environmental conditions

10. Appropriate respirators

Respirators are different from other PPE because they must be selected specifically for the
hazards that are present. There are four categories of respirators for use in different conditions.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

4 Steps in the Emergency Planning Process Every year,

emergencies take their toll on business and industry - in
lives and dollars lost. But something can be done.
Business and industry can limit injuries and damages,
and return more quickly to normal operations, if they
plan ahead.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

1. Step 1 - Establish a Planning Team • Form the team. • Establish authority. • Issue a mission
statement. • Establish a schedule and budget.
2. 2. Step 2 - Analyze Capabilities and Hazards • Review internal plans and policies. • Meet with
outside groups. • Identify codes and regulations. • Identify critical products, services and
operations. • Identify internal resources and capabilities. • Identify external resources. • Conduct
an insurance review. • List potential emergencies. • Estimate likelihood of each emergency. •
Assess the potential human impact. • Assess the potential property impact. • Assess the potential
business impact. • Assess internal and external resources. • Determine planning and resource
priorities.
3. Step 3 - Develop the Plan • Outline plan components. • Identify challenges and prioritize activities.
• Write the plan. • Establish a training schedule. • Assign responsibility for training. • Coordinate
plan with outside organizations. • Maintain contact with other corporate offices. • Review the plan
and revise, as needed. • Seek final approval. • Distribute the plan.
4. Step 4 - Implement the Plan • Act on assessments recommendations. • Integrate the plan into
company operations. • Conduct training. • Evaluate and modify the plan, as needed.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

Who is responsible for emergency evacuation planning?

The Responsible Person

The Competent Person

This is a person with enough training and experience,
knowledge and other qualities to enable them to properly
assist in undertaking the preventive and protective
measures.
Emergency Evacuation Plan

What are the 6 P's for evacuation?

Keep These Six “P's” Ready In Case Immediate Evacuation Is

Required:
•People and pets.
•Papers, phone numbers, and important documents.
•Prescriptions, vitamins, and eyeglasses.
•Pictures and irreplaceable memorabilia.
•Personal computer hard drive and disks.
•“Plastic” (credit cards, ATM cards) and cash.
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Evacuation Levels

•Level 1: READY - Level 1 evacuations are an Alert. Residents should be aware

of a danger that exists. ...

•Level 2: SET - Level 2 evacuations indicate there is a significant risk to your

area. Now is the time to be set for immediate evacuation. ...

•Level 3: GO! - Level 3 means there is immediate danger.

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The ‘new’ 5P’s: prioritize, plan, prepare, practice, peace of mind

Prioritize: what types of disasters are you planning for? Differentiate risks and hazards and make a
scenario list

Plan: do/need what, where, when and how? Make your emergency & disaster preparedness plan, don’t
let it accumulate dust. Review and update it regularly.

Prepare: the right tools in the right place for the right people – if you add ‘at the right time’ then I’d
counter ‘well before the right time’ – bounce ahead to make bouncing back a breeze (
What disaster – Why Preparedness? and Prepare for a world that’s more than 2° C warmer)

Practice: head stuff is great but legwork is even better

Peace of mind: do the above and WYDIWYG – what you do is what you get, my version of WYSIWYG or
what you see is what you get 😉
Now, principles are  good, tremendously useful actually but still not quite good enough – another so
called  ‘Goldilocks’ case where what we really want needs to be ‘just right’. So, let’s expand it just a little
more. After all…
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