Page 16 - Occupational Health & Safety, October 2017

WINTER HAZARDS
disaster. Many companies have an emer- gency call back, but if there is widespread power or cell outage due to winter events, what is the backup? One great reminder is to ensure all supervisors keep up to date with the policy and expectations for their staff and discuss this with them. Have a va- rietyofcontactfeatures,includingTVand radio broadcasts and drivers with heavy vehicles for transportation if needed (hos- pitals use this often), plus a set message for employees to call into, call back trees, etc. Use what works. Make sure everyone knows what to do. While cell phones are wonder-
ful, often they can be compromised easily; in true disaster situations you may be able to text but not call; or have a set Facebook or other social media page at the ready.
■ Appreciation. When the ordeal is all done and over, it is time for you and upper management to honestly thank those who wentaboveandbeyondwhatwasexpected to get the work done. Tell all of your em- ployees how much you appreciate their ef- forts and show them with something such as a luncheon. Single out those who should be recognized the most first. You would be surprised how far a sincere handshake and
thank you go in the workforce. (Because therewillbeanexttime....)
■ Documentation. Don’t forget to document everything. If you have a spike in injuries, you will need to be able to ex- plain what was happening to contribute to it. Such documentation helps with next year’s budget planning, too, acquiring more staff for safety, larger budgets, etc. The winter crisis today will fade quickly in just a few months.
■ Your COOP plan. Now is a great time to review your company COOP plan and refresh yourself on who does what. Make changes and requests based on potential need and “what if” justification. COOP plans help manage the worst-case situa- tions, which is much better than needing and not having in a crisis or not knowing what to do, which is a helpless feeling. In- clude the ability to hire extra safety during a big situation and pull in some assistance, such as contractors, retired staff, etc. Have a list ahead of time—in a huge crisis you will need help, too.
As Safety, you are part of the company leadership. You have to plan for any busi- ness interruption and ensure both staff and company assets are safe and ready to con- tinue operations in one form or another, often in spite of upper management. Every season has challenges. Winter can be hard to contain even in the best of times.
It is a balancing act. You want the work to continue, but in a catastrophic situation you may not be able to operate. You de- cide well in advance how you best protect your employees and keep the mission of the company moving forward and manage the media, too! Does your site or facility safety program consider all of the planned and unforeseen hazards to protect workers from potential small- and large-scale disas- ters? Do you have additional safeguards in place for planning and eliminating larger issues that will impact your corporate bot- tom line, such as physical destruction of the site? The following checklist may help you evaluate your program.
Linda J. Sherrard, MS, CSP, is Safety Consultant II for the North Carolina De- partment of Public Safety Central Prison Healthcare Complex in Raleigh, N.C., and is the former technical editor of Occupa- tional Health & Safety. She can be reached at ljohnsonsherrard@nc.rr.com.
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