A Safer Point of View
EMERGENCY RESPONSE Plan
Is your organization protected with a plan in the event of a disasater or emergency?
Emergency Response Plan
When emergencies happen, how do you respond? Most of us like to think we’d spring into action and do the right thing; and it’s true, we have all heard stories of heroic actions saving lives. But we’ve also seen tragic loss and injury befall unprepared groups.
While thinking of an Emergency Response Plan, it’s good to remember the following quote: “We don't rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training."
The reality is many organizations are unaware of what’s required to sufficiently prepare themselves for emergencies. Many create emergency plans and share them with new members during orientation. Still, the plans are often too vague, providing little direction in how to respond. Training on the plan’s contents and readily available access to the plan fall to the wayside.
An Emergency Response Plan should not be a document reviewed annually to show compliance - It should be an active training tool for your organization to prepare for potential disasters.
Levine Security Solutions has a premier viewpoint for Emergency Response Plans. Our plans center around an “all-hazards” approach designed to mitigate the negative effects of natural and manmade emergency events. Plans focus on prevention, preparedness, and response which are developed using best practices derived from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), as well as law enforcement and security agencies.
Our Emergency Response Plans are comprised of four distinct phases:
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Mitigation and Prevention - This phase focuses on reducing the impact from a range of manmade and natural disaster related situations.
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Preparation - This phase addresses the steps to be taken by an organization in order to ensure resources are allocated in order to achieve the best possible outcome from uncontrollable events.
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Response - This phase details a fluid and immediate set of actions designed specifically for organizations and their personnel to minimize personal injury, property damage, and civil liability.
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Recovery - This phase provides suggested actions to be taken immediately after an incident in order to continue operations.
We take your custom Emergency Response Plan to the 21st century and make it accessible to employees on their smartphones through cloud-based technology. Instead of being located in a binder collecting dust on a bookshelf, you can take your ERP with you anywhere you go. So even if you’re not in your office at the time an emergency occurs, it’s available to you on-demand.
The plan incorporates concepts and principles from a range of sources to include Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Incident Command System (ICS), and the Attorney General’s School Safety Plan.
(Developed by FEMA)
Developing an Emergency Response Plan
The Emergency Response Plan (ERP) created by Levine Security Solutions serves as a planning document and consists of four distinct phases. Phase one, mitigation and prevention, focuses on reducing the impact from a range of manmade and natural disaster related situations. Phase two, preparation, addresses the steps to be taken by an organization in order to ensure resources are allocated in order to achieve the best possible outcome from uncontrollable events. Phase three, response, is a fluid and immediate set of actions designed specifically for organizations to minimize personal injury and property damage, and civil liability. Finally, phase four, recovery, provides suggested actions to be taken immediately after an incident in order to continue operations.
This document will be detailed, comprehensive, but easy to follow and understand. The Emergency Response Plan core section, emergency procedures, will be used as a training tool for all staff members with an effort to reduce injury, loss of life, physical damage to the facility, and minimize civil liability. The Emergency Response Plan is a “living document”, and evaluating the document will take place after an emergency event or planned exercise. Lastly, the plan may be changed at the discretion of the organization given that there is no “one size fits all” emergency response plan. Additional components, annexes, checklists, maps, and/or forms may be added to the document, in order to adhere to the unique operation of the specific organization.