Emergency readiness makes good business sense

Transcription

1 On the Cover Heidi Sherwood, owner of the Victoria-based Sapphire Day Spa, educates staff about tsunami flood zones as part of her employee emergency training process. Photos by Heath Moffatt Emergency readiness makes good business sense By Helena Bryan 7

2 The unexpected happened one day in 2008, a day that seemed like any other to business owners along downtown Victoria s View Street until an underground electrical fire caused a 136-kilogram manhole cover to shoot skyward just outside Sapphire Day Spa. Miraculously, the cover crashed onto the pavement, missing cars and pedestrians, before a sickly green smoke spilled out of the manhole and began to fill the street. Spa staff quickly called the fire department, and fire officials told them to stay put until further notice. When firefighters gave the order to evacuate, employees were well-prepared, chaperoning clients out of the building through well-marked exits to safety, without panic or undue stress. They had practised this before. treatment room; well-lit and well-marked emergency exits; and off-site data storage, just in case a disaster destroys all of the spa s computers and data. Sapphire Day Spa also ensures new employees learn about emergency preparedness in their orientations. What s more, they receive additional emergency response training at special City of Victoria seminars and participate in regular drills. One of the key drills they take part in is the annual province-wide ShakeOut BC, an earthquake response drill that happens every October. (See ShakeOut BC: Drop, cover, and hold on on page 12). Sherwood happens to be among a committed group of employers who go above and beyond the regulation to be prepared for the unexpected. But those who do, say they re not only doing what they re told they re actually thinking like smart businesspeople: preparing for the worst with a long-range view to maintaining operations after the fact. Employees ability to avert chaos reflected an employer with a serious commitment both to protecting her staff through emergency planning and, by extension, protecting her business as well. Sapphire Day Spa owner Heidi Sherwood s approach to emergencies is commendable, but unfortunately, all too rare. Smaller businesses generally tend to put less emphasis on meeting minimum requirements for emergency preparedness, let alone planning for recovery after the fact. And that s despite the fact that it s their legal obligation to be prepared. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation specifically sections 4.13 through 4.16 and Part 32 on emergency preparedness, response, evacuation, and rescue all employers are expected to plan, prepare, and train their employees for any and all emergencies. (See Emergency prep basics on page 9.) Prepare, practice, and plan And Sherwood takes those emergency response planning duties to heart. In her business plan, in fact, she ranks earthquakes a bigger risk than market competition. It s no surprise, then, that she has procedures and equipment in place for emergency response and post-emergency business recovery, including the following items: communication plans; on-site, 72-hour, 10-person emergency kits; flashlights in every Sapphire Day Spa staff practice safely escorting clients from the spa as part of their regular emergency drill. 8 September / October 2015 WorkSafe Magazine

3 I invite staff and customers here and it s my responsibility to protect them, Sherwood says. I worked hard for this business. I d feel negligent if I didn t safeguard it against all risks including natural disasters. Emergency drills are paramount Unlike Sherwood s smaller scale spa operation, some larger employers have a built-in workplace culture around emergency preparedness. FortisBC, which is in the business of providing natural gas and electricity to customers, trains all of its employees to be comfortable with emergency drill procedures and ready to respond to crises in the short- and long-term. In February 2015, the company simulated a major gas leak, one of three full-scale, eight-hour emergency response exercises slated for These are opportunities for employees throughout the company to experience an emergency in a safe environment, says Michelle Petrusevich, FortisBC public safety awareness manager. They also prevent It s about getting back to normal as quickly as possible, because even a short-lived crisis can ruin a business. Laurie Pearce, business continuity management instructor at the Justice Institute of B.C. skills from fading, and help us maintain solid relationships with first responders across the province. Large education centres, the occasional targets of random violence, are also geared to think in terms of large-scale disasters. Like FortisBC, Stacey Jyrkkanen, manager of safety and emergency preparedness at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., says the university is well-versed in the effectiveness of elaborate, on-site training exercises. Emergency prep basics It s human nature to avoid thinking about the worst. But employers are legally bound to be prepared for it under the WorkSafeBC regulations. In fact, all companies, big and small, must be ready for emergencies, such as fires, explosions, and chemical spills, to name a few. Here s an overview of the minimum requirements: Conduct a risk assessment to determine the most likely emergency situations in your workplace. Develop appropriate written procedures for evacuation or rescue. Provide well-marked means of escape in the event of an emergency. Ensure that emergency procedures take into account the safety of disabled workers. Conduct drills at least once every year. Provide training to employees in emergency procedures and fire prevention. Have first aid resources onsite. Provide appropriate personal protective equipment for workers doing the rescue or evacuation. September / October 2015 WorkSafe Magazine 9

4 Kamloops fire rescue personnel practice their skills during a massive emergency response drill at the city s Thompson Rivers University. Photo submitted by Thompson Rivers University In May 2015, after more than two years of planning, the university conducted a massive emergency response exercise, involving hundreds of RCMP and emergency response personnel including an Air 4 helicopter and staff and student volunteers. While this particular exercise simulated a campus hostage-taking with multiple shooting victims, the lessons apply to any emergency, whether it s a fire, a hazmat incident, or an earthquake. The bottom line, Jyrkkanen says, is that you need to be prepared, you need plans, you need to test those plans and procedures, and you need to continuously improve them. Plan for business recovery Planning for a crisis is crucial, and so is planning for the recovery afterwards. It can make the difference between an enterprise that goes under and one that survives, and even thrives. Laurie Pearce is a faculty member in the Disaster Management Program at Royal Roads University and she teaches business continuity management at the Justice Institute: It s about getting back to normal as quickly as possible, she says, because even a short-lived crisis can ruin a business. Most importantly, says fellow academic Robin Cox, in planning for big emergencies, business owners should be thinking about their effects on the overall well-being of employees. Cox, who is program head of Disaster and Emergency Management at Royal Roads, and the lead researcher in the university s ResilienceByDesign research lab, studied the process of recovery after a devastating fire in the summer of 2003 that virtually razed Barriere, B.C., north of Kamloops. Businesses are made up of people she says. And if you want your business to continue after a disaster, you need people working. But if employees are uncertain about the safety of their families, friends, and pets, that s where they ll focus. An employee s first impulse after a disaster is to go home to be with family. 10 September / October 2015 WorkSafe Magazine

5 And disaster can wreak longer-term effects on employees mental health. Displacement leads to a loss of routine and a disruption of support networks, Cox says. Often the environment is completely changed, and that can be disorienting. And there are complex, stressful decisions to make, all while catching up on mounting workloads. Being concerned about the well-being of employees is always important, Cox says. It s even more so when in crisis. But that work, of course, needs to happen well before a crisis occurs. Cox recommends employers develop a business continuity plan with employee input. Consult with them, educate and train them, and encourage them to be prepared at home and on the road as well. Jackie Kloosterboer can t emphasize enough the importance of personal preparedness. She is the emergency planning coordinator for the City of Vancouver, and provides earthquake preparedness training for downtown businesses; she has also written a book on earthquake preparedness targeting families. It starts at home, Kloosterboer says. If employees aren t prepared at home and end up struggling personally after a disaster, they re likely not going back to work any time soon. So, in the event of an emergency, how do employers maximize the capacity for their businesses to recover quickly, maintain profit margins, and, ultimately, contribute to the recovery of the community in general? Business recovery requires some extra considerations, Pearce says. You need to look at your supply chains, alternative facilities if your worksite is damaged, off-site data storage, how you can safeguard your computers, whether you have business interruption insurance or not all the things you ll need to get the business back to the state it was in before. James Simpson, WorkSafeBC s manager of corporate security and emergency management, agrees. In addition to a business continuity plan that we regularly test and update, we also educate our staff to be well prepared at home, in their vehicles, and at work because we know that the organization s resilience is very much dependent on the collective resilience of our staff. W Templates, checklists, and more For flood and earthquake preparedness tools targeting business, go to the Emergency Preparedness for Industry and Commerce Council s website at For useful tips on everything from emergency pet care to being prepared for an emergency while travelling to business preparedness and a range of plans, guides, and templates, go to the North Shore Emergency Management Office website at preparedness FortisBC employees took part in a rope rescue drill as part of a North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) week activity in May Photo submitted by FortisBC September / October 2015 WorkSafe Magazine 11

6 ShakeOut BC: Drop, cover, and hold on While the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation doesn t cover natural disasters such as earthquakes, many companies incorporate disaster preparedness into their emergency planning programs. One easy way to prepare your business for the worst is to participate in the annual ShakeOut BC drill the third Thursday of every October, says Oak Bay fire chief Dave Cockle, who sits on the ShakeOut BC committee. The event offers instruction on practical procedures and raises awareness about the importance of personal and workplace preparedness. Cockle says there are four key reasons employers should build emergency planning and business continuity into their business plans: Emergency-prepared employees will know how to better protect themselves at work and at home Safety-minded employees are resilient, and will enable your organization to quickly resume normal business operations after an emergency Regular drills and practice sessions will position your organization as a role model for disaster readiness A strong emergency plan increases your organization s ability to survive a significant earthquake There s a one-in-ten chance of a major earthquake on B.C. s coast in the next 50 years, Cockle says. And we want to change the culture of apathy that exists around that. On top of the drill, we have a tonne of resources on our website to help businesses prepare for an earthquake and move forward afterwards. If you plan for The Big One, you re pretty much covered for every other emergency. Employers can register for the event at 12 September / October 2015 WorkSafe Magazine