The hardest thing to do is plan for the unexpected. Natural disasters like wildfires and flooding can cause physical and environmental damage, but chemical spills or workplace violence can result in bodily harm and trauma and can take a very heavy personal toll at your company. Whether the disaster is man-made or natural, a well-thought-out emergency action plan can help you and your employees survive the most threatening of situations.
One doesn’t need to go further than the daily headlines to read about tornadoes, hurricanes, toxic gas releases, or riots that affect the workplace. What if you were in the direct path of the latest hurricane? Or a truck carrying hazardous waste overturned on the freeway near your company forcing an emergency evacuation? Or a disgruntled former employee decided to seek payback on his boss and co-workers?
A comprehensive emergency and evacuation plan is the first step in protecting yourself, your workers, and your business when the unexpected happens. Because so few people are able to keep a cool head during a crisis, it is important to plan in advance, but many companies continue to place this important task on the back burner and hope to get to it another time. Or they have a plan that is old and untested. Order this in-depth webinar recording as we walk you through the key steps in preparing an emergency and evacuation plan and how you can make sure it is followed in a time of danger.
In this session, here’s what you will learn:
- How to create an emergency and evacuation action plan that takes into consideration the worst-case scenarios
- Which disasters require evacuation and for which scenarios it is best to shelter-in-place
- How to designate an authorized person to order an evacuation or shutdown and establish a general chain of command for your organization
- When to conduct drills and training of employees on emergency procedures and practices
- Who should notify police, firefighters, or other appropriate emergency personnel
- How to account for employees after an evacuation and ensure the safety of those employees that stayed behind to shut down operations that may have caused additional hazards
- What supplies to have on hand in case of an emergency to avoid additional injury and safeguard employees during an evacuation
This webinar was recorded on Monday, November 9, 2009
About Your Speaker:
Pam Ferrante, CSP, CHMM, is the president of JC Safety & Environmental, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, PA. With over 15 years’ experience Ferrante has worked with a number of companies and is active in a variety of associations. She is a member of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and the Institute of Hazardous Materials Professionals (IHMP). She currently holds several appointed positions with ASSE, including chair of the Technical Publications Advisory Committee, AVRP for Finance of Region VIII, and the assistant administrator for the Consultants Practice Specialty.
Pam regularly publishes articles for ASSE newsletters, SafetyXChange, and EH&S Today and has also published articles in ASSE’s peer-reviewed journal, Professional Safety and AIHA’s peer-reviewed journal, The Synergist. She was a contributing author to The Safety Professionals Handbook published in June 2008 by ASSE. She is currently working on a book, Risk and Crisis Communications.
Pam presents regularly at national-level conferences, company safety meetings, and insurance seminars and receives the highest praise for her speaking style and engaging presentations.
Pam is an authorized OSHA outreach trainer for both general industry and the construction industry and is a qualified safety committee instructor for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation - PennSafe Program.
This webinar qualifies for Continuance of Certification (COC) credit. CSPs will earn 0.05 COC points for attending this webinar.
