Facilities change. Equipment, personnel, and operations change. In case of fire or other emergency, any of those changes can put lives and property at risk if your emergency safety plan is obsolete. Imagine your building occupants following an old escape route that now leads to a dead end.
That’s why every emergency safety plan needs to change with the times and undergo frequent review. Now is a good time for a checkup.
Why emergency plans become outdated
One of the main reasons an emergency operations plan (EOP) becomes outdated is that the personnel who helped assemble it have moved into different roles or taken jobs elsewhere. If their replacements have not been tasked with keeping the EOP up to date, the plan could offer little more than a false sense of security.
The same is true for people who were assigned fire warden roles or other emergency responsibilities. When they change roles or move on, those assignments must stay up to date.
Incremental change to the facility is another reason plans become outdated. A new piece of equipment here, relocating a fire extinguisher there, new hours of operation, different hazardous materials, building renovations, workstations moving — they all add up over time, and the disruption to the EOP can go unnoticed.
Unfortunately, another common reason plans become outdated is the sense that “this is how we’ve always done it,” or a lack of a sense of urgency. Emergencies by nature are urgent, and the best way to protect against them is by being prepared.
Reviewing evacuation routes and assembly areas
Starting with the existing facility emergency maps, safety teams should frequently examine each of the identified evacuation routes. In addition to specifying design and construction requirements, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states that exit routes should be:
- Clearly marked and well lit
- Wide enough to accommodate the number of evacuating personnel
- Unobstructed and clear of debris at all times
- Unlikely to expose evacuating personnel to additional hazards
If any of these standards are unmet, or building changes have made the routes obsolete, the safety team should make note and update the EOP and evacuation maps accordingly.
This review is not limited to the interior of the building: It’s also important to review evacuation assembly areas identified in the plan.
These designated zones — where occupants congregate after evacuation — are a critical part of any emergency operations plan. The first purpose is to keep people at a safe distance from the building. But they make it possible to conduct a headcount to make sure everyone got out, while also providing centralized locations for first responders to find people who need help.
Updates are important if access to the evacuation assembly area has changed, or if the space itself has become unsuitable for congregation — such as through new landscaping or rerouted parking plans.
Another important component for examining the effectiveness of an EOP is to conduct regular evacuation drills. The evaluation after the drill can provide critical insights to update and improve the emergency exit map and other procedures outlined in the EOP, while also familiarizing building occupants with the best way to safely exit the building.
Updating occupant and employee information
The occupancy of a building is never static. Workforces turn over, tenants move in and out, visitors arrive and leave at different hours, employees change shifts.
Knowing who is inside a building, and when they are there, is important for several reasons.
First, this is the only way to complete accurate headcounts once an evacuation takes place. And knowing if people with mobility challenges are in the building, and where to find them, will allow timely assistance to help them exit.
Second, if team members previously assigned roles in evacuations have moved on, they will need to be replaced, and their replacements will need to be trained. Emergency contact information also must be kept up to date.
How digital safety maps simplify annual reviews
Keeping all this information up to date — not to mention maintaining a current inventory of safety equipment like fire extinguishers and first-aid kits — can appear daunting. But it is an essential part of maintaining an effective building emergency evacuation plan.
One way to simplify the process: Creating digital evacuation maps for buildings.
When designing maps for proper placement throughout the building, the team at Building Maps creates a digital file for the map that is easily updated whenever changes are required. No more transcribing from outdated maps, paper floorplans or old blueprints.
Because every project manager and illustrator at Building Maps is trained in life safety code and fire code, they can provide valuable insight when it’s time to update. They know how to identify primary and secondary egress routes to create an accurate, up-to-date fire escape floor plan.
We can even help when evacuation maps or blueprints are unavailable. With our on-site building scanning services, we use cutting-edge technological tools for precise, highly detailed scans of every inch of your building, which can then be used to create updated, accurate maps. This is particularly useful for mapping safety assets.
A simple consultation with our experts makes it easy to ensure your building emergency evacuation plan is up to date.
We’re ready to help
Every building emergency evacuation plan depends on up-to-date facility emergency maps. And that’s exactly what we provide at Building Maps.
With our experience creating evacuation maps for buildings of every size and across every sector — education, manufacturing, offices, apartments and health care — we have the expertise to make sure your emergency safety plan is current, accurate and effective.
Contact us today by phone or email. Or use this simple form to tell us a little bit about your project to request a quick and free quote.
