Emergency Planning in Office Environments
This course provides a comprehensive overview of workplace emergency preparedness, covering how to develop, implement, and practice an effective emergency action plan. Employees will gain a thorough understanding of the types of emergencies that can occur, how to respond to them, and how individual participation contributes to overall facility safety.
Course Highlights
- Emergency Action Plans: Learn what an emergency action plan is, what it must contain, and how a crisis management team — drawing from multiple departments and outside agencies — develops and maintains it.
- Types of Emergencies: Explore the wide range of emergencies a facility may face, including fires, gas leaks, natural disasters, medical incidents, terrorist attacks, and active shooter situations.
- Terrorist Threat Assessment: Understand OSHA’s Evacuation Planning Matrix and how it helps facilities assess their risk level — green, yellow, or red zone — based on vulnerability, target preference, and potential impact.
- Active Shooter Response: Review the Run, Hide, Fight framework, including how to practice situational awareness, safely interact with responding law enforcement, and take immediate protective action.
- Stopping the Domino Effect: Discover strategies for containing emergencies before they escalate and spread from one area of a facility to another.
- Preventive Maintenance and Hazard Identification: Learn how thinking like an emergency planner — asking “what if” questions and spotting potential hazards early — can prevent incidents before they occur.
- Drills and Exercises: Understand the value of both tabletop drills and live facility-wide exercises, including how they are conducted, who participates, and how they are evaluated for improvement.
- Evacuation Procedures: Review the importance of knowing alarm meanings, exit locations, alternate escape routes, marshalling points, and head count procedures.
- Reporting and Communication: Learn how to properly report facility changes, communicate during an emergency, and handle interactions with news media.
By the end of the course, you will have learned:
- The key components of a comprehensive emergency action plan and how it is developed and updated
- How to assess your facility’s risk for terrorist activity using OSHA’s Evacuation Planning Matrix
- How to respond to an active shooter situation using the Run, Hide, Fight approach and how to safely interact with law enforcement
- How to recognize warning signs of potential emergencies and apply “what if” thinking to identify hazards before they escalate
- The importance of preventive maintenance and timely reporting of physical changes to your facility
- How tabletop and live emergency drills are conducted and how to use them to strengthen your facility’s preparedness
- Your individual responsibilities during an emergency, including evacuation procedures, head counts, and proper media communication