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All responsible petrochemical companies have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP), per OSHA Standards [29 CFR 1910.38(a)].
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The purpose is to organize and train employees when faced with workplace emergencies. No matter how well written or laid out, the only way an EAP can be effective is if all employees are properly trained and can execute the plan effectively. Training is the key to an effective EAP.
- Planning: As a petrochemical company, an assessment of risks ranges from floods and hurricanes to fire outbreaks and chemical spills. When on a rig or in tight quarters, the importance of an Emergency Action Plan is pivotal to the safety of all your employees. A detailed EAP addresses numerous calamities and potential dangers and should cover a multitude of scenarios, examined at every angle.
- Training: Once written, each employee needs to be trained on the execution of the EAP. CareerSafe provides innovative and affordable online training, including our OSHA 10-hour and OSHA 30-hour training which covers EAPs, fire safety training, and safety measures. CareerSafe’s online, on-demand training will strengthen your current safety program and engage employees effectively.
- Drills: This is where the plan is put into action. Fire drills, dry runs of evacuations and escape route tours should be planned regularly. Quarterly drills might work best for most companies but if there is a large overturn of staffing, seasonal hires or new construction, you might consider increasing the number of drills. Don’t forget to share the EAP as part of the onboarding program. Also don’t forget drills can be more than practice actions. Consider quizzing employees on the location of the master contact list. Have a fire extinguisher demonstration day. When welcoming visitors to the site, point out all escape routes. Build the conversation about safety into multiple daily conversations.
- Technology: The EAP should address a multitude of potential scenarios, and it’s likely the plan is filed on a shared drive or online for easy access, but is the information stored in print form offline? If power has been lost, how will employees access crucial telephone numbers? If cell coverage is compromised, how will teams communicate? Think through several scenarios where normal access to the internet, Wi-Fi, phone coverage and electricity is impossible.
- Coordination: The linchpin to a smooth, effective EAP is coordination. A clear chain of command and step-by-step checklists should be included in the EAP. There should be more than one evacuation route, in case one pathway is blocked. There should be specific plans for people with handicaps or disabilities, which address their challenges. Address how visitors will be shepherded through an evacuation plan if they are onsite. If there is a chain of command, what happens if a leader is absent? How can you adjust your phone tree if a limb is missing?
- Communication: Once you have a solid Emergency Action Plan, it needs to be communicated companywide. It should be part of an onboarding program and filed in the employee information package. Update the EAP regularly to address new challenges, changes of key contacts, modified floor plans, or new machinery.
Let CareerSafe be your auxiliary trainer for EAPs. While CareerSafe offers a whole roster of online, on-demand OSHA training, our key offering is OSHA 10-hour and OSHA 30-hour training. We partner with safety-minded corporate businesses that want to enhance their current safety programs. Rather than being reactive to an OSHA citing or onsite issues, wise and proactive companies will embrace safety-mindedness without an inciting incident or a recordable incident.
As part of our OSHA 10-hour training, we cover:
- The benefits of an Emergency Action Plan.
- Identify elements of Fire Protection Plan.
- Identify conditions under which evacuation or shelter-in-place actions may be necessary.
- Identify characteristics of an effective emergency escape route.
- Recognize the five types of fire extinguishers, including the types of fires they can extinguish.
Learn more about CareerSafe’s OSHA training as well as EAPs today. For more information, visit careersafeonline.com.
