Implementing an emergency safety plan as a business, not only protects the safety of your employees, but the well-being and security of your company. Businesses tend to forget that failure to create a plan for each potential situation can leave them liability and put them at risk if disaster strikes. Protecting your employees and ultimately your brand should be the number one priority for business owners, but it often gets put on the back burner, leaving them vulnerable for crisis.
Companies, like schools, should have three types of emergency plans in place; emergency evacuation; shelter in place, which puts the building in “lockdown” mode; and active shooter or terrorist threat, which also puts the building in “lockdown” mode.
An emergency evacuation plan protects against fires, which are the most likely emergency to occur in the workplace, and any other internal threat that requires personnel to quickly and orderly vacate the building. Outlining the easiest and fastest egress routes for each section of the building allows much safer escape for workers. It helps ensure people act and exit the building in an orderly but swift fashion, with a safe exterior destination.
Shelter in place plans protect against natural disasters and weather-related emergencies. Behind fires, this is the next most likely emergency to occur at work. This plan puts the building in “lockdown” mode and is designed to lessen the risk of personal injury, should a disaster strike. From earthquakes or tornadoes to heavy winds, a plan needs to be implemented to address each potential natural disaster threat. Different codes and procedures should be used depending on the situation, directing personal where to go and what to do if any threat should occur.
The final plan that every business should have in place is an active shooter plan. Although this is the least likely to happen, should it occur, it can be very damaging and devastating. Given the recent acts of terrorism in public places, an active shooter plan can greatly decrease the likelihood a shooter succeeds in harming others. This also puts the building on “lockdown” mode, in most cases locking employees in their office or certain lockable rooms to deny the shooter easy access, and fortifying their defensive posture with available ergonomic office furniture such as desks or closets.
All of these plans are essential in a company’s plan to protect itself and its workers. Different codes for each plan, depending on the exact situation, can be implemented and should be practiced quarterly at the least, if not monthly. Make your staff and your brand less of a target, and prepare yourself in case of emergency.
For more information regarding safety and security, do not hesitate to contact the Fallston Group at 410.420.2001 or by email at info@fallstongroup.com.
