Shelter In Place
This boardroom can double as a shelter room!
To Shelter In Place (SIP) means to separate yourself from a hostile external/outside environment. This could be for a number of reasons such as gas leaks, Hazardous Material incidents, criminal activity (active shooter or bank robberies in the area) and severe inclement weather.
Schools and governmental bodies have been making and exercising shelter in place plans for many years, and now many other types of organizations are seeing the need to develop these plans. After assessing the best methods for sheltering in place, communication and training of staff on these plans is of great importance. Considerations such as necessary supplies need to be made along with the plan development, as well as any additional steps needed to make the SIP area safer.
World Aware can help with SIP plan development and training, as well as SIP supplies and equipment. If you decide you need additional safety, we have extensive experience in dual use Shelter In Place/Safe rooms using security concepts that are nearly undetectable and can be applied to any existing office, conference room or other space. This dual use approach negates the need for a "stand alone" SIP/Safe Room, allowing your work or living space to double as a place of safety for your staff or family. Contact World Aware to discuss how Shelter In Place planning can help you.
COOP plan importance.
What is a COOP plan? A Continuity of Operations plan (COOP) plan is a collection of resources, actions, procedures, and information that is developed, tested, and held in readiness for use in the event of a major disruption of operations. Many different organizations have the need for and would benefit from a COOP plan. Major disasters will disrupt the operations of most businesses, and the cost of maintaining operations without some sort of plan or system for response and recovery is incalculable. Non-profit organizations, governmental bodies, private industry, even private practices and small businesses are just examples of the many organizations that have made COOP plans an intergral part of thier business model.
Identification of assets and critical functions is an important part of COOP plan development. Vulnerability assessments and informational interviews help to prioritize which functions are most important to keep the organization running.
Having a COOP plan allows for a smooth recovery after any disruption in services. Many organizations, such as medicaid providers (of any size) are required to have a COOP and emergency plan. The potential for during and post disaster cost savings is incredible. Having a plan laid out for recovery of essential business functions allows for a more organized response after a disaster or disruption, decreasing the amount of funds needed to keep operations running.
World Aware can help your organization develop a customized Continuity of Operations Plan that will serve as a guide for your organization's healthy response and recovery to disaters.
Weather Spotter Training
One great skill that you can add to your skill-set is getting a weather spotter training. This is offered by the National Weather Service (NWS) for free, in all areas of the U.S. The NWS has a volunteer SKYWARN program comprised of between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters. The spotter training consists of
- Basics of thunderstorm development
- Fundamentals of storm structure
- Identifying potential severe weather features
- Information to report
- How to report information
- Basic severe weather safety
The severe weather safety guidelines can be extremely helpful when observing storm formations, or even when developing your emergency plans. Identification of supercells, funnel clouds, hail size and patterns and other storm formations is very important for your own situational awareness, as well as for the good of the community. You are trained to report the weather conditions to the NWS and help them get a clear picture of the weather. Go to the SKYWARN site, http://www.nws.noaa.gov/skywarn/ for more information.
This is a great way to help your community and increase your self awareness at the same time!
Small Businesses: Emergency preparedness steps you can take NOW!
As a small business you may not have the time, need or resources to have a full time emergency manager to develop emergency plans and build response capacity at your business. It is important to know that you can take simple preparedness steps that will make all of your staff safer.
As a small business you may not have the time, need or resources to have a full time emergency manager to develop emergency plans and build response capacity at your business. It is important to know that you can take simple preparedness steps that will make all of your staff safer.
It sounds very simple, but one of the first steps you can take is to develop and practice evacuation plans. If you are a business that often has members of the public in your space as customers, then have your staff practice evacuating customers. Have a primary close evacuation point and farther secondary evac point mapped out and make sure staff know these points and can get to them easily. If the first point is too close and becomes too dangerous to stay in place then staff and customers can move to the secondary evacuation point. Develop and practice communications explaining to customers what is going on and to remain calm and exit the building.
It is also important to make contact with your local police department and share your plans with them, they may even have officers who can help educate staff on what to expect from a police response. Also, if first responders know where your evacuation points are, they know exactly where they can send ambulances if any medical help is needed. You can even coordinate with neighboring businesses and choose the same evacuation points for heightened safety of your business district.
Small businesses also need to practice sheltering in place (SIP). It is possible that you may be compelled to shelter in place due to emergencies such as gas leaks, or violent activities in your area. Oftentimes the order to SIP is given by law enforcement, and it may last for hours. You should make sure your business has the resources it needs to sustain and keep staff and customers as comfortable as possible during what may be an hours long lockdown/shelter order. This time may be frustrating and traumatic for all involved, so consider a kit with some essentials to help make the SIP easier.
Your business will also benefit from having staff trained in first aid and CPR. If you have shift managers who are present during all open hours of operation, they would be they best choices for CPR training. They are already in a leadership position, and will be present at all times the business is open.
These are all simple straightforward steps that any small business can take to better prepare themselves for emergencies. These guidelines can help keep customers safe, and give your staff the tools and confidence they need to keep your business safe. See what World Aware can do for you, Say Hello!