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Web Series on General Office Safety - Part 3 of 4

Posted by Joshua Fleishman on Thu, Dec 20, 2012 @ 08:19 AM

Welcome to Part 3 of our web series on general office safety!

Emergency ExitsSimpsons - Emergency Exits

OSHA states that a workplace normally must have at least two exit routes (I will cover what that means in just a moment) for proper evacuation. Just so we’re clear though, as you’d expect, there are exceptions to every rule. Basically, a workplace should have as many or as little exit routes as needed to safely evacuate all employees/personnel.

Getting back to exit routes, the OSHA definition is pretty straightforward. An exit route is a continuous and unobstructed path of exit travel from any point within a workplace to a place of safety. They go on to explain that an exit route consists of three parts:

 

  • Exit access – portion of an exit route that leads to an exit.
  • Exit – portion of an exit route that is generally separated from other areas to provide a protected way of travel to the exit discharge.
  • Exit discharge – part of the exit route that leads directly outside or to a street, walkway, refuge area, public way or open space with access to the outside.

Easy, right? Well also, per OSHA’s instruction, make sure to locate exit routes that are as far away as practical from each other in case one is blocked by fire or smoke.

Safety Plans

These are unfortunately many times overlooked and underutilized!

Emergency Action Plans (EAP)

Although OSHA only requires an EAP when there is an applicable standard that would require it, it is strongly recommended that all employers have one. For companies with 10 or fewer employees, you have a choice to communicate your plan orally. However, if you are more than 10 employees strong, you will not only have to write down your plan but also keep it in the workplace and make it available for employees to see/review.


You may ask yourself, “What goes into an emergency action plan?” Well, good thing, because I am going to give you a good idea right here, per OSHA:

  • Simpsons - Emergency Action PlansProcedures for reporting fires and other emergencies.
  • Procedures for emergency evacuation.
  • Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation.
  • Alarm system to alert workers.

…just to name a few and give you an indication of what should go in. Trust me, there’s more to it, but know that essentially it is a means to keep all employees safe during an emergency and to keep some order in doing so. Make sure to review the plan and train your employees whenever the plan changes or employees responsibilities change under the plan.

Fire Prevention Plans (FPP)

As you may or may not have suspected, the same scenario is at play here as far as OSHA is concerned.

  • 10 or less employees = orally discuss FPP
  • More than 10 = written plan, kept in workplace, available to employees
  • Must have FPP if standard requires it
  • Strongly recommended regardless of requirement

I would be remiss to not include what types of information should be found in a FPP, so here we go (Thanks again OSHA for this info)!

  • List of all major fire hazards, proper handling and storage proceduresSimpsons - Emergency Plans for hazardous materials, potential ignition sources and their control, and the type of fire protection equipment necessary to control each major hazard.
  • Procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials.
  • Procedures for regular maintenance of safeguards installed on heat-producing equipment to prevent the accidental ignition of combustible materials.
  • Name or job title of employees responsible for maintaining equipment to prevent or control sources of ignition or fires.

Again, remember to review this with your employees (especially those parts of the fire prevention plan necessary for self-protection). And you must inform your employees of any fire hazards they may be exposed to.

Any questions related to Emergency Exits, Safety/Fire Plans can be addressed through our Consulting Services--we’ve never charged for phone calls!

Remember! OSHA states that each employer must provide relative safety training to their job responsibilities prior to first task. Make sure to keep training relevant and up-to-date! Remember your annual refresher courses for any subject can keep employees proficient. Training should communicate workplace hazards and how to avoid or control hazards. Safety training (even if/when not required) should be well-documented and kept in a known spot for providing proof when necessary.

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Tags: emergency exit safety, fire protection plan, emergency action plan, safety training topics