Every year the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) promotes Fire Prevention Week to impress on the community the importance of proper fire detector installation, maintenance, and emergency planning in your home. Learn about Fire Prevention Week October 8-14.
One of the key parts of Fire Prevention Week is the emphasis on preparation and planning in the event of an incident. The NFPA encourages families to map their homes, discuss primary and backup evacuation routes in the event of different scenarios, and the need to have a muster site for everyone to meet once out of the building.
The NFPA also recommends that families practice their evacuation plan twice per year to insure family members keep their route fresh in their minds. This is especially important with children who may panic when woken from a deep sleep or in a smoke-filled room.
In study after study, a fire evacuation plan has been proven to save lives.
Your businesses needs an emergency plan too
So why don’t businesses practice these same techniques with their staff? Whether practicing for emergency smoke alarm activation, active shooter drills or gas leak warnings every business owner and facility manager should be training their staffs to save lives.
CO2Meter is religious about training our staff about what we do and the precautions we all need to take to keep our team safe at work. We store lots of different gasses for testing. Knowledge of these gasses is the starting point so that each employee is aware of the hazards around us.
It only takes one accident to learn the importance of training. 3 years ago, this was ours.
Unfortunately, many businesses we work with do not properly train their staff on the CO2 and oxygen level safety alarms they purchase from us. What good does it do to pay for a safety monitor and not train your staff on why you have it, how it works, and what to do if it goes off?
We’ve heard all the excuses. Business owners and facility managers complain about the cost for training a staff that constantly turns over. Some complain that their staff is too busy to train. And some just don’t seem to care.
The truth every business owner knows that a well trained staff is their most valuable asset. Why not properly protect that asset? You don’t leave your cash on the counter at night when you go home.
Emergency plans are not rocket science
One of the easiest ways to insure a properly trained staff is to develop standard operating procedures (SOP’s) that clearly outline what to do in the event of an emergency. In the case of a compressed CO2 leak, the signs we provide are a great starting point. SOPs allow you to easily train (and retrain) employees to insure their and guests safety.
Don’t have time to create an SOP? Fortunately, the team at CO2Meter has worked with dozens of organizations and we have shared best practices in SOP’s with all of them. Instead of starting from scratch, you can customize our SOPs for your company and share it with your employees. Quiz them on a regular basis to insure retention. Reward them for good behaviors.
For example, does your team know when it’s necessary to contact the fire department to warn them about a CO2 leak? Do they know the number to call? Who’s responsible for making the call? What procedures do you have to contact suppliers or service providers who may need to know about a CO2 leak?
An SOP can answer these and many other questions easily so that employees are safe while deciding how to handle a situation and who to call.
We can help with your emergency plan
The team at CO2Meter.com is happy to work with you and your team to create intelligent SOPs to guide the training and safety of your employees and ultimately your guests. If you’d like a copy, contact us here and we’ll be glad to help you get started.
Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash