Page 41 - Occupational Health & Safety, March 2017

Maybe use the intercom or paging system instead of the actual alarm. The idea here is the same as moving the audio testing: to get the employees away from hearing false or drill alarms and thus make them more responsive to a real emergency.
them and to keep people responding appropriately. It is apparent that sounding the alarms is not getting the correct response. So what about reducing the employees’ sensitivity to the false alarms and training them that if the alarm goes off, it is a real situation? Many organizations are working on this right now.
You must hear the alarm to make sure it is working. NFPA 72 requires annual testing and visual inspection of horns, strobes, chimes, bells, etc. A short burst should be fine during the once- a-year NFPA-required audible testing. With notice given to all employees, this should not be a problem. If your operations have downtimes where there is little or no staff, weekends or even af- ter hours, then those times may be better. Working the schedule around will have the employees less sensitized to the alarms.
Conducting fire drills is another time when the alarms are set off. Maybe use the intercom or paging system instead of the actual alarm. The idea here is the same as moving the audio testing: to get the employees away from hearing false or drill alarms and thus
make them more responsive to a real emergency. Possibly conduct the drills at a pre-determined day and time, for instance, every first Monday of the month at 3 p.m.
Training the employees to follow your fire emergency plan when the fire alarms go off is vital. Getting the clutter of testing and drills out of the way and training the employees that when they hear the alarm, it is not a test, is what can help companies save lives.
By the way, the fire alarm that went off yesterday was not an ac- tual fire, but a loose wire in the sprinkler systems poppet for system flow. We are also a small company in a small building, and almost everyone is within shouting distance.
Mechanical failures may happen, but the response to the alarm should remain the same.
Let’s work on designing and conducting tests and drills so that alarms are for emergencies and the employees respond in a safe and proper manner.
John R. Bennett (bennettj@hnv-hnhs.com) is an IT analyst and business continuity/emergency management consultant with more than 16 years of experience who works for Hospital Network Ventures in Portage, Mich. He provides services that include plan and program development and reviews, business impact analysis, and training. He holds several certifications such as CBCP, CRISC, and PEM (Michi- gan), as well as being a certified IT business manager (ITBMC) and member of the Order of the Sword & Shield.
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