Emergency Plans

Be Prepared!

Do you have an Emergency Plan at work and at home?  Winter is here; extreme cold weather and winter storms kill more Canadians than tornadoes, lightning, floods, hurricanes and heat waves combined! The cold and winter storms can disrupt your power supply, make travel dangerous, and can pose other risks to your personal safety. 

Emergency plans should include a pandemic or influenza plan to address workplace illness, staff shortages and the health and wellness of your workers and your families.

At home you should stock up on supplies for flu and cold season; put  a safety kit in your car that includes a blanket and candles.

You should be prepared in your home and workplace for emergencies.  Emergency Management Ontario provides numerous resources to assist you with your workplace Emergency Management Programs.  The following checklist will assist you in the development of an Emergency Plan for the workplace: 

1.       Assess the Hazards in your workplace

2.       Learn how to be informed of an emergency

3.       Develop a workplace emergency plan

4.       Develop a Workplace Communications Plan

5.       Ensure you have staff trained in First Aid/CPR

6.       Prepare a Workplace Emergency Survival Kit

7.       Put your Emergency Plan into Action – Practice and Maintain

8.       Develop an Evacuation Plan and Practice it

9.       Learn how to “Shelter-in-Place” – remaining indoors in your place of work

10.   Determine if there is anyone with Special Needs

a.       Develop specific Emergency Plans for Employees with special needs (disabilities) (this is in compliance with the AODA Emergency Management criteria under the Employment Standard and is legislated to be complied with by January 1, 2012)

11.   Develop a plan for the evacuation and emergency management of your customers (as legislated under the AODA – General Guidelines) by January 1, 2012

12.   Develop an Influenza/Pandemic Plan in your workplace.

For your home, be prepared for an emergency such as a power outage, snow days where you are snowed in, medical emergencies, special needs etc.  Assess your home to determine your needs:

1.       What are some of the hazards in your community?  How might they affect you in your home?

2.       Learn where to get information from about an emergency

3.       Develop your family emergency plan

4.       Prepare an emergency survival kit for your  home and your  vehicles

5.       Have a Pet Smart Emergency Plan

6.       Practice and update your plan regularly

7.       Learn how to evacuate your home in an emergency

8.       Learn how to “Shelter-in-Place” – remaining indoors in your home

9.       Consider special needs members of your family may have and develop plans with them in mind.

10.   Prepare for influenza/pandemics and other medical emergencies

With the holidays approaching, winter weather on the horizon and travel to family and friends, it is important to plan ahead for unforeseen emergencies.  Don’t be caught out in the cold – plan for the unexpected.  Be Safe!  Happy Holidays!

Lynne Bard, BA (Honours), C.H.R.P., CES

Human Resources, Safety & Risk Management Experts

Taking the Complexity out of Compliance

President

Beyond Rewards Inc.

Phone: 519-821-7440

Cell: 519-830-7480

mail: lbard@beyondrewards.ca

Emergency Response Plan

Do you have an Emergency Response Plan in place for your organization?

On the wake of the earthquake that shook Ontario on June 23^rd, 2010 many of you may be asking – what is this; why are we getting earthquakes, when we never have before!  According to the CBC, the 5.0 magnitude earthquake hit Ontario with shaking and tremors felt in Montreal, Toronto, Kitchener and even Boston and Cleveland. Apparently, earthquakes are not uncommon to Canada with some 5000 per year – minor that they are, this is one of the largest we have had in Ontario.  Weather is more dramatic with severe tornado’s that are more intense than ever before, sink holes are appearing all over the country (around the world); earthquakes are more intense and more dramatic in nature than they ever have been.  What is this world coming to?  No I don’t think the world will end in 2012, but we certainly need to understand the severity of the changes that are occurring and how to prepare and respond.

Definition of an Emergency: An emergency is any unplanned event that can cause deaths or significant injuries to employees, customers or the public; or that can shut down your business, disrupt operations, cause physical or environmental damage, or threaten the facility's financial standing or public image. Obviously, numerous events can be "emergencies," including:

• Fire
• Hazardous materials incident
• Flood or flash flood
• Hurricane
• Tornado
• Winter storm
• Earthquake
• Communications failure
• Radiological accident
• War
• Loss of key supplier or customer
• Explosion

Definition of Emergency management: Emergency Management is a dynamic process of preparing and planning for, mitigating, responding to and recovering from an emergency; providing proper training, conducting drills, testing equipment and coordinating activities with the community are other important functions and areas of your organization.

How can we address this or do anything about it you say?  First, we need to look at safety, security and sustainability.

It is every employers responsibility to provide a safe workplace – it is called “due diligence”.  Employers should also be mindful of their obligation to provide information to employees under Occupational Health and Safety Act, which could extend to the obligation to inform employees about the potential risk of an emergency situation from a natural disaster in the workplace and steps the employer will take to mitigate this risk. Develop your emergency plan to ensure the safety of your employees and continued work availability after an emergency occurs.

The following items should be addressed (but is not exhaustive) when preparing your emergency response plan.

• hazard identification/assessment
• emergency resources
• communication system
• administration of plan
• emergency response procedure
• communication of procedure
• debriefing and post-traumatic stress procedure

For more information on Creating an Emergency Management and Response Plan for your organization, contact us at info@beyondrewards.ca .  To purchase our Emergency Management Planning Toolkit or Guide go to: www.beyondrewards.ca

 

Lynne Bard, BA (Honours), C.H.R.P., CES

Human Resources, Safety & Risk Management Experts

Taking the Complexity out of Compliance

President

Beyond Rewards Inc.

Phone: 519-821-7440

Cell: 519-830-7480

mail: lbard@beyondrewards.ca

Environmental Impacts

Planning for business continuity

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We have been hearing for years about climate change and a warming planet and increased storm warnings: "Climate change is already with us. Scientific evidence shows that past emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) are already affecting the Earth's climate," stated in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Policy Brief February 2008. (as posted on oecd.org) This news has been ringing in our ears long before 2008; but have we really been listening?

Scientists are warning us and have for years that the weather is changing. A storm happens with its devastation and destruction and then it is gone, we clean up and we soon forget. Beyond the environmental climate the shadow of 9/11 is 10 years behind us and we have forgotten how devastating that day was and so easily fallen back to our old ways, or as the National Post said on September 6, 2011 "The United States has returned to its congenial pre-9/11 ways." We don't plan for these devastating events and then they are upon us unprepared. The weather is no different than the terrorist attacks they happen without much warning. (See Cover Story, page 8.)

What does this have to do with your business, you ask? Everything!

Without an emergency response or emergency action plan (often called a business continuity plan with the emergency response or action plan as an extension of the business continuity plan) your business will not as easily be able to survive or revive after a disaster occurs.

Emergencies and disasters can occur anytime, anyplace, without warning. By being prepared, you will be better able to act, minimizing the panic and confusion in the emergency situation and protect your workers. Emergencies and disasters influenced by outside sources such as weather or non-employees or other uncontrollable sources need to be addressed in your action planning process to ensure the safety of your workers and the continuance of your business.

For businesses that are able, set up for business continuity outside of the physical location - a satellite offices/locations, working from home, remote offices/locations, etc. If one location is down you can continue to work. If you server is backed up in multiple locations in multiple cities your data is backed up and you can continue to work but if it is in one location, you may be down for weeks, months or indefinitely.

Sample steps to take in the development of your Emergency Response Plan are: hazard identification/risk assessment; identification of emergency resources; development of your communication system; development of an administration plan; emergency response policy, procedure and program; communication of policy, procedures and program training; debriefing and post-traumatic stress procedure; rebuilding, restructuring, and regrouping (what that might entail if the business is partially or totally destroyed).

Accountability is important in the emergency response program you develop. Set up an Emergency Response Team. Ensure that your team is properly trained in their roles and responsibilities. Train all staff in emergency procedures.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act refers to emergency planning that is required for your workplace under certain jurisdictions; in Ontario, under Bill 168 Violence and Harassment, and in BC under OHSA 4.13-4.18; beyond that it is a good business practice to have a Business Continuity Plan in place.
 

 

Lynne Bard, BA (Honours), C.H.R.P., CES

Human Resources, Safety & Risk Management Experts

Taking the Complexity out of Compliance

President

Beyond Rewards Inc.

Phone: 519-821-7440

Cell: 519-830-7480

mail: lbard@beyondrewards.ca