Page 43 - Occupational Health & Safety, December 2018

building or seek appropriate shelter. Others may be assigned with operational shutdown tasks that need to be performed before they evacuate or seek shelter.
Some of these tasks may include backing up or securing digi- tal information, turning off machines, or closing doors and gates. Whatever the tasks, each needs to be assigned to a specific person, and those people needs to be trained on how to do their tasks safely and in a timely enough manner that they can also evacuate or get to shelter safely. In many facilities, employees perform emergency or other response operations such as using fire extinguishers, con- trolling spills, performing first aid and CPR, aiding someone with mobility limitations, or rescuing someone from harm. These skills should all be practiced regularly.
Accountability
Most employees can correlate the need to get out of the building with their personal safety. Some may need help with understand- ing accountability. Unless they are trained, they may not see how getting to rally points quickly or checking in with a safety warden is important after they evacuate or when they reach a safe shelter- ing location. Explaining the next steps in the process, such as the possible need to send in an emergency responder to find missing people or assembling everyone for safe transport to another build- ing or location, can help them to see that accountability is part of the overall process to ensure everyone’s continued safety.
Accountability also can extend to non-work-related emergen-
cies that affect entire communities. Sharing the facility’s plans to account for employees after a widespread disaster, as well as the business continuity plans that are in place to help the facility quick- ly recover after a disaster, demonstrate employer commitment to their safety, both on and off the job.
Training and drills take time and disrupt normal work activi- ties. However, without them, employees may not have the knowl- edge and experience that they need to take appropriate actions to ensure their safety in emergencies. Providing training and allowing time in production and business schedules to perform evacuation, shelter in place, and other emergency drills reinforces learning and positive safety behaviors.
Karen D. Hamel, CSP, WACH, is a regulatory compliance profes- sional, trainer, and technical writer for New Pig. She has more than 24 years of experience helping EHS professionals find solutions to meet industry consensus standards as well as EPA, OSHA and DOT regulations. Karen is an OSHA-authorized General Industry Outreach Trainer, Walkway Auditor Certificate Holder (WACH), Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Trainer, hazmat technician, serves on the Blair County, PA LEPC and has completed a variety of environmental, safety, emergency response, DOT and NIMS courses, including Planning Section Chief. She conducts semi- nars, webinars and trainings for a variety of national organizations. She can be reached at 1-800-HOT-HOGS® (468-4647) or by email, karenh@newpig.com.
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