Page 75 - OHS, July/August 2024

ual evacuation time. Additionally, systems maintain a highly detailed trail of events, allowing safety teams to track performance over time and reflect on past drills to iden- tify areas of improvement and enhance fu- ture drill performance.
Finally, the system should direct evac- uees to where they need to be in a timely fashion, allowing a quick account of all individuals. This capability allows drills to quickly wrap and get teams back to work, saving businesses from costly downtime.
Bridging the Gap
with Visitor Management
Emergency management systems are not without their shortcomings. One of the most common gaps is their inability to ac- count for visitors and contractors during safety drills and evacuations. This occurs because the list of visitors (or contractors or temporary workers) is often maintained in a separate system or a paper logbook, leading these individuals to be omitted from the emergency management system roll call.8
That’s why any consideration of install- ing an emergency management system should also include the installation and/or integration of a visitor management system (VMS). Visitor management systems track all incoming temporary guests, such as visi- tors, maintenance workers and contractors.
Integrating emergency and visitor man- agement systems effectively closes the gap by establishing a real-time data stream between the visitor log and roll call list. What’s more, extending an emergency management system to access visitor con- tact information allows the transmission of communications to all on-site personnel, not just employees.
Working together, these systems not only boost the functionality of emergency protocols but also contribute to a safer, more responsive environment.
Stepping into the Future of Safety
As organizations face increased pressure to maintain safe environments, emergency management systems are increasingly be- coming an essential tool in their arsenal. As safety and security experts will attest, manu- al methods struggle to keep up with the un- predictable nature of safety drills, leading to inaccuracies and risks. An EMS, on the oth- er hand, provides a complete toolkit that not only strengthens emergency response9 but
also fosters a culture of preparedness. Go- ing forward, the integration of technology in emergency preparedness is clear; it is an indispensable tool for organizations that prioritize worker safety.
Jeff Gladwish is the CRO at iLobby, a facil- ity and visitor management platform. He is responsible for the go-to-market engine that includes Sales, Business Development, Mar- keting, Customer Success, and Revenue Op- erations.
REFERENCES
1. tinyurl.com/mr47je54 2. tinyurl.com/32ev3j64 3. tinyurl.com/4b89mnxd 4. tinyurl.com/2s434tt4 5. tinyurl.com/3unudbz6 6. tinyurl.com/5xzsd53b 7. tinyurl.com/m98hh6z6 8. tinyurl.com/ys7jtun5 9. tinyurl.com/mswpzjtx
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JULY/AUGUST 2024 | Occupational Health & Safety 73