While no one can prevent severe weather or natural disasters, business owners can control how prepared they are for an emergency. A good emergency preparedness plan saves time and money and protects your employees if there is a hurricane, flood, earthquake or wildfire.
Table of Contents
Business Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Rebuilding after a disaster can be overwhelming to a business. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), up to 25% of businesses won’t reopen after a disaster. Creating a plan for the disasters likely to affect your company helps you respond promptly, minimize losses, reduce downtime and keep your employees and customers safe. The SBA recommends a three-part process to create a business emergency plan – assess the risk, make a plan and execute the plan.
Assess the Risk
Identify the disasters likely to affect your business. Are you located in an area often struck by hurricanes or tornadoes? What about flooding, earthquakes or wildfires? Man-made disasters such as power outages or cyberattacks can strike any part of the country.
Make a Plan
Once you’ve identified the types of emergencies your facility might face, you can create an emergency preparedness plan. If you don’t have experience in disaster preparedness, consider hiring consultants to develop your plan. For example, SERVPRO, one of the nation’s leading cleanup and restoration firms, provides a free facility assessment. They’ll draft a profile document for your company with crucial information needed in an emergency. You’ll have a quick reference with details like shut-off valve locations and priority contact information. SERVPRO also manages the insurance claims process and launches the disaster mitigation and restoration process.
If you’d rather make your own plan, there are plenty of resources with templates you can customize. For example, the flood preparedness plan from the SBA advises the following steps during a flood:
- Send non-critical staff home.
- Bring elevators to the second floor and turn them off.
- Listen to the media and be prepared to evacuate.
- Reroute business telephones to cell phones or an answering service.
Here are seven aspects of an emergency preparedness plan.
-
Minimize risks
Conduct routine checks of your safety and fire prevention systems
-
Backup data
Store backup copies of important data in a separate location from your main building.
-
Secure important records
Store hard copies of important documents in a safe that is resistant to fire, heat and burglary tools.
-
Make an evacuation plan
Identify primary and secondary escape routes. Be sure they are well lit, easily accessible, and marked clearly. Designate a place to meet outside so employees can be accounted for as they exit.
-
Create an emergency contact list
In addition to including emergency personnel, such as fire, and police, an emergency contact list should include key customers, suppliers and distributors. Store a copy off-site. Staff members involved in emergency response should set up text and email groups in advance.
-
Prepare an emergency kit
Keep items like first aid materials, flashlights, batteries and nonperishable food in an emergency kit. Store it where it is accessible during a disaster.
-
Know your insurance coverage
Understand what your insurance does and doesn’t cover and your policy’s limitations and deductibles. Make sure key employees have your policy information and insurance company contact numbers.
Execute the Plan
Even a well-written plan will not protect your business if employees are not familiar with it. Practice the plan with staff so they know how to respond in an emergency.
Business Safety and Emergency Preparedness – Start Today
Having a good emergency preparedness plan can make the difference between recovering after a disaster or suffering more severe losses. Consider the risks that affect your business and make a plan today to protect your company and your employees. For additional peace of mind, partner with a specialist like SERVPRO to plan for emergencies and facilitate disaster mitigation and restoration.
varsha 
samanvya 
sweety