| Teamwork: Emergency Response |  |
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| Written by FM Global | |
| Emergencies strike without warning. An explosion and severe fire sweeps through an office. An earthquake shakes hundreds of computers from high storage. A sudden power outage shuts down critical equipment or processing lines. A flood submerges perishable products with contaminated floodwater.When an emergency hits, your response in the next minute could mean the difference between business property survival and disastrous loss. And survival depends upon your own readiness.
No matter what your business involves-an office building, a health care facility, a manufacturing plant, a shopping mall, a college campus or a warehouse-you need an emergency response plan; one that assures your organization will survive the worst possible emergency. Are you ready? If your emergency response plan is effective and current, you’re probably in good shape. But it can’t be just a policy on paper. And don’t assume insurance covers it. If your customers have to go elsewhere for the products or raw materials they need, no insurance policy will bring them back. This article will serve as a guide for creating an effective plan or updating an existing one. Once you have built your plan and have trained your emergency organization (EO) to carry out the plan, your answers to the following questions should be yes: Does your plan list step-by-step training procedures, response actions and job assignments for the EO? Training is essential. After all, you will expect the EO to safeguard your business property and environment without putting themselves at risk. Is the plan current? Are EO members still on staff? Is their training appropriate for current and future business changes? Do back-ups exist for vacation and sickness? Are positions covered for all shifts? It pays off!
Seconds after the explosion, the EO acted immediately. They called the fire department and directed them to the emergency site from the front gate-an action that is too often delayed. The fire protection specialist, who was outside the building when the explosion struck, radioed the powerhouse to activate the emergency paging system. The EO began isolating utilities to the building to ensure the safety of responding personnel. They also began to search for company personnel and rescue them. After all were accounted for, they manned fire hoses and provided final fire extinguishment. Personnel made sure the fire pump was working and the sprinkler control valves were open. Prompt EO response and the work of local firefighting agencies plus fully operating sprinkler protection and special protection systems limited damage to the building, adjacent equipment and surrounding tank farms and buildings. But it was the company’s response plan that really set the stage for this success story. The plan required step-by-step EO training and plenty of backup. An EO supervisor had been assigned for each operating shift and four alternates were available. All personnel and alternates were trained in incipient firefighting, spill containment and salvage. Several trained materials handlers were also available. Assignments were clear-cut and well rehearsed during training drills. One person had been assigned to remain in the boiler house and coordinate outside communications. Another person was designated to drive the emergency vehicle to the scene. All those and many other details had been spelled out in the response plan.
The flip side Unfortunately, too many companies put their facilities at risk by neglecting a thorough emergency response program. The following two losses demonstrate how chaotic response can so easily increase property damage. When a fire ignited at a sawmill, no one was ready. Personnel delayed calling the fire department for 20 minutes. Fire pump operation was essential, but no one checked it or monitored the sprinkler control valve. The presence of a control valve or pump operator might have decreased the time required to reactivate sprinklers during a second fire. The loss cost more than US$2 million. When a major flood inundated a sawmill, no one was ready even though flooding had been predicted for several weeks. The EO did not monitor weather for warning of intense storms. They did not relocate pumps, controls and supplies. They did not assign priorities to decide order of items to be moved based on replacement cost and relative value. They also failed to determine availability of personnel to relocate items. The loss cost about US$1.5 million. Success is yours in FIVE STEPS
Planning starts with careful research and forward thinking management. The steps are simple, but it takes time to find out what you could be facing and determine resources you need both inside the company and beyond. Step One-Assess your needs
Next, evaluate the impact of the hazards on your property, the general public, the environment, or your ability to resume business after an emergency. Examples of events include:
How could each one affect your day-to-day business operations? Consult with organizations outside the company, like municipal emergency planners or FM Global consultants, to help you identify natural hazards common to your area. Carefully research the history of emergencies at your facility. This can be very helpful for developing strategies. In the past, how did the response plan work as a result of incidents like hazardous materials spills, fire protection impairments and utility interruptions, riots and civil commotion, sabotage, bomb threats, and poor equipment maintenance? Was the cause related to human error? What worked well? What could be improved? What changes would you make if it happens again? Prioritize all the emergencies your facility has experienced from the most to the least severe. How frequently might they reoccur and how severely? Develop strategies. Natural hazard emergency response can vary considerably depending upon the type of occurrence. Take a close look at the nature of each one and develop specific actions you will need to minimize the hazards. Ask your FM Global consultant to help you identify each exposure and develop each step of response. Use internal resources. They can be invaluable for this challenging effort. An Emergency Response Planning Committee-not necessarily the people who will respond to the emergency-can bring expertise from areas like
Others on staff often make good emergency responders and help reduce training time. Some can help train people or serve as leaders. Examples are volunteer firefighters and heavy equipment drivers. Crane operators, plumbers and electricians can be valuable too. Take a look at anything offsite that could expose your facility to emergencies. These hazards (also called ‘exposures’) can be related to environmental problems, neighboring properties, and limited outside access to your property-like roadway obstructions or dirt roads that easily become impassible during a rainstorm. Other examples of offsite hazards include poor or interrupted utility supplies, seasonal brush or forest fires, or frequent arson strikes. Security-related problems on and offsite can affect your facility. In what ways could each affect your facility? Identify combustible or lightweight construction and other features like the age of your building. Does each building meet existing code requirements? Have they been well maintained? Has there been a history of roof, wall or floor leaks? Identify operations from raw materials coming in the door, to transportation and distribution of finished goods like these:
Identify protection including:
Step Two-Create a written policy This should contain three statements:
Step Three – Plan levels of response Set up an onsite EO. Create specific job assignments similar to the ones below and provide training accordingly. Some leading corporations like airports or big manufacturing facilities might use much larger staffs. A smaller business comprising maybe a warehouse and office might need only one person for the entire task. The Emergency Coordinator launches the plan, organizes training for the EO to respond efficiently during and after an emergency. Major responsibilities are to analyze each department’s site-specific hazards, outline all scenarios every emergency could take, strategize protection, and determine responsibilities for each member of the EO. To fulfill these responsibilities, the coordinator also:
The Notifier calls the fire department-his or her first priority. This person also keeps a current list of EO personnel and alternates, contacts EO personnel for all emergencies and notifies outside personnel like fire, medical, and rescue operations. The Sprinkler Control Valve Operator knows where all valves are located and is responsible for operating them in the event of a fire. As long as it is safe to do so, this person:
The Fire Pump Operator goes to the pump room when the fire alarm sounds and checks that the pump has started automatically. If not, he or she starts the pump and keeps it operating until instructed to shut it down by the person in charge. It’s important for this person to be familiar with the operation and care of the pump, trained in starting pumps manually and understanding the importance of pumps in relation to fire protection. The Pipe Fitter knows about the piping distribution networks and can shut off supplies of flammable gases, liquids and other hazardous materials in an emergency. Duties:
The Salvage Team gets the facility back in business as soon as possible after an emergency. Duties:
It’s important to contact contractors for repairs and rebuilding. Suppliers of spare parts should be immediately notified. Also, your FM Global consultants can help in organizing salvage. Watch Service personnel are a very important part of the EO, because they are often the only ones around when the facility is closed or when most personnel are offsite. These are the times watch services or security personnel will be required to fill EO positions. They should receive the same training as the EO.
Firefighting Teams, typically used in larger organizations, are selected and trained to fight a fire until the fire service arrives or until the fire grows beyond their level of training. Trained personnel must:
The Electrician may be essential to larger companies. The Electrician must:
Prefire Planning One of the most important parts of developing a response plan is your prefire plan with the public fire service. Good prefire planning involves conducting a site visit with the fire service on your property so that if an emergency strikes, your personnel and firefighters will act as a team. Firefighters need to be familiar with the layout and hazards of your facility. It’s important for everyone involved to know exactly who does what, where and when. Throughout the site visit, you will need a site plan showing the layout of the property and a checklist of items involving the level of response both your staff and firefighters will need. A certain amount of coordinated training might be involved. Step Four-Train your personnel Educate personnel for each level of response you need for the firefighting team. It’s important to establish drills with the onsite team and coordinate them with the public fire service and other outside agencies. The EO should also be trained to respond to natural hazards before and after they strike. FM Global has several resources available about natural hazard and fire preparedness. The guidelines might help you decide what to include in your training program. Look for a list of resources at the end of this article under the heading, For Further Assistance. Step Five-Do the audits Changes will occur and, as they do, they need to be well managed. Audits of your equipment, storage and property help determine past and evolving changes and future plans. It’s important to do at least two things: Final word Controlling a loss by preventing or minimizing damage is the major goal of your emergency response plan. Doing it right depends upon taking two assumptions seriously: A well-protected property equals a safe business environment for everyone! For Further Assistance Emergency Response Training TSB Loss Control Consultants Inc., an FM Global affiliate, specializes in the training of industrial emergency response personnel. They can provide your company with complete training programs in:
For more information call (706) 291-1222. Natural hazards
1999 Factory Mutual Insurance Company. Edited and reprinted with permission. From RECORD, Volume 76, No. 4. |
Just within the past few months, FM Global consultants learned how management at several companies insured by FM Global benefited from their emergency response plans when they faced emergencies. By averting or minimizing devastating property losses, they protect jobs and business profits-even in extreme scenarios like this one:
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