It is imperative for employers to provide employees, visitors and customers with a safe environment to interact in.  Safety equipment such as slip resistant flooring, helmets, eyewear and specialized clothing can help keep workers safe.  However, employers should also prepare employees for unexpected situations such as workplace emergencies.  A workplace emergency is an unexpected event that causes abrupt and direct disruption to employees.  Some examples of workplace emergencies include flooding, fires and loss of electricity.  To ensure that employees are safe in emergency situations, employers should prepare employees for such events.  The following are some tips from the National Crime Prevention Council to help prepare employers and employees for workplace emergencies.

• Understand and know company procedures and policies regarding emergency situations.  By being aware of company procedures during an emergency, employees can avoid any confusion or uncertainty.
• Find at least two different exit routes that can be easily accessed in emergency situations. Employees that are aware of exits will be able to quickly and efficiently leave the building rather than spending time searching for an exit.
•  Be aware of where fire extinguishers and emergency medical kits are throughout the office.  By  locating all fire extinguishers and emergency medical kits, employees ensure they can quickly access the items on short notice to help prevent fires or injuries from becoming worse.
• Arrange a location where employees should meet upon exiting the office building.  Employees should understand where there will be a safe meeting point to ensure that they can be accounted for.
• Always ensure that emergency exits and windows are unobstructed for quick and easy access in case of an emergency.  Many times, employees waste valuable time opening up emergency exits.  By having exits and windows consistently unobstructed, employees ensure they will be able to quickly exit.
• Store emergency supplies in a safe location.  By storing supplies such as canned food, bottled water, emergency lights and medical supplies, employees can ensure that they will be able to utilize it in an unexpected situation.
• Enclose a list of personal contacts in a secure location.  This list should include your family’s contact information such as work phone numbers and school contact information to ensure that family members can be reached if necessary.

By encouraging employees to prepare for emergency situations in the workplace, employers are ensuring that employees are aware of emergency procedures and policies to ensure that emergency situations are handled in an informed and efficient way.  This helps create a safe and well educated working environment that can face adversity safely.

Filed under: Workplace Safety by Beth Faraci Social tagging: planning > workplace emergency > Workplace Safety