In the event of a serious emergency, a clearly defined and understood evacuation plan is often the only thing which prevents a disaster from becoming a tragedy. Evacuation plans save lives; understanding where to go in various circumstances, and having clear paths to exits allow employees to safely exit the building, even in a panic. A poorly designed evacuation route, meanwhile, can cause unnecessary harm to employees and even lead to needless fatalities. This is why OSHA takes means of egress so seriously, and is why they enacted Standard 1910.36 and Standard 1910.37.

Standard 1910.36 covers the basic requirements for the design and construction of exit routes. It explains requirements for the exit itself, stating that the exit must be permanent, fireproof, unlocked, lead directly outside, and that the number of openings into an exit are to be limited. It also discusses what is considered an “adequate” number of exit routes, and how to determine if a facility meets this minimum requirement. Finally, this standard also specifies height and width requirements for the evacuation route, as well as the specifications for the exit itself, including the hinges required, the height and width, and the appropriate locking mechanisms.

Standard 1910.37 covers the maintenance, safeguards, and operations features for exit routes. It explains that exit routes must have adequate lighting, must be unobstructed, that exit signs must be clearly labeled and illuminated, that alarm systems must always be operable, and discusses the steps to take during construction and repairs to ensure the exit route remains operational.

If you have any concerns that your evacuation routes are not up to these standards, or if you feel they are not prominently displayed in the proper locations, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about evacuation routes, please leave a comment.

Emergency Action Plans are a topic we have discussed on several occasions in the past. We are repeatedly talking about them because they are of the utmost importance to workplace safety. Just about anything else OSHA regulates or your safety team monitors relates to specific employees or a specific group of employees, involved in potentially dangerous operations. Emergency action plans, on the other hand, relate to your entire staff, and can be needed at any time and for any reason, regardless of your line of business and how safe your facility.

Should you need to use your emergency action plan, it will likely be because something serious happened and your entire staff is, or recently was, in danger. Emergency action plans are used whenever an evacuation of your facility is required, most commonly from natural disasters, though also sometimes from man made disasters, as well. A well designed evacuation plan, however, is just the first step. After employees evacuate, there need to be clearly defined procedures to account for staff, to ensure a quick and effective response from rescue and medical personnel, and to make certain all required safety and management workers are contacted.

An effective emergency action plan has these three key steps, at a minimum. For maximum efficacy, these plans should be readily available to all employees, known by management and safety staff, and should be accessible from numerous locations inside and outside of the facility. Additionally, it is important to have training around the emergency action plan and a working alarm system.

With these steps in place, a disaster does not need to become a tragedy. For help in establishing your emergency action plan, or for a full review of your current plan, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the importance of an emergency action plan, please leave a comment.

Evacuation plans are an important part of any Emergency Action Plan. In the event of a serious emergency, your staff needs to have a clear and defined path out of the facility, with adequate predetermined routes to exits, and exits which are capable of withstanding a number of potential emergencies. In addition, your staff needs to know the evacuation routes, and the routes need to be posted throughout your facility, so that employees can simply look at a sign to find the fastest way out from anywhere in your place of business.

Not only are these requirements for a safe workplace, they are also requirements determined by OSHA. OSHA set Standard 1910.36 and Standard 1910.37 as a way to gauge whether your business is safe in the event evacuation is required. Unfortunately, there is a lot of gray area in the standards given how many different layouts a building can have. It is for this reason we generally recommend any evacuation plan be reviewed by a professional firm who specializes in safety and OSHA regulations.

But even after you have created an approved evacuation plan, it is important to be sure you print acceptable evacuation plan placards and have them installed throughout your facility. This crucial step is often overlooked by employers, and can be dangerous in an emergency situation.

If you have any questions about evacuation plans, including how to create one, how to account for changes in your work space, and how to print and install them, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the requirements for evacuation plans, please leave a comment.

Evacuation routes are at the cornerstone of any Safety and Health Management System. This is because, if it is needed, your evacuation plan is what allows your employees to get out of a potentially lethal circumstance. Previously, we covered the actual evacuation route, how it should be displayed, how it should be written up, how many evacuation points are required, as well as the basic requirements of the egress points, all of which is outlined by OSHA standard 1910.36. Equally important, however, is the maintenance, safeguards, and operations features for the exit routes. OSHA has also set a standard for these requirements, standard 1910.37.

Your primary concern for an exit route should be that danger is minimized to employees who need to utilize the route. This means there should be no explosives or flammable objects in the way of the egress point, routes should be directed away from hazard areas, routes should have adequate safeguards in place (sprinkler systems, fire doors, exit signs, etc), and routes should be free and unobstructed. Once you have ensured your routes are safe and clear, you need to review the lighting and markings to ensure they are adequate and appropriate.

After you ensure the evacuation route is secure and well documented, you must ensure that fire retardant paint is properly maintained and the alarm system is operable. Should you have any construction or repairs to your facility, you need to ensure your evacuation routes are maintained throughout the project.

If you have any questions about maintaining a means of egress, or if you need proper signage, please contact us. If you have any other tips for maintaining an evacuation route, please leave a comment.

In recent weeks, we have seen horrifying fires, damaging tornadoes, and terrible flooding devastating communities and tormenting business owners. The companies who are handling these potentially destructive disasters best are those with an effective emergency action plan. Thankfully, OSHA created guidelines through standard 1910.38 for you to use as a starting point when developing an emergency action plan.

It is hard to discuss emergency action plans without also discussing evacuation plans. These plans, discussed in OSHA standard 1910.36, require that an adequate route be devised for each part of your facility in the event of an emergency which requires immediate egress. An effective emergency action plan must include provisions for evacuation and to account for employees after an evacuation, so obviously you need to incorporate the evacuation plan within the overall emergency action plan.

Time and time again when we review businesses who have suffered a disaster of one kind or another, we find that the more complete the emergency action plan, the sooner the business is able to resume operations. That is because business continuity is an integral part of the plan, and should be accounted for while creating an emergency action plan. If you ever need to put your emergency action plan into action, you will be glad that you incorporated business continuity into it.

If you have any questions about emergency action plans, or need help in establishing one, please contact us. And if you have anything to add to the discussion of emergency action plans, please leave a comment.

In the event of an accident or emergency, a well designed evacuation plan can be the difference between a minor disruption in business operations and a tragedy. OSHA regulates evacuation routes with standard 1910.36. When designing your evacuation route, it is important to keep this standard in mind, but not to loose sight of practicality in so doing.

The primary concern with evacuation plans is that there are an “adequate” number of “permanent” exits. There are a number of factors which determine adequacy, including the number of employees, arrangement of the workspace, size of the workplace, and occupancy requirements of the workplace. With all of these in mind, you can begin to think about how your evacuation routes should flow – what floors have exits, which stairwells lead to which evacuation points, and how employees can leave your facilities.

Once you have mapped this all out, you need to properly print out and post your evacuation routes in your workplace. When posting your evacuation plan, you need to make certain that it is viewable and easily accessible to employees and that the employees have been notified of their placement.

Finally, you need to ensure your alarms and exits, including doors and windows, are up to code. You need to verify that the exits are accessible both before and after an alarm is tripped, and check how the doors and windows can be accessed from the outside in the event of an emergency.

If you have any questions about your evacuation plans, please contact us to ensure you are up to code and that your facility is safe for your employees. if you have any other tips to consider in relation to evacuation plans, please leave a comment.

Every facility is required to have evacuation plans to meet any one of a series of potential issues. These plans must be capable of evacuating all personnel, through several different means based upon the emergency. OSHA sets guidelines for acceptable safety routes in standard 1910.36.

OSHA requires, first and foremost, that an exit be “permanent,” and the number of available exits must be “adequate.” The permanence requirement is easy, but how do you know if you have enough exits in your evacuation plan? Well, OSHA refers you to: NFPA 101-2009, Life Safety Code, or IFC-2009, International Fire Code. From there, you need to determine the number of employees, the size and occupancy requirements of your building, and the arrangement of your workplace. From there, you need to determine how many exits would be required to evacuate your employees, and how many would be required if one or multiple of those exits are blocked.

Further, you need to examine your actual exits. Are they using fire resistant doors? Are there stairs? Are the exits unlocked from the inside, but not accessible from the outside? Do you use side-hinge doors? What kind of alarm system do you have; will it lock doors if the power fails? If the alarm is not tripped, can the doors still be opened? Are the minimum height and width requirements met by your exits? What about exit windows – do you have any? Are they up to code?

After determining if your exits are acceptable and meet safety guidelines, and you have an adequate number of exits with adequate routes planned out, you still need to ensure that your evacuation routes are printed and properly displayed in your facility. If not, your employees will still be at risk in the event of an emergency. You also need to ensure that your evacuation routes can handle any emergency which may arise, including those caused inside and outside of your workspace.

If you are having difficulty ensuring that your facility is up to code and safe for your employees, take a look at what we at PF Safety offer. If you think a second opinion from a professional firm of experts makes sense for you, contact us and we will get to work making sure you are compliant.