Nicole Johnson

Emergencies can happen at any time and anywhere. It is crucial to plan for the unexpected and train workers on how to handle these types of situations too.  

• 200 million people are affected by natural disasters each year 
• 280 Americans suffer fatal injuries from electrical fires (U.S. Fire Administration) 
•  1,000 suffer fire injuries each year (U.S. Fire Administration) 
• 1 chemical spill occurs every 2 days 

How Prepared is Your Workplace for an Emergency Evacuation?  

An emergency evacuation can be a chaotic situation, and this is why OSHA requires employers to have a written Emergency Action Plan (EAP), because it will result in fewer employee injuries and less damage to the facility.  Consider these four steps when developing an Emergency Action Plan: 

1. Conditions for Evacuation – Identify when and how employees are to respond to different types of emergencies.   
2. Clear Chain of Command – Employers should designate individuals to a “evacuation team.” One member per 20 employees will suffice.   
3. Routes and Exits – Create maps from floor diagrams. These maps should also include exits, assembly points, and equipment needed in an emergency.   
4. Account for Employees After Evacuation – Ensure the fastest and most accurate accounting of your employees and include this with the EAP.   

Some of the most common emergency evacuation situations in the industrial manufacturing industry include: 

• Fires 
•  Severe weather power outages 
•  Hazardous material spills 

Fires 
Workplace fires are the most common occurrence in the industrial manufacturing industry. According to OSHA, workplace fires occur daily, resulting in: 

•  16,000 office and stories  
• 200 per day 
•  5,000 people injured annually  

To make the process of finding potential fire hazards at your facility easier, OSHA suggested contacting the local fire department for assistance. The fire department can also help create a plan for how employees should respond should a fire occur in your facility. A few hazards known to create fires are faulty equipment, loose wire, clutter, and combustibles.  

Most fires are preventable prevention should be. Here are 4 ways to eliminate fire hazards in your workplace.  

1. Check your electrical appliances and wiring—Replace all worn, old or damaged appliance cords immediately. 
2. Keep flammables away—Keep anything that can catch fire at least three feet from all portable electric space heaters. 
3. Keep cords out of doorways—Avoid putting cords where they can be damaged or pinched by furniture, under rugs and carpets, or across doorways 
4. Portable heating devices— Never leave these devices unattended 

Natural Disasters Uncovered Broken Grid System  

Power outages have surpassed the 2013 U.S. average by 30% in the last two years, according to the Department of Energy Information Administration (EIA). Severe weather storms have caused approximately 100 grid challenges annually, particularly in the Southeast, Midwest, and Northeast regions over the past 6 years. 

According to Climate Central, the U.S. has sustained numerous weather-related disasters that resulted in: 

•  83% increase in power outages from 2000-2021 
• 64% increase in power outages in the last decade 

The frequency in which these outages have occurred is alarming, according to Reuters. 

“In the past two years, power systems have collapsed in Gulf Coast hurricanes, West Coast wildfires, Midwest heat waves and a Texas deep freeze, causing long and sometimes deadly outages.”   

Most of the power grid systems were built in the 1960s-70s, and parts of it are at least 25 years old. Due to the interconnected nature of the grid, it can affect many people simultaneously. It has become apparent that this old grid cannot sustain the current frequency of severe weather storms. The cost of repairs has increased from 2012: 

•  $160 billion (about $490 per person in the US) a year in 2022 
• 11.5% increase from 2012 
• 9.1% increase from 2021  

OSHA requires facilities to have 2 or more evacuation exits in case of an emergency. 4 points to consider when faced with a power outage in your facility:  

1. Light the Way— Organized, clear visual communication is vital in emergency evacuations.  Safety professionals can shore up emergency evacuation areas with glow-in-the-dark visual communication so workers can get to safety more efficiently.  
2. Machinery and Equipment—Shut off any electrically powered equipment that was operating prior to power outage.  
3. Ventilation— Any areas at risk of harmful or flammable atmospheres should be stopped until ventilation is restored (sections 5141, 5416).  
4. Doors—all powered doors need to be able to manually open in the event of a power outage.  

Hazardous Material Spills 
Exposure to harmful substances or environments in the workplace was ranked sixth in 2020. It is crucial that spills are properly cleaned up should one occur. 

•  424,360 were exposed to harmful substances or environment  
• 798 fatalities in 2021  

If you use or store hazardous substances at your worksite, there is an increased risk of an emergency involving hazardous materials, an emergency action plan should be established. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires employers who use hazardous chemicals to inventory them, keep the manufacturer-supplied Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) for them in a place accessible to workers, label containers of these chemicals with their hazards, and train employees how to protect themselves against those hazards. 

 OSHA says to determine what hazardous chemicals ae used in your facility based on your hazardous chemical inventory and gather the MSDSs for the chemicals. Hazardous spills can cause a wide range of issues if left unchecked. Some of these effects are immediate, while others are long-term and can include death. Some of the side effects to watch out for include: 

• chemical burns  
• sensitization  
• irritation  

3 Tips for safely evacuating facility after a hazardous spill:  

1. Discover where the chemical is coming from, if possible, and get away immediately. 
2. Get out of the building if the chemical is inside your building.  
3. Move as far away as possible and shelter-in-place if leaving the building or finding clean air is not possible. 

Identify Routes and Exits  

Floor marking and wayfinding make it easy for workers to navigate their environment safely. Floor marking communicates essential information to people where they need it, including in times where power is nonexistent. Deploy or upgrade your emergency evacuation signage  

Footnotes: 

“Expecting the unexpected: What to consider when planning workplace emergencies,” https://osha.oregon.gov/OSHAPubs/3356.pdf