14 TIPS FOR RESPONDING TO AN OUTSIDE EMERGENCY

Warehouses need to be ready for anything and everything

NOBODY WAKES UP in the morning thinking, “today my warehouse is going to experience an emergency as the result of an unexpected earthquake, severe storm, or some other outside disaster.” But emergencies like these happen more often than you think. When they do, you don’t have time to think; you need to respond promptly to prevent loss.

Of particular importance are polished and well-practiced shelter-in-place and evacuation plans, and effective communication. Otherwise, complications can arise during the emergency.

For example, during an earthquake, it’s not safe for workers to be under or beside steel storage racks. A shaking structure could result in collapse and/or falling loads. These risks can be reduced by having a competent person install racks, keep your loads within rack capacity, ensure pallets are placed evenly across both beams and consider installing safety accessories such as pallet safety bars or wire mesh decks.

A poorly prepared evacuation plan could result in a disorganized evacuation or response, which could be catastrophic. And poor communication with employees can lead to worry, frustration and people acting on their own, which could put them in more danger.

In a warehouse environment, communication needs to transcend obstacles like the physical distance between people, and noise, which may require visible warning lights, loud and distinct alarms, and a sweep of the area to ensure everyone is out.

14 quick tips

With thorough planning and preparation, workplaces can minimize harm to their employees in the event of an outside emergency. Use these 13 tips to improve your plan.

Shelter in place

1. Choose an area that is well-lit, secure,

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2. People in a warehouse may need to be moved to several smaller rooms, such as a washroom or conference room. Carefully consider optimum locations that provide adequate space, doors that can be locked, sturdy walls and ceilings, tables to crawl under or use as barricades, and no windows.

3. Carry out a head count when all employees have gathered. Make sure you have a system in place to account for the whereabouts of all employees and visitors. This will help focus responders on locating missing individuals.

4. Allow people to notify family and friends they are safe, but don’t allow them to leave the designated area unless you know exactly where they are going and when they are coming back (e.g., bathroom breaks).

5. Wait for direction from authorities to evacuate, or the “all clear” is sounded.

Evacuation

6. Ensure workers who are operating lift trucks and other equipment, such as pallet wrappers and compactors, immediately stop and shut off equipment. An order picker working at an elevation should immediately lower them- selves to the floor, get off equipment and proceed to the muster point. There should be no delay in leaving the premises quickly and safely.

7. Map out at least two muster points, evacuation routes, and exits to provide an alternate if the main route and muster point are compromised. Consider the risk that truck traffic entering the yard may not know an evacuation is taking place, especially during low light conditions.

8. Assign roles and responsibilities –who’s going to coordinate with outside emergency services? Who’s going to evacuate people? The more employees you have, the more coordinators you will need to help with the evacuation. Specify the chain of command so there is no confusion.

9. Provide copies of the emergency response plan, with diagrams, to all employees in digital format, and also post them in the workplace.

10. Train employees, supervisors and managers on the plan, and hold practice drills on a regular basis using different scenarios. You want everyone to know exactly what to do and where to go.

11. Debrief as soon as possible after each drill, and after a real evacuation, and adjust your plan as needed.

Communication

12. Maintain a list of emergency services contacts and determine how you will get notifications about the need to evacuate and the status of an emergency.

13. Determine a fast and reliable way to communicate with workers over the course of the emergency, such as a PA system, group text or runners that provide communication verbally or in written notes.

14. If workers are sheltering in place, provide updates every 15 minutes, whether or not the situation has changed. Encourage everyone to stay calm.