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Feature Article

Feature Article

emergency plan, fire emergency plan, flood emergency plan
11 Nov

Feature Article

Emergency Management Plan – Warden & Fire extinguisher Training

It’s your duty!

Will your Emergency Management Plan work when it’s needed?

Everyone out! Get out now!

How would your employees react to those words?

Would there be a calm and orderly evacuation as the details of your rehearsed Emergency Management Plan came to mind or would there be chaos and pandemonium – which could have dire consequences?

Businesses in flood- and fire-prone areas are expected to have an emergency plan that includes evacuation procedures. But no matter what industry you operate in or where your business is located, you must have an emergency management plan in place to help deal with emergencies that could affect your workers. You have a duty of care to protect them.

Don’t think your business is exempt from an emergency. A raft of factors, many beyond your control, can cause an emergency.

For example: Nineteen people were injured when a pickup truck careered into a café in Cairns earlier this year, sparking a fire that engulfed the building.

In September, a man walked into a McDonald’s restaurant in Canberra and set alight a 9kg gas bottle he was carrying, causing it to explode and severely injuring himself. The man who allegedly caused an explosion inside a McDonald’s restaurant told staff to go outside before deliberately igniting a nine kilogram gas bottle.

In July, almost 80 workers were evacuated from a worksite in a northern suburb of Melbourne when drilling works ruptured a gas main. It took more than 30 firefighters nearly two hours to isolate and contain the gas leak on Raglan Street in Preston. One factory was evacuated, while other businesses in the area were ordered to shut down and suspend operations, amid concerns they could spark an ignition.

Whether your company is big and small…

An Emergency Management Plan is a set of written instructions that state what workers and others in the workplace should do in the event of an emergency. That includes all visitors to your site.

EMPs are important for businesses with more than 15 employees, however, it is still recommended that even smaller operations have an Emergency Management Plan in place.

Any process that may pose a safety risk in your workplace must have a safe operating procedure.

Maybe you think you’ve got all these things under control but if you look closely, when you first implemented all your safety stuff ‘Jane’ was the first-aider and she left the company three months ago, and you haven’t had any fire warden training since ‘Dan’ retired … some time ago.

Let’s face it, emergencies usually happen when you least expect them. And you know the saying: failing to plan is planning to fail.

In this situation,’ failing’ could have a human toll attached to it.

Beyond your control

Workplace emergencies can be triggered by any one of the following:

  • A quickly-spreading office kitchen fire;
  • A gas explosion outside your building;
  • An extreme weather event;
  • A truck accident that brings down electrical wires in your street;
  • A leaking chemical drum in your workshop;
  • A suspicious package left at your premises;
  • An out-of-control delivery vehicle;
  • Dumped hazardous goods found at your worksite.

Who, at your business, determines when it’s too dangerous to keep working during severe weather events or extreme temperatures? And against what criteria do they make their decisions?

What about employees on the road?

Just another thought: how is your induction process for new employees and visitors to your site?

Adelaide Safety Training can assist you to prepare your workplace for natural disasters and other emergencies. Emergency Management information on evacuation procedures, the relevant Australian Safety Standards, how to assess and identify workplace hazards. Create, implement and rehearse your EMP before everyone gets too busy in the lead up to Christmas.

Robert Robinson
Adelaide Safety Training

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