Revision 12/06 Emergency action plan

Revision 12/06Purpose

____________ is dedicated to the protection of its employees from emergencies such as tornadoes and fires. When emergencies do occur, our Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is initiated. This EAP is in place to ensure employee safety from emergencies during regular hours and after hours. It provides a written document detailing and organizing the actions and procedures to be followed by employees in case of a workplace emergency.

OSHA’s Emergency Action Plan requirements, found at 1910.38, requires our company to have a written Emergency Action Plan (EAP). This plan applies to all operations in our company where employees may encounter an emergency situation.

The EAP communicates to employees, policies and procedures to follow in emergencies. This written plan is available, upon request, to employees, their designated representatives, and any OSHA officials who ask to see it.

Revision 12/06Administrative duties

____________ is the EAP administrator, who has overall responsibility for the plan. This responsibility includes the following:

1. Developing and maintaining a written Emergency Action Plan for regular and after hours work conditions;
2. Notifying the proper rescue and law enforcement authorities, and the building owner/ superintendent in the event of an emergency affecting the facility;
3. Taking security measures to protect employees;
4. Integrating the Emergency Action Plan with any existing general emergency plan covering the building or work area occupied;
5. Distributing procedures for reporting emergencies, the location of safe exits, and evacuation routes to each employee;
6. Conducting drills to acquaint employees with emergency procedures and to judge the effectiveness of the plan;
7. Training designated employees in emergency response such as the use of fire extinguishers and the application of first aid;
8. Deciding which emergency response to initiate (evacuate or not);
9. Ensuring that equipment is placed and locked in storage rooms or desks for protection;
10. Maintaining records and property as necessary; and
11. Ensuring that our facility meets all local fire codes, building codes, and regulations.

____________ is responsible for reviewing and updating the plan as necessary. Copies of this plan may be obtained from ____________.

____________ has full authority to decide to implement the EAP if an emergency threatens human health. The following potential emergencies might reasonably be expected at this facility and thus call for the implementation of this EAP: ____________.

The following personnel can be contacted regarding further information about the written Emergency Action Plan or an explanation of duties under this plan: ____________.

Key management personnel home telephone numbers are kept in ____________ for immediate use in the event of an emergency. These telephone numbers include:

• Key management member: ____________.
• Telephone number: ____________.
• Cell/wireless number: ____________.

These contact numbers have been distributed to the following persons to be retained in their homes for use in communicating an emergency occurring during non-work hours:

• Name: ____________.
• Title: ____________.

Our facility houses several places of employment, so we have set up a building-wide EAP including all employers in the building. ____________ has informed its employees of their duties and responsibilities under the plan. The standardized plan is kept by ____________ and is accessible by affected employees at ____________.

We encourage suggestions to improve the plan because we are committed to its success. We strive for clear understanding, safe behavior, and involvement in the program from every level of the company.

Revision 12/06Alarms

Different emergencies require different alarms to indicate what actions employees should take. Our company has established an employee alarm system. We have fewer than 10 employees, therefore we use direct voice communication as our means for alarming employees of an emergency. We will use the tornado alarm to warn employees of tornado ____________.

Because we use a communication system as an alarm system, all emergency messages have priority over all non-emergency messages.

We have posted the following emergency telephone numbers near telephones, or emergency notice boards, and other conspicuous locations for use when telephones serve as a means of reporting emergencies:

• Emergency responder: _____________.
• Telephone number: _____________.
  
  

Revision 12/06Emergency reporting and weather monitoring procedures

Evacuation emergency: When employees detect an emergency that requires an evacuation, such as a fire or hazardous release, they should ____________. ____________ will notify the ____________ Fire Department.

Our backup method for reporting emergencies that require evacuation includes the following: ____________.

Tornado emergency: We monitor tornadoes by ____________.

Our backup method for monitoring tornadoes includes the following: ____________.

Other emergency reporting or weather monitoring procedures include: ____________.

Revision 12/06Evacuation procedures

Some emergencies may require evacuation or escape procedures, while others require employees to stay indoors, or in a safe area. Our emergency escape procedures are designed to respond to many potential emergencies, depending on the degree of seriousness. Nothing in these procedures precludes the Plan Administrator’s authority in determining whether employees should remain inside or evacuate.

At this company, the following types of emergency evacuations exist: ____________.

Our emergency evacuation procedures and assignments are designed to respond to many potential emergencies that require them, including: ____________.

Employees need to know what to do if they are alerted to a specific emergency. After an alarm is sounded to evacuate, employees should take the following steps: ____________.

See the appendices to this plan for the building plans with exit route assignments for each group evacuating an area or building.

Once evacuated, employees are to move directly to their designated exterior or safe area, where a head count will be performed, and further instructions given. Following is a list of exterior refuges/safe zones:

• Departmental group: __________.
• Designated safe area: __________.
• Head count responsibility: __________.
  
  

Revision 12/06Procedures to account for employees

Trained evacuation personnel assist in safe and orderly evacuation for all types of emergencies that require evacuation. Once evacuation is complete, they conduct head counts. The employees selected are trained in the complete workplace layout and the various alternative escape routes from the workplace.

Before leaving, these employees check rooms and other enclosed spaces in the workplace for employees who may be trapped or otherwise unable to evacuate the area. Trained and authorized personnel are:

• Name/title: ____________.
• Department: ____________.
• Shift: ____________.

This list indicates a sufficient number of employees who have been designated by the company and trained to direct and assist in safe and orderly emergency evacuation; provide guidance and instruction for all types of emergency situations; be aware of employees with special needs who may require extra assistance; use the buddy system, and avoid hazardous areas during an emergency evacuation.

The list of trained personnel includes at least one person from every area for every shift. This means that every trained evacuation person is responsible for seeing to approximately ____________ evacuated employees. The trained personnel also serve as a resource of information about emergency procedures and conduct head counts once evacuation is complete.

Frontline supervisors must be aware of the locations of those employees working on a particular day when an emergency occurs, as well as suppliers, customers, and other non-employees on the premises, when an emergency occurs, and be aware of who is absent or otherwise away from the premises.

Accounting for employees and non-employees will aid local responding fire/rescue departments in determining whether rescue efforts are necessary. We have described each frontline supervisor’s employee/non-employees tracking method below:

• Name of supervisor: ____________.
• Department: ____________.
• Shift: ____________.
• Tracking method: ____________.

Each department reports to their respective representative using the following procedure: ____________.

Once each evacuated group of employees have reached their evacuation destinations, each trained evacuation employee:

• Takes roll of his or her group,
• Makes sure all persons are accounted for,
• Reports in to a central checkpoint managed by ____________, and
• Assumes role of department contact to answer questions.

Head count results should be given to the ____________ Fire Chief or firefighter, if requested.

Other duties provided by the trained personnel during an emergency evacuation include the following: ____________.

No employees are to return to the buildings until advised by ____________ or designee (after determination has been made that such re-entry is safe). If anyone is injured or contaminated, the Plan Administrator will activate rescue and first aid actions. If an emergency incident expands, the EAP Administrator may send employees home by normal means or provide them with transportation to an offsite location.

Revision 12/06Non-evacuation emergency procedures

____________ has the following non-evacuation procedures: ____________.

Tornado emergency: In the event of a tornado, it is corporate policy to provide emergency warning and shelter. Once employees are made aware of a tornado situation, they are to follow these procedures: ____________.

Employees should stay away from windows, but stay inside the building they are in. The following is a table with shelter assignments listed:

• Group/Department: ____________.
• Assigned shelter: ____________.

Employees are not to leave the shelter or return to their regular duties until the all clear is given. ____________ will determine when it is safe for employees to leave their tornado shelter and return to work. At that time, the Plan Administrator will ____________.

If anyone is injured or contaminated, the Plan Administrator will activate rescue and first aid actions. If there is structural damage, the Plan Administrator will ____________.

Revision 12/06Critical operations

Our company has critical operations that cannot be shut down for emergencies. These operations include the following: ____________.

The employees who are designated to remain behind during evacuation to care for critical plant operations include the following:

• Name (or title): ____________.
• Department: ____________.
• Plan system operated: ____________.

The procedures to be taken by those employees who have been selected to remain behind to care for essential plant operations until their evacuation becomes absolutely necessary include the following: ____________.

Revision 12/06Plan administrator duties

During an emergency, ____________ will do the following: ____________.

Revision 12/06Rescue and first aid

Rescue and first aid may be necessary during emergency situations. Circumstances calling for rescue and/or first aid include:

• Circumstances: ____________.
• Procedures: ____________.

Emergency Response Team (ERT) members are responsible for performing rescue duties in case of an emergency requiring rescue. Members of the ERT include:

• Name (or title): ____________.
• Department: ____________.
• Shift: ____________.

Designated first aid responders are to provide first aid assistance within their capabilities to employees requiring it during emergency situations. Appropriate first aid supplies have been provided. Designated first aid responders include the following individuals:

• Name (or title): ____________.
• Department: ____________.
• Shift: ____________.

Professional emergency services responding in an emergency will help with and direct all rescue and medical duty assignments upon their arrival on site.

Revision 12/06Training

Our Plan Administrator reviews the Emergency Action Plan with each of our employees at the following times:

• Initially when the plan is developed,
• Whenever a new employee is hired,
• Whenever the employee is assigned initially to a job,
• Whenever an employee’s responsibilities or designated actions under the plan change,
• Whenever new equipment, materials, or processes are introduced into the workplace,
• Whenever the layout or design or the facility changes, and
• Whenever the plan is changed.

The training includes the following: ____________.

The information in this plan is not intended for casual reading, but is intended to get the appropriate message across. We present the material for training in the following manner: ____________.

We communicate the contents of this plan through a briefing delivered by supervisors followed by a demonstration and through a presentation followed by a drill.

____________ performs drills for the following emergencies: ____________.

We hold these drills at least ____________.

After a drill, the Plan Administrator judges the effectiveness of the plan and reviews any employee input concerning the drill. Employees performing the drill may identify something that did not follow procedure or was ineffective.

For example, they may discover doors that would not open; they may enter storage closets instead of exiting; they may get lost and confused or they may carry a suspicious package through the facility. These are the types of things the Plan Administrator needs to hear about after a drill. That way, they can be addressed before a real emergency.

Revision 12/06Emergency equipment and support

Our company provides the following equipment and support for use by our trained personnel during emergencies: ____________.

Revision 12/06Appendices

Employees designated to remain behind to operate critical plant operations during an emergency include the following: ____________.

The types of emergency action plans we have at this facility include the following: ____________.

We have attached the following documents for reference to ensure a better understanding of our written program: ____________.