Extreme Weather and Workplace Safety; Questions to pose to your facility management program
Extreme weather has and always will be considered a major hazard within the realm of Property & Facility management professionals. With little warning, the weather has a long history of impacting public safety and property operations
For most Ontario facility managers however, the vast benefits in using emergency management plans for extreme weather have long been recognized. If we look beyond the obvious life safety benefits, these plans are also required to ensure employee safety and significantly aid in business continuity - Providing a high ROI in Preparedness.
Business disruptions caused by extreme weather vary from workplace safety concerns, power failures, facility equipment / system failures, property damage, communication failures, flooding and more. Facility & building managers have turned to the internationally recognized principals of emergency management, applying them to daily operations within their organization in order to prepare, prevent, mitigate, respond and recover from these interruptions. Organizations are now asking the right questions in advance of emergencies to better prepare their workplace, and of course recover from interruptions, faster than their competitors – positively impacting the bottom line.
On behalf of National Life Safety Group I present only some of those questions that can raise your level of preparedness, achieve new heights in due diligence and protect your employees and corporate reputation during extreme weather emergencies.
The Municipal Fire Services, through the local media has announced for all workplaces in your area to “Shelter In Place” because of a hazardous materials incident.
Do your employees know what “Shelter In Place” means? How would the building staff respond? How would you communicate this to occupants? Does your operations teams know how to isolate the building air intakes?
Does your organization have emergency plans in order to notify Contractors working at your facility of the extreme weather hazards in (or just outside) the workplace?
Having Emergency Management plans that address supervisory actions in the event of extreme weather allows your organization to proactively achieve health and safety compliances in advance of emergencies.
Does your organization have emergency management plans that allow for a quick recovery from power failures, critical system failures, property damage, and flooding?
Organizations throughout Canada are constantly in search of areas where their operations will have an “edge” in their service over their competitors – Above and beyond the life safety reasons. A quicker recovery allows you to focus on your business and your customers – Faster than your competitors, and protects your reputation. Emergency Preparedness positively impacts the bottom line.
Do your facility managers have an emergency plan to action in the event of “advanced warning” of extreme weather?
There are at least 10, proven, proactive action items that your organization can complete now that will positively impact public safety and facility operations – including costs.
Does your organization have pre-scripted messaging for emergency announcements through the building’s Emergency Voice Communications Systems and / or corporate e-mail for emergency announcements?
Crisis communications plans are a vital component for any workplace’s Health & Safety / Emergency Management program. They are a proven method in meeting notification requirements and ensuring timely communications regarding occupant safety.
If you have answered “No” to any of the above, then there may be gaps in your Health, Safety and Emergency Management Programs.
National Life Safety Group
NLS Group is a team of facility fire safety and crisis management experts established to ensure greater public safety. We uniquely achieve this by utilizing leadership and experience from both the private, and public sector, utilizing the principles of emergency management in everyday business and facility operations.
www.nationallifesafetygroup.ca