Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
Wildfires can happen at any time, though changes in land use combined with the steady and continuing rise of global temperatures over the past decades have helped create the perfect environmental conditions for them to thrive. To compound the problem, more and more people are living and working in communities where the risks posed by […]
With hurricane season here to stay until the end of November, it’s important to think about how prepared (or unprepared) your workplace is for a disaster. Tornadoes. Fires. Floods. They’re all happening much more frequently than they did decades ago, and they’re dangerous and expensive.
Consider for a moment, what’s your worst-case scenario? Fire? Explosion? Flood? If you’re just thinking of the disaster itself, you’re not thinking broadly enough: the true worst-case scenario is a disaster for which your facility and your workers are completely unprepared.
As facility professionals, we pay close attention to newsworthy workplace disasters. Based on the scale and severity of these incidents, perhaps we assume they could not occur in our own organizations—after all, this is what we work to prevent. But the fact is, disasters can happen anywhere.
It’s important for facility managers to be ready for any emergency, and that includes preparing for weather emergencies. So, when that dreaded alert from the National Weather Service pops up on your computer or phone: “Area Flood Warning” predicting storm activity such as high winds and heavy, sustained rainfall for your area, will your team […]
After a natural disaster, you may be dealing with a lot of debris at your facility, whether it be generated from damage to the buildings themselves or to the property surrounding them—and cleanup is costly and time consuming. The EPA has reissued its debris guide that places stronger emphasis on pre-incident planning for disaster-related waste […]
The best time to reevaluate (or create) your disaster plan is before an emergency occurs. You never know when a disaster will strike and how it will affect your facility. The key is to be prepared, and the best way to be prepared is to periodically review, reevaluate, and appropriately adapt or change your plan.
Red Ball Drills® are a unique emergency preparedness method that make real-time training more productive and less traumatic. While it is primarily associated with active shooter training, its uses can extend into many areas of facilities management—a “red ball” can signify any preparedness situation, from equipment failure to natural disasters to physical or cybersecurity threats.
Do you have an adequate risk assessment process in place for gauging the effectiveness of your facility’s security? Take a look at the 8 steps of a good risk assessment procedure and download our free resource to learn more.
Severe winter weather, power outages, or other workplace emergencies can occur anywhere and at any time. How well prepared are you? A top official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says certain elements of preparedness tend to be forgotten. Which ones? Find out here.