Lectures 11 Flashcards
Emergency
- An emergency is a potentially (likely, possible)life threatening situation, usually occurring suddenly and unexpectedly.
- Emergencies may be the result of human causes or natural causes.
Emergency preparation
- When an emergency occurs immediate reaction is essential. Speed in responding can mean the difference between lifeand deathor between minimal damage and major damage.
- Ideally all those employees involved should be able to respond properly with minimum hesitation (delay).
- This can only occur if all requirements (necessary steps)have been planned and procedures have been practiced, evaluated and improved.
- Because no workplace is immune (safe)to emergencies, preparing for them is critical.
Emergency planning and community rights to know act, USA
This law is designed to make information about hazardous chemicals available to the community where they are being used so that residents can protect themselves in the case of an emergency.
•It applies to all companies that use, make, transport, or store chemicals.
- •Emergency Planning: Requires that communities form :
- local emergency planning communities(LEPC),
- develop emergency response (reaction)plans for the local communities,
- Make public forums (meetings), select a planning coordinator for the community, and work with the coordinator in developing local plans.
SERC
State emergency response commissions (SERC) are required to overseeLEPCs. Plans for individual companies in a given community should be part of that communities’ larger plan.
Company’s emergency response effort
- A company’s emergency response plan should clearly identify the different personnel and groups that respond to various types of emergencies and in each case who is in charge – emergency coordinator.
- One person must be in charge, every one involved should know who is in charge, every one who has a role in responding to an emergency is given opportunity to practice in simulated (artificial)conditions that come as close as possible to real conditions of the emergency.
First aid training program
•OSHA requires at least one employee on site trained in first aid.
List of basic first aid topics covered for industrial workers:
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR (kiss of life) الإنعاش القلبي الرئوي
- Severe bleeding
- Broken bones and fractures
- Burns and chemical burns
- Choking(suffocation)and obstruction
- Head injuries and concussions(shock)
- Cuts and abrasions(scratch, scrap)
- Electric shock
- Heart attack
- Stroke recognition السكتة الدماغية
- Moving an injured person
- Drug overdose
- Unconscious victim
- Eye injuries
Other first aid preparation
- Make sure that well stocked (enough)first aid kits (equipments) are available throughout the workplace in clearly visible and easily accessible locations.
- Have appropriate personal protective devices available, such as rubber surgical gloves and facemasks or mouthpieces for CPR.
- Post emergency telephone numbers:
- •999 Police
- •998 Ambulance
- •997 Fire
- and appropriate internal personnel.
- Keep all employees informed about basic first aid.
OSHA’s standard for evacuation planning
- There must be a written plan for evacuating (move out) the facility (building)in the event of an emergency.
- Critical elements of the plan are marking of exit routes, communications, outside assembly and training.
Marking of exit routes: •Clearly identify and mark routes of exit that can be seen in event of darkness (photo luminescent signs).
- There should be low levelmarkings in case of smoke;
- fire fighting equipment clearly marked;
- first aid equipment clearly marked with directional signs;
- electrical, chemical, physical hazards identified and marked.
- Outside Assembly: Assembly area to which employees go once evacuated, so a headcount can be taken.
- Backup assembly area if primary area has been rendered (concluded)inaccessible (cannot be reached) or hazardous.
- Training: Training should be provided when employees are first hired, and retraining should be provided periodically, as various elements of the plan are updated.
- Drills (practical training) should be a major part of the training.
Essential components of an Emergency Action Plan EAP
Developing an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is a major step in preparing for emergencies.
Depending on the types of products and processes involved, a company may anticipate the following:
- fires,
- chemical spills,
- explosions,
- toxic emissions,
- train derailments,
- hurricanes, tornadoes,
- lightning,
- floods, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions.
Essential components of an Emergency Action Plan EAP
A company’s EAP should be a collection of small plans for each anticipated or potential emergency.
Essential components of an Emergency Action Plan EAP
The plans should have the following components:
- Procedures: Specific step by step emergency response procedures should be developed for each emergency.
- Coordination: All cooperating agencies and organizations and emergency responders should be listed along with their telephone numbers and primary contact person.
- Assignments and responsibilities: Every person who will be involved in responding to a given emergency should know his or her assignment.It is important to assign a backup person for each area of responsibility.
- Accident prevention strategies: The day to day strategies for preventing a particular type of emergency should be summarized in this section.
- Schedules: Dates and times of regularly schedules emergency drills. (training)
•Emergency Response Team (ERT):
A special team that responds to emergencies to ensure:
- proper personnel evacuation and safety,
- shut down building services and utilities,
- work with responding civil authorities,
- protect and salvage property, and
- evaluate areas for safety prior to re-entry.
Emergency Response Network (ERN):
A network of ERTs that cover a designated (specific) geographical area and is typically responsible for a specific type of emergency.
•Trauma Response Team (TRT):
A team that may consist of safety and health personnel who have undergone specialized training or fully credentialed counseling personnel to help employees get back to normalby enabling them to handle a disaster or some kind of emergency so shocking that it impairs (damage) a person’s sense of security or well being.
Trauma
•is psychological stress. It occurs as a result of an event typically a disaster or some kind of emergency, so shocking that it weakens a person’s sense of security or well being.
Traumatic events are typically unexpected and shocking, and they involve the reality or threat of death
Trauma Response
The typical approach to an emergency can be described as follows:
- control it, take care of the injures, clean up the mess, and get back to work.
- Often the psychological aspect is ignored. This leaves witness and other co-workers to deal on their own with trauma they have experienced.
- The purpose of the response is to help employees get back to normal by enabling them to handle what they have experienced. This is best accomplished by a team of people who have had specialized training.
Company response to trauma
- The job of the trauma response team is to intervene (come in) as early as possible , helpemployees acknowledge what they have experienced, and give them opportunities to express how they feel to people who are qualified to help.
- Psychological trauma that is left untreated can manifest (show, appear) itself as post traumatic stress disorder, the same syndrome experienced by some veterans of Vietnam and other wars.
- Employees experiencing trauma-related disorders will not perform at their best. Safety and health professional should use this rationalewhen it is necessary to convince higher management of the need to provide company sponsored trauma response team.
Disaster recovery plan
Recovering quickly is the key to staying in business. A comprehensive disaster recovery plan should have at least the following components:
- •Recovery coordinator: one person who has ultimate responsibility and authority for disaster recovery.
- •Recovery team: key personnel to whom the recovery coordinator can delegate (give duty)specific responsibilities such as facility management, security, human resources, environmental protection, communications and personnel needed to restart operations.
- •Recovery analysis and planning: assessing the impact of the disaster on the organization both short term and long term by considering various scenarios and plan for them.
- •Damage assessment and salvage (save, rescue): The preparedness element should include a comprehensive inventory (complete list) of:
- •all property,
- •items essential for maintaining facility,
- •list of personnel who will aid in the recovery, list of all vendors (sellers),
- worksheet to document all action taken during recovery, and
- •procedures for quickly establishing a remote operating site.
- •Employee support and assistance: Including financial, medical, and psychological.
- •Determine post disaster work schedules. Include overtime work and flexibility in scheduling. Plan employee assistance including medical, transportation, financial, shelter, food, water, clothing and psychological services. Plan for grief counseling. Plan for relocating facility. Plan to fully inform employees about what happened.
Preparing for terrorism threat
- Run a safe and caring operation: employees should know that their safety is a high priority.
- Listen to employees: answer questions, and communicate openly and frequently.
- Train employees: for example mailroom employees need to be trained in how to screen incoming mail for biohazards and explosives.
- Know your personnel: Make background checks as part of the hiring process.
- Empower personnel: empower employees to back away from a situation that does not feel right.
- Harden the site against external threats and restrict access:
- Insulate the workplace from negative outside influences.
- Call in security experts to develop and implement necessary controls.
- Make sure that visitors can be screened from a distance: Will lessen likelihood of terrorists gaining access by overpowering security personnel
- Secure trash containers: keep at a distance from building.
- Ensure that employees, contractors, and visitors wear badges:
- •Require identification of visitors.
- •Have emergency response plan and practice it periodically
- Be cautious of information placed on your company web site: can be used by terrorists, such as detailed maps
- Keep up to date with latest safety and security..strategies
- Protect the integrity of your facility’s key system: restrict access to keys, consider not using master keys.
