The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires companies to be equipped and prepared for various kinds of emergencies. The agency states in detail the exits that must be available (1910.37). It also requires written emergency plans for most companies (1910.38), an evacuation plan, and training for employees regarding the plan. Regulations for fire protection and requirements for an alarm system are detailed in 1910.165.
Finally, the Hazard Communication Standard (1910.1200) also requires companies to include emergency procedures in the information and training they provide to employees about working with hazardous substances.
Management Issues
The nature and scale of emergency planning depend on the kind of business you are in. Preliminary tasks in preparing for emergencies should include:
- Identifying the types of emergencies your company is most likely to experience
- Familiarizing yourself with all applicable regulations
- Formalizing assignments for all individuals, including
- The person detecting the emergency
- Sounding the alarm
- Reporting the emergency
- First response team
- All other employees
- Visitors on the premises
- Arranging with local emergency and medical services
- Setting evacuation procedures
- Establishing communication systems
Think you have no time to train? Think again. BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer helps you fulfill key OSHA-required training tasks in as little as 7 minutes. Try it at no cost and see!.
Training Issues
When it comes to preparedness, your goal is to ensure employees’ response to an emergency is as close as possible to second nature.
1. Dispense information, including:
- Types of possible emergencies (fires, explosions, chemical spills or releases, etc.)
- Specialized emergency roles and training:
- What the company’s response team does
- Company training in
- Extinguishing fires
- First aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
- Shutdown and evacuation
- Emergency rescue operations
- Basic procedures:
- Sounding the alarm
- Names and numbers of people to contact
- Importance of clearing the way for those trained to respond
- Evacuating procedures and map
- Designated place to assemble
2. Conduct drills and practices. The central point for all employees to understand is their role in an emergency. For most, that means sounding the alarm, clearing the way for those trained and equipped to handle the emergency, and evacuating the area according to instructions. Regular practice drills will prevent panic reactions that can escalate the emergency.
Effective, 7-minute sessions provide comprehensive safety training at an average cost of $1 a day. Get the details.
Need to get prepared for training on dozens of other safety topics as well? BLR® has just the solution for you with 7-Minute Safety Trainer.
Effective Safety Training in Just 7 Minutes!
To help train employees in a broad range of safety and health topics, savvy safety professionals have relied on BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer for years. This essential training resource allows you to provide concise, memorable training easily and effectively in just a few minutes. Materials are ready to use, and each session supplies a detailed trainer’s outline, as well as a handout, quiz, and quiz answers, to get your points across quickly—and cost-effectively.
All told, this “trainer’s bible” contains 50 prewritten meetings covering almost every aspect of safety you would want or need to train on, in a format designed to be taught in as little as 7 minutes each. All of them are perfect for getting new employees off to a safe start, as well as keeping veteran workers alert and up to date on all your safety concerns.
Major topics in the 7-Minute Safety Trainer include:
—Confined spaces
—Electrical safety
—Fire safety and emergency response
—HazCom
—Machine guarding and lockout/tagout
—Material handling
—PPE use and care
—Housekeeping/slips, trips, and falls
—And dozens more
Download Table of Contents
Download Sample Safety Meeting
Just make as many copies as you need of the included handouts and quizzes, and you’re ready to train.
Equally important is that the program ships new meetings every quarter to respond to new and changed regulations. This service is included in the program price, which averages just over $1 a working day. In fact, this is one of BLR’s most popular safety programs.
If you’d like to personally evaluate 7-Minute Safety Trainer and see how it can build safety awareness, we’ll be happy to send it to you for 30 days on a no-cost, no-obligation trial basis. Just let us know and we’ll arrange it.