The Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

When an emergency occurs, immediate action is always necessary to minimize harm to the people and property that may be affected by it. The range of responses to workplace emergencies may include similar components but depending upon several factors, emergency responses can be very different too. Regardless of the type of emergency and/or type of response that is best for the emergency, the first priority is the preservation of life. Knowing the proper response may be the difference between life and death, so it is important that emergency protocols are established and implemented. An EAP lists the types of actions that every employee of an organization should take during emergencies. They are vital for every employee to understand, practice and be able to access if they should need to.

The EAP is created so that there is a way to warn employees to evacuate, shelter or lockdown in the event of a variety of emergencies. It should include information about evacuation routes, who to contact, how to account for everyone, and actions that can be taken to prevent harm. Ready.gov (2019) says that before the EAP is developed, “a risk assessment must be done to identify potential emergency scenarios. . . . At the very least, every facility should develop and implement an emergency plan for protecting employees, visitors, contractors and anyone else in the facility. This part of the emergency plan is called ‘protective actions for life safety’” (Ready.gov, 2019). This information is important for every employee to know, so frequent reviews should be done. OSHA (2019) recommends reviewing and/or updating the EAP every 6 months, training new employees immediately, and training all employees at least yearly in the procedures included in the EAP (OSHA, 2019).

Emergencies within the Facility

For emergency occurring within a facility, the EAP should consider several aspects about the facility including the size of the building, the number of employees and the type of businesses that are housed in the building. For instance, in a small office, retail establishment or manufacturing setting with no hazardous materials involved, most employees would know to evacuate the building when an alarm sounds or they are notified to do so by a public address system. However, in a larger facility with a large number of employees or with hazardous materials, there are more issues to consider when creating the EAP (OSHA, 2019). The alarm system or public address system, for instance, must be loud enough or efficient enough to reach every single person in the facility.

Probably the most important aspect of an emergency within the facility is whether people inside should stay or leave. In the event of a fire, gas leak, or something that is causing the inside of the building to be unsafe, they should leave. Although, in the case of an active shooter, it might be safer in some instances to stay inside and hide. The fact that some emergencies require people to evacuate the building means that there should be an evacuation route map posted and easy to read near places where employees have easy access to it and where the closest evacuation route may not be readily apparent. The website, Total Medical Compliance (2017) suggests including “You are here” designations, exits with handicapped accessibility, alternate routes, locations of fire extinguisher, fire alarms, first aid kits, oxygen tanks, PPE, tornado/hurricane/earthquake/safe rooms, security desks, electrical panels, restrooms, roof accessibility, emergency phones and contact numbers, and the specific place to meet after an evacuation (TMC, 2017). After establishing evacuation routes with this type of information, the next aspect of the EAP is to consider how to notify people who will need to know about the emergency.

OSHA (2019) suggests keeping a list of key contacts current and providing an emergency communications system such as a cell phone (that must remain charged) or a portable radio unit that can be used to contact law enforcement, fire department or medical emergency units. Also, the names and contact information for the individuals who are responsible for implementing the EAP should also be kept where they are easy to access (OSHA, 2019). An intercom or public address system should be used as well as a fire alarm that alerts people inside the building when there is an emergency. If the facility is large, such as college campuses, a public alert system that operates through cell phones could be used to notify people with cell phones within the vicinity that there is an emergency occurring, the type of emergency, and the type of action they should take.

An EAP is important to have, but it must also be disseminated to those to whom it is relative. Employees should be included in the creation of the EAP. Crum and Forster (2017), a risk engine