Think back to when you were a kid in school. Do you remember the various hazard drills you had to practice? Depending on where you lived there were fire drills, tornado drills, earthquake drills, intruder drills, etc. The idea was that if such an incident were to happen, everyone would know what to do without thinking about it. They would just act.

Why is it that once we get into the working world, it seems these drills go by the wayside? Whether you are just in an office building where you could be threatened by fire or tornados, or a shop where there could be industrial accidents like chemical spills, why is it we don’t always think to conduct these same ‘worst case’ scenario drills?

It’s time to reinstate the emergency drill. But this will not be just any emergency drill. All businesses are different, and that means you will have specific needs that have to be met. Think about what needs to be met in your workplace in an emergency. 

Possible Threats
In addition to the fire and nature-related threats already mentioned, are there any specific threats that may impact your workplace (i.e. radiation leaks, chemical spills, explosions from combustibles). If there are, you need to train your personnel on how to deal with these situations were they to arise.

Employee Safety
It is important to make sure your employees know where they need to go, and how to get there, to be safe in an emergency situation.

Machine Shutdown
If you have a number of machines operating in your building, and some need to be monitored or assisted while running so they don’t burn up or cause more problems, you need a shut-down procedure that can be followed quickly while still getting your employees to safety in an emergency situation.

Materials Safety
If your workplace has a number of chemicals or other hazardous materials in use, it is vital that you have measures in place to attempt to secure these materials as an evacuation or other emergency operation is underway. Many of these types of companies have special rooms where the chemicals are kept which can be shut and sealed off as an evacuation is happening.

You should plan regular drills with your employees to make sure they know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it in case of an emergency. While you may not want to regularly close down all your operations for a drill, you can go department by department, and make the employees do a mock incident, and monitor their reactions, noting any mistakes they make in the process. 

While it may seem like an inconvenience, the more prepared your company is for the worst the better chance you will be able to safely shut down operations and get everyone out alive and well if the worst were to happen.