Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies and natural disasters can happen anytime. Although you can’t predict when they will happen, you can take actions to make your business more prepared.

Do you and your workers know what to do if a disaster strikes?
An emergency plan is a health and safety requirement, and not having one is a big risk for your business and your workers. 

Your emergency plan should include the following:

• Emergency procedures for fire, earthquake, tsunami, and other hazards.
• Assembly points, wardens, and first aiders.
• How to contact staff, suppliers, and clients etc
• Alternative arrangements if you are unable to access your premises 

What to consider when making an emergency plan:

When working out your emergency plan, you must take into account:

• The size and location of the workplace
• The number of workers
• The nature of the work being carried out and the workplace hazards
• The types of emergency situations your workplace may face

Maintaining and testing emergency plans:

A well-maintained emergency plan should be reviewed and updated:

• When there are changes to work activities or the physical workplace
• If the workers who have emergency responsibilities change
• if new risks have been identified.

Emergency plans testing

• Testing can be as simple as thinking of a scenario (eg a fire) and staging a mock emergency, such as a fire drill to test how well the plan works.
• Following any testing, a review should be conducted to identify areas for improvement or updating. This should include seeking and considering feedback from your workers

Worker Engagement
You must engage with your workers when making decisions about emergency plans and when proposing changes that may affect their health and safety

All workers should know who is responsible for activating and coordinating emergency procedures and what they must do to keep themselves and others safe in an emergency.

Keeping you and your workmates safe at work is a priority, so make sure you are aware of the businesses requirements of having an effective emergency plan in place.

If you would like more information, get in touch with our friendly HazardCo team – we’re always happy to help!