Commercial facility Emergency Preparedness – as a facility manager you are quite aware of all the information available, and accessible, by you in regard to mitigating & preparing for emergencies.   But are you fully prepared?   Do you have that back of brain thought that there may some issue if a regulatory authority requires production of maintenance records?   Does the term “She’ll be right” seem familiar?

You have an Emergency Management Manual, Evacuation diagrams, and have ticked those boxes.   But then you are requested to provide compliance documents.   Compliance to what?   You may provide documents relating to inspection and maintenance as detailed is AS 1852 – 2012 & hope they are in order and sufficient.   But what about Emergency Preparations & Planning?

Why have concerns about possible compliance issues.  For complete pice of mind a First 5 Minutes Gap Analysis is a valuable assessment tool that helps to identify your compliance to AS 3745-2010 Planning For Emergencies in Facilities.   As of right now.

In order to plan for emergencies, there must be a basis for identifying the “where are we at now” in order to map the “where do we need to go.”

A First 5 Minutes Gap Analyss will identify any shortfall in Emergency Preparedness as detailed within AS 3745-2010, and provide recommendations on any actions needed to achieve compliance.

A First 5 Minutes Gap Analysis will examine and report upon;

• The site Emergency Planning Committee (EPC). Has an EPC been formed?   Is the Membership appropriate and competent?  Does the EPC meet at least annually and records kept?  Has the EPC membership actually received training in discharging the roles & responsibilities of an EPC?
• Emergency Control Organisation (ECO). Has an ECO been established?  Training regime and sufficiency of training.    Additional training for Chief & deputy Chief Wardens.  Assessing the need for specialist ECO training including first attack fire responses.
• Emergency Management Manual. In place and within 5 year maximum validity period.  Elements considered range from appropriateness for the facility and nature of business conducted within, clear statement and purpose, duties and structure of the EPC and ECO including the ECO hierarchy, identification of installed essential safety equipment, arrangements for evacuating the facility and the arrangements for emergency preparedness and required responses.
• Evacuation Diagrams. Displayed and with content complying with the requirements and directives of AS 3745-2010.
• Assembly Area/s. Assessing suitability in relation to safe passage, distance from facility, capacity for building occupants, and including accessibility for people with special needs.
• Special Requirements. Assess the need for differing formatting for printed material and handouts in languages other than English and materials for hearing or sight-impaired persons.