In an age where we have the internet at our fingertips, our first response to a need is to try to do it ourselves. You can find a tutorial online for anything nowadays, and sometimes the DIY route can even be the most cost-efficient option. However, there are a few more factors to consider when it comes to building safety and evacuation maps.
Lower Cost Over Time
If you’ve read our previous blog post The Cost of Creating Your Own Evacuation Maps, you may already be familiar with some of the risks associated with a DIY map. Taking on a project like this means factoring in more than material costs. One aspect that is often overlooked is the research time involved in creating an appropriate evacuation map. Because code compliance is integral to safety planning, you can expect to spend a minimum of 20-25 hours researching and applying these codes to your safety map. Even then, you’re far from knowing it all.
Your Illustrator Leaves…Now What?
If you’re attempting to create your evacuation map in-house, you’re likely planning on using your staff illustrator to put it together. If you don’t already have a staff illustrator, you’ll need to hire a new employee or train an existing one, and they’ll need access to an appropriate program to create a code-compliant evacuation map. You’re making a significant investment so that one of your employees is capable of creating what you need, but what happens if they leave the company? Now you have to find another illustrator, incurring the same costs a second time for the same results. Your project is now twice as expensive, and that’s if your previous illustrator leaves the map files somewhere you can find them.
Professional Safety Mapping Experience
Creating code-compliant and easy-to-read evacuation maps is a complex trade. Doing it yourself means facing additional costs and hassle without the assurance of accuracy and quality that you’ll find when working with a professional. Instead of settling for an evacuation map that is only partly effective, choose a reliable fire safety partner who can give you the confidence you need in times of an emergency. After all, your employees and visitors deserve to be safe.
Safety Maps Are Vital To EAPs
EAPs, or Emergency Action Plans, are an essential component of building safety. In order to be thoroughly prepared, this written document must effectually guide occupants through any building emergency. Even if you don’t have an in-house illustrator, your EAP should feature an expertly crafted safety map outlining evacuation procedures, escape routes, and floor plans, with no room for misinterpretation or error.
Safety Solutions
Safety mapping is more than just illustration—it’s about providing a safety solution. Avoid unnecessary confusion by outsourcing your safety map needs.
We specialize in building safety so that you don’t have to. Our team of experts has years of experience navigating the complexities of code compliance, saving you hours of time and frustration while you focus on other pressing matters. If you have any questions, please contact us or reach out to request a quote anytime.
