Hurricane Preparedness

Is Your Business Ready to Handle a Natural Disaster?

We’ve all seen the predictions for the year… Same ‘ol, same ‘ol… Like any other forecast, it’s really anyone’s guess whether it’s going to be a mild year or one for the books. Yet, you and your colleagues are not prepared to handle a hurricane… Neither is your company. Why? A mild season does not warrant any lack of planning on your part. When in fact, it should be the time you’re doing your best to plan for the worst. Is it the task of planning? Testing? The costs? Honestly, none of these should be a road block, much less an excuse to not plan.

 Having Hurricane Preparedness Procedures in place and having employees trained properly on these procedures will help eliminate panic & frantic behaviors and replace them with calm & rationale thinking, which in turn, will help save lives.  Emergium, Inc. is an ECM & SHORES company that specializes in emergency response and risk management to help companies create proper policies, procedures and training modules to overcome natural disasters safely and effectively. 

 Hurricane season is here and if your company does not have a written plan in place, now is a good time to get started.  During cataclysmic events proper training and written plans can help protect employees and the company itself. The company should have policies in place that protect the plant and equipment, details for each hurricane phase, staffing/employee policies, emergency supplies, protection of documents (hard copies & internet) and insurance coverage.

A good place to start is with a Staffing Policy. One should be in place which outlines who should go and who should stay. This policy should be posted in the front pages of the emergency manuals and employee handbooks.  There should also be a return policy for after the hurricane.  Make sure to tailor different alternatives,  just in-case there is a telephone outage.  Social media could possibly be used (twitter, yammer, facebook, etc…) to keep in contact. Compile an Emergency contact list & a 24/7 phone number of essential employees.  

Second, the facility, equipment , factory and plant need to be secured.  Make sure windows and the roof are in good condition.  Check all flood and security lighting and lights in the parking lot.  Find and secure all light weight and/or loose materials that could be thrown around during the storm.  Make sure emergency response equipment is working and ready for a hurricane (generators, testing & monitoring).  Check communication and computer equipment. 

Third, make sure the company has the proper amount of Emergency Supplies:

1.      Water & Food

2.     Candles & Flashlights

3.     Batteries & Lighters

4.     First Aid Kits

5.     Walkie Talkies

6.    Battery operated TVs

Just to name a few items

 Phase 1 – Preseason

BE PREPARED! Train employees on policies and procedures.  Gather all supplies needed and keep in a safe & secure area to be accessed quickly in the case of an emergency.  Check monthly all emergency equipment and make sure it’s in proper working order.  If your company does not have a plan in place NOW would be the time to implement one. 

 Phase 2 – Hurricane Watch

Make sure the exterior of the facility is secure.  Board windows, tape windows, close curtains and hurricane shutters (if available).  Make sure vehicles are in a proper place and that they are secured. Release employees that will be staying for the hurricane to secure their personal belongings and check with their families.  When these employees return back to work release all unessential employees; remind them to check with the return policy.

 Phase 3 – Hurricane Warning

Turn off all electrical equipment (computers, televisions, printers, A/C units, etc…). Move all interior equipment away from windows and secure in a safe place.  Make sure all essential employees check the policies and procedures manual and are aware of what they are to do and where they are to go to be safe for the storm. 

 Phase 4 – After the Hurricane

ASSESS ALL DAMAGES (take pictures, videos & written accounts of what has happened); doing this helps create a risk assessment and also is good for the insurance company. Risk assessments are essential in show companies what needs improvement and where.  Start cleaning up the facility and DO NOT turn on any electrical devices until power has been fully restored to your area and there is no standing water.  Check and make sure all employees return according to the return policy. 

 MAIN FOCUS:

This should be a no-brainer but make sure documents are secured.  Hard & soft copies should be secured at all times regardless of a natural disaster or not.  Creating a Sharepoint or Cloud network to store all documents electronically is the safest and most secure way of protecting the company and its clients.   ALL businesses rely heavily on readily accessible documentation; however, without proper storage of these documents, all this information can be destroyed and lost with one small disaster. 

 **This is simply a general guideline and every business preparedness plan will be different and customized to their needs.**

To learn more about how to get prepared or to check and see if you need to improve your current plan, click here  ,

Hurricane season IS here; don’t get caught in the storm unprepared, your life depends on it!  Emergium can help make sure your company and your documents are safe and secure to give you peace of mind.