How do you prepare an emergency response plan for your workplace?

Risk assessment isn't done through one individual, maybe the assessment itself, but if all the stakeholders are not on board or willing to make changes, then nothing but paperwork will get changed. Too many times risks are identified and brought to the attention of those who can make the decision to fix, but would rather put a bandage on it. I always would ask, how much is an employee's life or if in a training environment a student's life worth? Not only risk assessments but also the time and effort to actually test them, too many times a tabletop exercise is all that is conducted to test out plans, everything works well in a well-lighted room, with comfortable chairs and coffee. Go out and test everything.

Something I've found helpful is keeping it local or applicable to your location. If your next to railroad tracks, above ground fuel storage, haz storage facilities, point it out. The risks may not be obvious and the plans may need to be tailored to what is around.

We use the assessment matrix for our home office which is one area, but when you have assets throughout many states, the threat assessment and threat analysis becomes even more important because you might have a risk or threat in Florida that may not be a risk or threat in Arizona. These are things to keep in mind when formulating those response playbooks to the myriad of issues and incidents. You should also have an "All Hazards" plan because not all threats or issues are going to fit into your bucketed response playbooks. The All Hazard plan gives you a general outline of response and a communication matrix that can be tweaked to the situation or threat.

What we find most helpful is to not only define each role and what is expected from each stakeholder, but assign routine "pre-incident" tasks so they have a head start and setting the cornerstone of their response before they get into the heat of response.

We believe a very important part of the response is to invest in a mass communication system in which you can tap into phone, emails, texts and company apps. This system may also include desktop messaging when an event happens. This is so you can get quick incident and response information out to your employees to enhance safety and response. Quick and early communication is the key.

Preparing your emergency kit and supplies is crucial for handling emergency situations. These supplies, sufficient for a minimum of 72 hours, should be stored in a secure yet easily accessible place, and need to be checked and refreshed regularly. Your emergency kit should consist of items such as water, food, medications, flashlights, batteries, radios, fire extinguishers, blankets, gloves, first aid kits, bandages, antiseptics, tools, duct tape, and plastic bags. These provisions ensure readiness and quicker response during emergencies.

Either annually or after an incident, the plan should be evaluated and updated. Receive feedback from all stakeholders and bucket into Lessons Learned, Best Practices and Opportunities for Improvement. Take that feedback and update the plan.

As part of the review process, incidents from the prior period should be reviewed and the plan adjusted accordingly. Also checking with partners named within the plan (local law enforcement, fire response, etc) to make sure contact information is current and that they have knowledge of significant changes the the physical layout of your workplace. Finally, periodic tabletop exercises will bring authenticity to the plan and will also identify any potential gaps within the plan.

It is imperative to inform and train your staff regarding the emergency response plan. They need to be well-versed with the plan's aims, extent, procedures, along with their individual duties and responsibilities. By providing training sessions and workshops, your staff can acquire essential emergency skills and knowledge, like fire safety, first aid, and crisis management. Encouraging and rewarding staff participation in drills and exercises can enhance their performance and engagement in the process, thus ensuring an effective emergency response.

Drill and Exercises-: Conduct regular drill and exercises to test the effectiveness of the plan. Use these opportunity to identify areas of improvement. As this will go along way to help responders familiarize themselves with the plan.