Disaster preparedness essential for all companies

Although more than 3,000 lives were lost, an estimated 25,000 lives were saved Sept. 11, 2001, because of effective emergency planning and evacuation preparation.

"In any disaster, natural or man-made, companies need to look at their procedures and protocols for response in such an event and ask, what safeguards can we use to prevent an occurrence from happening and how will we manage the consequences,'" said Dan Snyder, director of occupational programs for the Safety Council of the Ozarks.

Beyond the loss of life and injuries, there are additional consequences which may surface after a major disaster. For example, during the first days of search efforts after Sept. 11, rescuers worked without proper personal protective equipment and many developed "World Trade Center cough" from exposure to the toxins in the smoke and dust.

"Many symptoms are delayed and resemble post-traumatic stress syndrome, like those experienced by combat vets," said Snyder, who's also a certified safety professional and certified environmental trainer.

In response to the psychological problems experienced by survivors following Sept. 11, the Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency has awarded a $27 million grant to New York state for crisis counseling, and the New York City Po-lice Department is requiring its 55,000 employees to undergo counseling.

"Workplace violence was an obvious focus (of emergency preparedness) be-fore the terrorist attacks in both the public and private sector. The focus now must include the possible consequences to the surrounding community how to prevent and protect," Snyder said.

"Companies and businesses must as-sess threat potentials, accountability, liability, hazards of products and processes, and training of emergency responders and security. They must evaluate whether they have the right equipment to handle and cope with a disaster, whether roles are clearly defined, whether authority has been given where it might be needed, and the chain of command is clarified," he added.

Snyder said that companies must de-termine what the hazards and risk potentials are for disasters, and how those can be reduced or eliminated.

"Readiness must be an urgent priority for everyone charged with the responsibility for protecting the safety and health of workers and building occupants," said Alan McMillan, president and chief ex-ecutive officer of the National Safety Council, in a press release. "Emergency planning can no longer be regarded as only theoretical ... We must do everything we can to be prepared ..."

For instance, said Snyder, "based on the chemicals located on site, a company's number one problem might be coordination of resources and evacuation of the public. Therefore, readiness planning may involve working with the county's Local Emergency Planning Committee, fire and police departments, and communication experts in order for the company to install a system which would, with the push of one button, cause every telephone in a five-mile radius to ring with emergency instructions."

Taking preparatory action can lessen the effects and reduce the severity of consequences in the event of a disaster. "People have an innate sense of self-preservation the uncanny ability to avoid harm a desire not to experience injury," said Snyder. "A company's re-sponsibility is to reinforce that desire and train in regard to what's safe, what's risk."

Snyder offers the following guidelines for developing a workplace where people unconsciously avoid hazards:

Management commitment. Employ-ers must develop processes which go beyond Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance. The key is realizing that people are not interchangeable parts. Management must be responsible to its employees needs in the workplac to their needs.

Employee involvement. No one knows a job better than the person who does it. An investment of time in safety education and positive reinforcement can alter their perception of what is safe and what is risk.

Workers' compensation is reduced when people can approach management about their safety and health concerns.

Work site analysis. How do people do their jobs? Audit for risks and compliance. What are the hazards? Perform case scenarios is the company a potential target of domestic or international acts of terrorism?

Hazard prevention and control. Identify and control risks. When possible, engineer the problem out to correct the hazard. Change procedures and performance requirements. Require and enforce the use of administrative controls, personal protective equipment, policy standards and operating procedures.

Training and education. Communi-cate expectations and consequences. Develop awareness of existing and po-tential hazards. Explain the process of reporting potential or actual hazards and injuries.

"The appearance of highly visible security features help to deter acts of terrorism and violence," said Snyder. "The old saying, Perception is reality,' is true of safety."