What are some emergency procedures in the workplace?

When an emergency occurs in the workplace, seconds can often be the difference between some extra paperwork and risk to life and limb. The very nature of emergencies means you never know when you may be required to act, so understanding the types of emergencies that may occur, and the steps that should be taken to handle them is crucial.

What Constitutes a Workplace Emergency?

Workplace emergencies come in a variety of forms. Some potential emergencies will be specific to certain industries and work environments, whereas others are more global, presenting a risk to all workplaces. Understanding the types of emergencies your workplace may experience is the first step in being able to plan and train for their occurrence.

A workplace emergency is an event that occurs and endangers your employees, clients, or the public; or risks disrupting your workplace operations; or causes damage. Emergencies can take many forms, but will largely fall into three categories — natural, work-related, and external.

Natural emergencies

Natural emergencies are the hardest to plan for and predict due to their very nature. A natural emergency could occur as a result of flooding, severe weather such as hurricanes or tornadoes, or forest fires. When planning for natural emergencies, you should consider that they will likely not be limited only your workplace, which could affect logistical responses.

Work-related emergencies

These are the biggest group of emergencies that a workplace may experience, these emergencies are caused by factors relating directly to the work conducted. Work-related emergencies could be things such as chemical spills, explosions, machinery malfunction, or dangerous gas releases.

Civil emergencies

This final group of workplace emergencies are emergencies that stem from civil factors. These emergencies are likely to be rarer than work-related or nature emergencies, but that doesn’t mean they are any less serious. Civil factors could be things such as protests, strikes, or workplace violence or harassment, either employee-to-employee or client-based.

Regardless of the type of emergency your workplace experiences, it’s important to be prepared so that the damage to your employees, your customers, and your business is minimised as much as possible. Making decisions during a crisis can be tough even for the calmest level-headed among us, so having a well-thought-out emergency plan that clearly outlines the steps and actions to be taken is crucial, and also a legally required.

How to Handle Workplace Emergencies

The best way to prepare for an emergency and minimise the damage is to have a well-thought-out plan in place. But what exactly should an emergency response plan look like?

The first step in creating a plan is to brainstorm the worst-case scenarios that you befall your workplace. Natural and civil type emergencies will be mostly universal to all workplaces (although the responses may differ). The trickier part is evaluating emergencies that may result from factors directly related to the work you do. A good starting point is to use a previous risk assessment that identifies the risks, and ways to mitigate them, in the workplace. But emergency plans should also account for unforeseen risks that could develop into an emergency situation.

The plan itself should be tailored to your specific workplace as each work environment will have different risks that could lead to emergencies, and there will likely be different logistical considerations when handling them. Workplace emergency plans aren’t a one size fits all, but they should all include the same core features.

Chain of Command

Having a clear chain of command will help to prevent any confusion during an emergency. The response plan should include details of the appointed coordinator and a backup option. The coordinator’s job will be to oversee the emergency response, communicate and liaise with internal and external emergency response and service teams, ensure that any operations or areas are shut down and secured where required, and ensure that all at-risk personnel are notified and evacuated.

Emergency Response Personnel

Listed within the plan should be a number of designated emergency response personnel, their designated roles, and backup personnel in the case of the primary appointees being unavailable. Emergency response personnel will be responsible for dedicated tasks such as fire safety or medical assistance. Depending on the work environment and its hazards, they could also include personnel trained in special tasks such as the handling, control, and cleanup of toxic or hazardous chemical spills.

Emergency equipment

Being able to respond quickly to emergencies is crucial in limiting damage. The details and locations of any and all emergency equipment should be clearly listed for the benefit of both emergency response teams within the company and emergency service personnel. The location of items such as automatic external defibrillators (AED), fire extinguishers, chemical containment equipment, machinery controls/shutoffs, and water mains access points should be included here.

Evacuation procedures

The plan should include the details of any evacuation procedures that may be required during an emergency. This section of the plan should include the details of emergency exits, the location of stairs to avoid lifts, and the location of rally points where employees should congregate once evacuated to prevent interference with emergency personnel and allow for easy head counts.

Alarms

Another core feature of the plan should be details of the alarms that will sound during an incident, what they mean, and the expected action from employees. This is important as different actions may be required for different types of emergencies; for example, employees will be expected to evacuate during a fire, but during machinery malfunction, they may be required to lock down their area and stay in position to prevent further injury.

Additional Inclusions

While not legally mandated, it can be a good idea to include information within the plan as to a location for rendezvous and communication during an emergency out with the workplace, and a location where important documents and data are backed-up. It can also be useful to include a point of contact for employees to receive updates in the hours and days after the emergency, for instance, whether they should return to work.

How can Conserve help?

Conserve offers our industry-leading workplace health and safety management systems to help you ensure whatever the emergency, the damage will be limited as much as possible. With our system, you can track employees’ documentation, responsibilities, and qualifications, pre-qualify contractors, get real-time notifications when training or documents are expiring, record crucial incident-related information, as well as store and distribute important documents like your emergency plan.

Whether integrated into your existing health and safety processes or deployed as a standalone solution, our system can help you to ensure that when emergencies occur, everybody in your workplace is ready to handle the situation and stays as safe as possible.

Contact us to see how we can help you.

For more information, contact us at +61 2 8883 1501, or subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates.

Accidents happen unexpectedly, without design or by chance. An incident is an occurrence or event usually caused by a combination of factors. Some causes of incidents may include:

• poor choice of risk controls;
• a system of work that involved unnecessary risks (either a system of work designed by management or a ‘shortcut’ that management knew about but failed to prevent);
• insufficient training for the job;
• insufficient supervision;
• poor maintenance of equipment;
• unguarded machinery;
• unsafe use of plant, materials and substances;
• unrealistic production schedules;
• safe work procedures not followed;
• poor housekeeping;
• operator error caused by fatigue, boredom, complacency; and
• failure to act after previous incidents.

An incident can result in no damage (near hit) through to a serious injury, causing a severe disability, death or major property damage.

Incidents, accidents and emergency planning

A person conducting a business or undertaking must develop and document a plan for the incidents, accidents and emergencies that may occur in the workplace. Workers must be informed of and trained in procedures. The person in control of a business or undertaking must also review plans to ensure they are effective and up to date.

An emergency plan is a written set of instructions that provides for :

• emergency procedures, including an effective response;
• evacuation procedures;
• notification of emergency services;
• medical treatment and assistance;
• communication procedures;
• testing of procedures; and
• information, training and instruction to relevant workers in relation to implementing the emergency procedures.

It is recommended that any emergency planning committee be established and consist of trained persons who are located on each of the building's levels or located consistent with the layout of the building and involve as many tenants as appropriate. An emergency planning committee should include health and safety representatives and where appropriate consist of a:

• Chief Warden;
• Deputy Chief Warden;
• Floor Wardens;
• Wardens;
• Communication Officer; and
• First Aid Officers.

What types of emergencies should be covered?

Types of emergencies to plan for may include:

• fire;
• explosion;
• medical emergency;
• rescues;
• incidents with hazardous chemicals;
• bomb threats; and
• natural disasters.

An emergency plan should be based on a practical assessment of hazards associated with the work activity or workplace, and the possible consequences of an emergency occurring as a result of those hazards. External hazards should also be considered in preparing an emergency plan, for example a chemical storage facility across the road. Emergency plans do not necessarily have to be lengthy or complex. They should be easy to understand and tailored to the specific workplace where they apply.

In preparing an emergency plan, all relevant matters need to be considered including:

• the nature of the work being carried out at the workplace;
• the nature of the hazards at the workplace;
• the size and location of the workplace, for example, remoteness, proximity to health services; and
• the number and composition of the workers, for example, employees, contractors, and other persons at the workplace such as visitors.

Emergency plans, or a summary of key elements of emergency plans, should be readily accessible by workers or on display in the workplace, for example on a notice board.

First aid

The person in control of a business or undertaking must provide first aid facilities and a sufficient number of trained first aid officers as determined necessary by a risk assessment of the first aid needs of the workplace.

The first aid facilities may be a room set aside specifically for first aid treatment, a number of stations within the workplace or a first aid box on a wall. The person in control of a business or undertaking must inform workers of first aid procedures, first aid officers and the location of first aid facilities. A list of trained first aid officers and a map clearly showing the location of first aid facilities must also be posted prominently in the workplace.

The First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice sets out a range of measures which ensure work safety in the workplace.

Fire equipment

The person in control of a business or undertaking must inform workers of the location of fire fighting equipment and explain its usage. Maps clearly marking fire fighting equipment must be displayed prominently in the workplace. The person in control of a business or undertaking must also train workers in the procedures in the event of a fire.

It is important that the owner of the building or the person in control of the workplace ensure that:

• fire equipment is maintained regularly (check dates on service tags);
• fire extinguishers are in place and are properly mounted on brackets;
• detection and sprinkler systems are maintained regularly and that maintenance log books are kept up to date; and,
• items are not placed near firefighting equipment or stacked to ceiling level as this will interfere with sprinkler and detection systems.

The ACT Fire Brigade should be consulted regarding the fire safety systems required for specific buildings. Where specified by the Building Code of Australia, building owners must install and maintain at a minimum, hose reels and the appropriate extinguishers near switchboards, main electrical cupboards and in areas where batteries are stored as well as near emergency services switchboards.

The building owner should ensure that they have access to all the standards and guidelines that are deemed relevant and necessary for the type of building and for the types of activities being undertaken on the premises. These documents should be made available to tenants or employees on request.

It is the responsibility of the building owner to ensure that the fire safety systems installed and used in the workplace conform to the relevant standards that these systems are regularly maintained in good working order and that records of maintenance and testing activities are kept.

Building owners or persons in control of the workplace should make available to the occupiers of the premises information regarding the level and type of fire safety systems installed and information on the maintenance being undertaken on these systems.

It is important that building owners, responsible tenants and other occupiers have a clear means of communication. It is important that tenants and employees be advised when any maintenance, construction work or changes to building systems are undertaken particularly when these activities involve fire safety systems or when changes are required to established fire safety procedures.

Emergency evacuation

A person in control of a business or undertaking must maintain an accurate and up to date emergency evacuation plan. The plan, including emergency exits, must be displayed prominently in the workplace. Workers must be trained in evacuation procedures including:

• the identity of the Wardens;
• the alarm system and emergency warning and intercommunication system used in the building;
• actions that building occupants are required to take in response to alarms;
• the evacuation route(s) to be taken;
• assembly area or designated alternative areas which provide a safe refuge internally or externally;
• how the end of the evacuation will be signaled; and
• what is required at the completion of the evacuation.

For more information about emergency plans visit the Safe Work Australia website.

Evacuation exercises should be conducted on a regular basis, there are a number of factors that influence the frequency of practising for emergency situations and the ACT Fire Brigade should be contacted for details. As a basic rule however, these factors would include the size and configuration of the premises and the type of business and/or industry activity being undertaken. The period between full evacuations can vary between one and three years. The period between partial evacuations can vary between quarterly and yearly.