Workplace Preparedness
Workplace Emergency Preparedness Training
Practical workplace preparedness covering emergency action planning, employee readiness, communications, evacuation, sheltering, and continuity considerations.
A Written Plan Is Only the Beginning
Organizations may have emergency procedures addressing evacuation, alarms, communications, accountability, medical response, hazardous materials, fire, earthquakes, power failures, or other emergencies. Employees still need to understand how those procedures apply to them.
- How will employees know an emergency is occurring?
- Who has authority to initiate emergency actions?
- When should employees evacuate?
- Where should they report after evacuation?
- How will the organization account for employees?
- What happens if the normal evacuation route cannot be used?
- When might shelter-in-place be appropriate?
- How will employees receive updated information?
- What responsibilities do supervisors or designated personnel have?
- What should employees do if normal communications fail?
- How are visitors, contractors, or people needing assistance addressed?
- What should employees do during a medical emergency before professional responders arrive?
IFCRR training helps organizations turn written procedures into practical employee understanding.
Emergency Action Plan Awareness
Training can be structured around an organization's existing Emergency Action Plan or other emergency procedures.
Emergency Reporting
Training can reinforce:
- Internal emergency numbers
- 911 activation
- Alarm and notification procedures
- Supervisor or security notification
- Information that should be communicated
- When employees should prioritize protective action over additional reporting
Evacuation
- Primary and alternate exit routes
- Assembly areas
- Evacuation signals
- Accountability procedures
- Responsibilities of designated evacuation personnel
- Procedures for assisting others
- Restrictions on reentry
- What to do when the normal route or assembly location is unavailable
Training should reflect the actual facility rather than rely only on generic evacuation concepts.
Accountability
- Assembly-point expectations
- Supervisor or department accountability
- Visitor and contractor considerations
- Communication of missing-person information
- Limits on employee reentry or rescue attempts
Shelter-in-Place
- Situations in which shelter-in-place could be considered
- How employees will be notified
- Where occupants should relocate
- Doors, windows, and ventilation considerations
- Accountability while sheltering
- Communications
- Monitoring official information
- Transition from shelter-in-place to evacuation if conditions change
Hazard-Specific Preparedness
Training may address hazards depending on location, operations, workforce, and surrounding community.
- Earthquake
- Wildfire
- Wildfire smoke
- Hazardous-materials releases
- Fire
- Power outage
- Utility failure
- Severe weather
- Medical emergencies
- Infrastructure disruption
- Community evacuation
- Other locally relevant hazards
Protective Decision-Making for Employees and Leaders
Emergency procedures cannot anticipate every possible condition. Supervisors, emergency coordinators, employees, and other designated personnel may have to make decisions with incomplete information.
1. Identify the problem.
2. Determine what information is available.
3. Recognize what remains uncertain.
4. Identify applicable emergency procedures.
5. Compare available protective actions.
6. Consider the consequences of delay.
7. Select an action.
8. Communicate the decision.
9. Reassess as conditions change.
Scenarios can be adapted to the organization's actual hazards without requiring a large-scale exercise.
Emergency Communications
- Alarm meanings
- Mass-notification systems
- Text or email alerts
- Radios
- Public-address systems
- Supervisor communications
- Emergency hotlines
- Official public information
- Backup methods when primary communications fail
Employees With Specific Needs
- Mobility limitations
- Hearing or vision limitations
- Language needs
- Medical conditions requiring assistance
- Employees working alone
- Employees working off-hours
- Visitors
- Contractors
- Temporary workers
- Remote or hybrid workers
- Employees responsible for members of the public
Medical and Lifesaving Readiness
Organizations may choose to combine preparedness training with elements of IFCRR's Community Lifesaving And Emergency Skills Program (CLASP).
- CPR/AED
- First aid
- Basic Life Support where appropriate
- STOP THE BLEED®
- Emergency recognition
- Severe-bleeding control
- Community lifesaving skills
This can help an organization address both sides of emergency readiness: Prepared before the incident. Capable during the incident.
Training and Exercises
Employees retain emergency procedures more effectively when they have an opportunity to apply them.
- Facilitated discussions
- Scenario-based decision-making
- Tabletop exercises
- Evacuation walkthroughs
- Communications exercises
- Role-specific discussions
- Skills practice
- Post-exercise observations
- Improvement recommendations
Exercises can be scaled to the organization. A useful exercise does not always require a large production or a full operational drill.
Who This Training Is For
- Employers and workplaces
- Healthcare organizations
- Schools and educational organizations
- Nonprofit organizations
- Community-serving organizations
- Office environments
- Industrial and manufacturing facilities
- Laboratories
- Warehouses
- Professional-service organizations
- Property and facility managers
- Public agencies
- Organizations with public-facing operations
Supporting Emergency Action Plans
For California workplaces, emergency planning may include requirements under applicable Cal/OSHA standards.
IFCRR training can support an organization's efforts to help employees understand emergency evacuation procedures, emergency reporting, employee responsibilities, accountability, alarm systems, protective actions, and designated emergency roles.
IFCRR training does not substitute for an employer's responsibility to determine and comply with applicable regulatory requirements. It also does not replace specialized training required for employees assigned to hazardous-materials emergency response, fire brigades, confined-space rescue, or other regulated response functions.
Organizational Preparedness Beyond Compliance
Regulatory compliance is an important baseline, but organizations may choose to prepare for issues beyond minimum requirements.
- Extended utility failures
- Wildfire smoke
- Community evacuation
- Family communication during emergencies
- Employee transportation disruptions
- Loss of normal communications
- Supply disruptions
- Building access limitations
- Continuity of essential operations
- Coordination with local emergency services
Initial Organizational Pilot Opportunities
IFCRR is currently seeking organizations interested in hosting initial emergency-preparedness pilot programs.
- General employee preparedness
- Emergency Action Plan awareness
- Evacuation
- Shelter-in-place
- Hazard-specific preparedness
- Protective decision-making
- Emergency communications
- Lifesaving skills
- Tabletop exercises
- Integrated preparedness and response training
Pilot evaluation may examine employee understanding of emergency procedures, knowledge of evacuation and sheltering actions, understanding of roles and responsibilities, protective decision-making, confidence in emergency actions, communication gaps, training relevance, participant feedback, and opportunities to improve future training.
For strategically appropriate initial pilots, IFCRR may provide some or all program services at no cost through volunteer instructor and staff time.
Request an Organizational Preparedness Pilot
If your organization wants employees to better understand emergency procedures and build practical preparedness capability, IFCRR would like to discuss a potential pilot.
- What type of organization you represent
- Approximately how many people you want to train
- Which hazards or emergency procedures are most important
- Whether you already have an Emergency Action Plan
- What employees currently receive for emergency training
- What outcomes you would like the pilot to achieve
IFCRR can work with you to determine an appropriate scope.
Plans Matter. Training Makes Them Usable.
Organizations cannot eliminate every emergency.
They can help employees understand the hazards they may face, know what procedures apply, communicate effectively, and take appropriate action when an incident occurs.
IFCRR helps translate emergency plans and preparedness concepts into practical employee capability.