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January 6, 2007 23:08 - Employee Action Plans for Construction

By Vic Sunshine

Each of your supervisors must know what to do during an emergency and must be certain that his or her workers understand their roles. A responsible person must be designated for each workplace or jobsite. Generally, your supervisor is the person in charge of a workplace or jobsite. This designated person has specific responsibility for the preparation, updating, and implementation of the emergency plan.

Each plan should contain the following information and procedures as appropriate for each workplace. Naturally, some jobsites would not require much of the following features depending on its size and complexity.

Emergency Escape Procedures

Floor plans showing evacuation routes, the location of shutoff switches and valves for the utility systems (water, gas, electricity), and the locations of emergency equipment and supplies (including medical) shall be determined prior to the start of work at each at each jobsite or workplace.

Emergency Operator Personnel

A list of people with specific duties during an emergency and a description of their duties shall be provided. For example, specific people should be assigned to supervise evacuation and to carry out a rapid search of the area (if this can be done safely).

Accounting For All Employees

Designation of a primary assembly point for evacuees that is well away from the building - such as the jobsite trailer, or the employees’ vehicles. An alternate site should also be designated in case the first choice cannot be used.

Rescue Medical Duties

Proceed with first aid or attempt to control the incident only if your workers can do so safely and if they have been trained in the first aid or the emergency response necessary to control the incident.

Reporting Fires And Other Emergencies

Naturally have your supervisors report the emergency immediately. Have them state what happened, the specific location, whether anyone was injured, and their name and phone number in addition to any other applicable information.

Jobsite Alarm Systems

An employee alarm system shall be in accordance with CFR Part 1926.159. Your designated person may determine the particular alarm system to be utilized for each jobsite to alert all workers in the area of an emergency. In most cases this may be simply honking a vehicle’s horn say, in three long blasts. Other, more complex jobsites, for instance in large industrial locations, an alarm would be accomplished by setting off a building’s alarm system’s horns.

Types Of Evacuation

Your designated person shall review each particular jobsite or workplace to determine the type of evacuation to be utilized in emergency circumstances.

Employee Responsibilities

Employees, other than emergency-response groups, involved in any emergency greater than a minor incident (such as an injury to a worker that doesn’t affect the jobsite as a whole- as opposed to a major incident such as a fire onsite) are expected to act as follows:

Your workers must comply with all guidelines and procedures as outlined by your designated person regarding the Emergency Action Plan. In an emergency situation your workers may, if there is threat of further injury or further exposure to the hazard, remove all injured persons if possible and leave the immediate vicinity. If there is no threat of further injury or exposure, your workers should leave seriously injured personnel where they are.

Training Requirements

Your designated person needs to review the Employee Emergency Action Plan with each affected employee initially when the plan is developed, when the workers’ responsibilities or designated duties change, and, whenever your plan is changed.

Keep your employees up to date on your construction safety plans with safety articles from Omni Safety Services.