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Emergency Closing Plans

Emergency Closing Plans
To close down a workplace during an emergency is an integral part of emergency planning and it should not be a spur of the moment afterthought. As an employer, you need to have a detailed plan set up for closing down the facility which includes:
  • Circumstances leading to a closing.
  • Who makes the decision?
  • How the decision is communicated.
  • What about employee compensation?
Some decisions for workplace emergency should be made well in advanced and clearly communicated to the employees. Change of these decisions or leaving it to the condition of the moment will lead to more confusion, errors and greater problems to face in the aftermath of the emergency.

There are six major issues that should be anticipated like:

1.Mandatory evacuations: Companies must abide by the mandatory evacuations issued by local and state authorities.

2.National emergencies: Even if the emergency doesn’t take place at a specific work site or even close by, a national emergency may justify a close down.

3.Weather: In case of weather emergencies, traveling is mostly a challenge. Crucial considerations must be included, like the time and severity of the event.

4.Local emergencies: Events like highway closing, hazardous spills, power outages and equipment failures though may be a little impractical to close down but it’s worthwhile to open only after the situation is solved.

5.Notification: A written policy should be in place to instruct employees how to receive notification indicating a close down. Local radio and television stations can also be helpful to announce urgent closing.

6.Alternate workplace: If in case, there is an alternative workplace, workers should be told beforehand and direct employees when appropriate.

To learn more about emergency response or plans for emergency close down, join a HAZWOPER training course. The HAZWOPER training offers a wide range of education related to protecting workers from hazards and much more.

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