Doing More With Less

A few years ago, it was best practice to see medium to large companies designate "Safety Marshals" whose responsibilities included facilitation of exterior or shelter in place building evacuations, serve as a first responder for medical issues or participate in regular company safety meetings. They often were trained and managed by a company "Safety Coordinator" who may have been a life safety lead, safety/security manager, risk or HR professional.

One of the challenges discovered in the "new normal", however is that the number of employees returning to brick and mortar is often less with occupancy thinly spread throughout the site. If there was a designated "Safety Coordinator", they may not be on site all of the time and staffing reductions may have made identifying individuals to serve as "Safety Marshals" less a priority.

Like security awareness training, safety training should be provided to all employees with ongoing safety tips or other programs to maintain awareness. Not always easy to facilitate with a mobile/hybrid workforce but here are some suggestions that will help mitigate risk and employee injury.

Create/Maintain an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) - The EAP can be anything from a single page document to a booklet that contains emergency contacts for the site then expanded to provide direction for addressing particular types of issues an employee may face in the office. The EAP should be posted in high traffic areas (like common hallways) or other areas employees frequent (like break rooms). The content should be reviewed at least annually and updated as necessary. For example, typical contents include: Emergency contact numbers for Facilities, Building Engineering, IT, Physical Security, Utility Companies, HR, etc. Procedural direction for the handling of Bomb Threats, Suspicious Mail, Power Outages, Severe Weather, Workplace Violence, Blood-borne Pathogens, Chemical Hazards, On-Site Employee Injury or other Medical Events.

Post/Maintain Evacuation Diagrams - Building evacuation diagrams should be clearly posted throughout your site. They should highlight "you are here" then display emergency exit paths to the appropriate assembly area. In the case of an exterior building evacuation, the path should identify two assembly points away from the building. For shelter in place evacuations, a contrasting color should direct employees to an interior assembly location. Consider augmenting signage or markings at the assembly points too!

Deployment of First Aid Kits/AEDs & Fire Extinguishers - Often, the placement of first aid kits, AEDs and fire extinguishers is determined by the location of the workforce in the building. In the new normal, previously occupied areas may be vacant. Great opportunity to reevaluate their location, re-install when appropriate and ensure they are visible and easily obtainable when needed.

Take these suggestions as a point of departure as the needs of your facility may require additional components not pointed out above.

Lastly, the key to a successful safety program is providing effective communication to employees. Important for those who have returned to the office but even more important to those hybrid employees or those visiting from other sites.