ePACT Network | the Emergency Network

Preparedness at ePACT Step 3 – Practice

June 19, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

Our guest blogger, Shelby Edwards, recently wrote a series to help your business prepare for any emergency. Too many businesses are unable to re-open once they have been impacted by a large scale disaster or emergency, stressing the importance of the preparedness process.

To show you just how simple continuity planning can be, the ePACT team is putting Shelby’s plan in to action! So far we’ve shown you how we’ve identified both hazards and resources, and planned for emergencies. Today we are writing about how we completed step three of the process:

Step 3: Practice

Train your staff: When each ePACT employee starts, they receive emergency training as part of their orientation. During this training they are shown where critical emergency supplies are stored, and the evacuation routes out of the building. They are also taught the procedures that are put in place should an emergency ever occur, such as what the expectations are for employees if the office is unable to re-open immediately following a disaster.

Have a fire drill: Two interns have recently joined the ePACT team, meaning it was time to hold a drill! To deal with any unexpected event, we went through all four of our evacuation routes. We also visited our meeting places in case the team is separated in an emergency or team members are outside of the office.

Disaster scenarios: Recent studies in BC remind us that we are in a ‘risk-zone’ for large earthquakes. With this in mind, we practiced ‘Drop, Cover and Hold-on’ in the safe zones of our office. To remind us to continually hold drills, we also signed up for the Great British Columbia Shakeout for our second year.

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Preparedness at ePACT Step 2 – Plan

June 17, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

To show you just how simple continuity planning can be, the ePACT team is putting Shelby’s plan in to action! Last week we showed you how we identified both hazards and resources, and today we are demonstrating how we completed step two of the process:

Step 2: Plan

Leadership – In step one we identified Jeff as our emergency point person. We then had him consider who should make up the rest of the crisis team. Here’s what he came up with:

Christine Sommers, CEO and Co-Founder, was assigned to HR because she works across every department at ePACT and therefore, knows the entire team well.
Kirsten Koppang-Telford, President and Co-Founder is responsible for IT and finance because she oversees those responsibilities on a day to day basis.
Elora Chow, Communications Manager, is responsible for internal and external communications because she already oversees these areas for the team.

Facility – Our previous blog article identified numerous hazards associated with our office. The ePACT team found these solutions to the problems:

Emergency Escape Ladder: To deal with any situation where we cannot evacuate through the front door, we purchased an emergency escape ladder. This ladder can be hung off of our patio to allow us to exit the building, which will be especially important if a fire or earthquake occurs.
Earthquakes: To prepare for an earthquake in our office, we have identified our large solid desks as the greatest shelter, and where we should ‘Drop, Cover and Hold on’.
Fire Extinguishers: Kitchen fires are a very real possibility, so everyone on the ePACT team is shown the location of the fire extinguisher during their employee orientation – beside the front door in our case!
Evacuation Routes: Evacuating could be difficult in an emergency because we are located on the second floor of the building, where falling items can easily block an escape route. To overcome this problem, we have identified four different evacuation routes should we ever need to leave the building because of a large scale emergency.

Staff – Lucky for us, we’ve built a system that we can use ourselves to communicate in an unexpected situation. Using ePACT, Elora (who is responsible for internal and external communications in an emergency) can send one message out to the entire team and their support network to ensure they are safe, while also sending updates on the office or upcoming work schedule.

Have a question about how you can complete step 2, or ideas for the ePACT office to become further prepared? Tweet us @epactnetwork!

Preparedness at ePACT Step 1 – Identify

June 14, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

To show you just how simple continuity planning can be, the ePACT team is putting Shelby’s plan in to action:

Step 1: Identify

Identify a point person: Jeff Bergcoutts, our Product Manager, is always the calm in the storm and can surely be counted on in stressful situations. Because of this, Jeff is our point person for emergency planning.
What is around you: After moving in to our new office suite in North Vancouver, one of the first things the ePACT team did was a quick analysis of our office suite and the surrounding area. Here are a few hazards we found (the solutions we used to solve the problem will follow in Monday’s blog):
- The ePACT office is located on the second floor of the building, with one door to enter or exit the suite. If there was ever a fire or obstacle preventing us from leaving through that door, we would be stuck in the office.
- For earthquakes, some are predicting ‘The Big One’ will hit Vancouver in the coming decades. Because of this, it is important for each ePACT employee to know the ‘safe areas’ in the office if an earthquake ever does occur.
- The ePACT office is equipped with a well-stocked kitchen, meaning there is always the potential for a kitchen fire.
- Our office is surrounded by large trees which could pose a hazard in a natural disaster. For example, in a large scale earthquake they could fall towards the building to block exit points or cause debris to fall on the team as we are trying to evacuate the building.
- Find your community partners: Armed with Google, the ePACT team took just a few minutes to identify local community partners. In particular, we searched for the Red Cross and identified the B.C. Lower Mainland branch as the local office. We also familiarized ourselves with the services offered by the local emergency management program, the North Shore Emergency Management Office (link: http://www.nsemo.org/). As for any medical needs, the Lower Lonsdale Medical Centre is a clinic located just a block away from our office for minor injuries or conditions.

That’s it – with a few steps that took under an hour to do, we were able to identify hazards in our area and resources that will offer valuable support in an emergency. We urge you to do the same, and send us a tweet at @epactnetwork if you have any preparedness questions!

Preparedness at ePACT – Personal Emergency Kits

June 12, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

ePACT’s guest blogger, Shelby Edwards, recently wrote an article to help you assemble a personal emergency kit to keep at work. Our team did just that, so we are showing you a glimpse of what went in to some of these kits!

Kirsten Koppang-Telford – Co-Founder and President

Running shoes
Granola
Water
Band-aids
A change of clothes
Solar blanket
Cash
Chocolate

While Kirsten was assembling her kit for work, she also pulled out her pre-packaged emergency kit at home and supplemented it with other items, like clothing and snacks for her children. Altogether, this took an hour to do.

Christine Sommers – Co-Founder and CEO

Running shoes
Juice boxes
Crackers
Band-aids
Rain jacket
Socks
Hand sanitizer
Tissues
Allergy relief medication
Dog food and bags

These are just the start of Kirsten’s and Christine’s emergency kits. The entire ePACT team has pledged to add items to their emergency kits as they recognize the need for different items, so we will update you in a few months to let you know what Kirsten and Christine have added to their kits.

Can you think of anything else Kirsten and Christine forgot? What are you going to put in your emergency kit? Let us know on Twitter @epactnetwork!

How to Prepare Your Business for Emergencies and Disasters – Part 3

June 5, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

Shelby Edwards is the founder of ODT & Associates, LLC, writer, and crisis expert. She has immense experience in the emergency preparedness field and is bringing you the three steps you need to prep your workplace for any disaster. We’ve already brought you the first step – Identify and the second step – Plan. With today’s article you will have the final step you need – Practice. You can find Shelby’s work, more articles, and free how-to guides at www.ourdailytoast.com.

shutterstock_77889775 When we head into the office each day, most of us are pre-occupied with thoughts of our first meeting, deadlines, the school project from last night, even breakfast, anything but preparing our workplaces for disasters.

Unfortunately however, over 40% of companies closed for five days or more during a major event never reopen.

Why? I think it’s because disaster planning is like going to the dentist or talking to our accountants –we think it is an unpleasant chore and it all seems slightly scary and complicated. We don’t know what to tackle first so we never start.

Take this and start. A little time with each step and you will have a more resilient and disaster ready workplace.

Work through each element. Schedule the work –it doesn’t have to be done all at once.

Step 3. Practice

Like most things in life, you’re simply not really ready until you practice. Make it real. Simple things can be very difficult in a disaster.

Train your staff. It’s important that everybody knows what to do in an emergency and what your plans are. Keep it short and make it fun.

Have a fire drill. An “evacuation drill” is a great, easy, and important place to start. Get out of the building quickly and safely, make sure you have all of your people, and then get back to work. You can take this to the next level by inviting the fire department to your drill (call them, don’t actually pull the alarm –fake alarms make them very cranky).

Contact your employees. Once every three or four months, call all of your employees just like you would in a real emergency. Test your communications plan and those non-work personal numbers. How hard was it? Did you reach everyone?

Disaster scenario’s. Plan and conduct disaster exercises based on realistic scenarios with your teams. This is the best way to strengthen your plans and build confidence. Start with a simple emergency and work up to more complex disasters. Get some outside expert help with this if you need it.

Remember…

Each small step matters so just start. Take that slow walk through your building and around your neighborhood. Talk to your team. It’s about incremental improvements and with each action you will be a little more prepared. Try to include everyone and have a little fun along the way.

How to Prepare Your Business for Emergencies and Disasters – Part 2

June 3, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

Shelby Edwards is the founder of ODT & Associates, LLC, writer, and crisis expert. She has immense experience in the emergency preparedness field and is bringing you the three steps you need to prep your workplace for any disaster. On Friday we brought you the first step – Identify, and today we are bringing you part two of the series. You can find her work, more articles, and free how-to guides at www.ourdailytoast.com.
shutterstock_58512689 When we head into the office each day, most of us are pre-occupied with thoughts of our first meeting, deadlines, the school project from last night, even breakfast, anything but preparing our workplaces for disasters.

Unfortunately however, over 40% of companies closed for five days or more during a major event never reopen.

Take this and start. A little time with each step and you will have a more resilient and disaster ready workplace.

Work through each element. Schedule the work –it doesn’t have to be done all at once.

Step 2. Plan

Leadership. Who’s in charge? You identified that person in step one. In your plan, show that key leader and the rest of your crisis team (this is the group you’ve charged with handling the disaster). This is not a committee. The lead is a senior person comfortable with and able to make tough decisions quickly, the rest of your crisis team should include people responsible for areas like HR, IT, Facilities, Communications, Finance, and Legal. Make the crisis team fit the size and nature of your organization, but it should stay small. Identify at least two people for each role. Spell out how and when this team will move into action.

Staff. People first always. In your plan, show procedures for communicating in an emergency (and who has the authority to make that decision), handling payroll, and reaching emergency contacts.

Facility. Think through what you need to do if you have to evacuate your facility and include maps to your evacuation site. Identify alternative workplaces if your primary workplace is unavailable (this includes work from home strategies). Include key insurance information. Think about safe zones and areas or equipment that pose particular vulnerabilities in your facility, specifically annotate those in your plan and mitigate if possible.

Function. In step one, you identified the top five things you do each day. In your plan, annotate those key processes and your plans for if they are disrupted. Maybe there are manual work arounds if your technology is unavailable (write paper checks for example) or other alternative processes. Capture those for your each of your key functions –the point is to keep your business running even if you experience disruption.

Key Tips

Don’t write a plan for every type of disaster (fire, flood, earthquake), instead write for the scale and scope of the disruptions. Put unique specifics in annexes.

Think guide, framework, and checklists and simple language, avoid dense text and stacks of paper. Short is always better than long.

How to Prepare Your Business for Emergencies and Disasters – Part 1

May 31, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

Shelby Edwards is the founder of ODT & Associates, LLC, writer, and crisis expert. She has immense experience in the emergency preparedness field and put together Wednesday’s article to help employees like you prepare for an emergency in just three steps. Today, Shelby is bringing you the first step for business owners and managers to prepare the workplace for a disaster. You can find her work, more articles, and free how-to guides at www.ourdailytoast.com.

GettyImages_148085379 When we head into the office each day, most of us are pre-occupied with thoughts of our first meeting, deadlines, the school project from last night, even breakfast, anything but preparing our workplaces for disasters.

Unfortunately however, over 40% of companies closed for five days or more during a major event never reopen.

Take this and start. A little time with each step and you will have a more resilient and disaster ready workplace.

Work through each element. Schedule the work — it doesn’t have to be done all at once.

Step 1. Identify

Who is the point person for your planning effort (and response if it comes to it)? This person is responsible and will keep you on track. Seniority, enthusiasm, and knowledge of your business is needed. Write it down.

Who’s the team? Identify a core group to help –it’s not a solo effort.

Take a walk. Slowly walk through your building and look for details –emergency exits, hazards. Then go outside and look around. Where are you located? Think about what else is in your neighborhood. Don’t skip this. Take notes.

What are your most essential business functions? What are the top five most important things you do every day that makes you what you are? Maybe it’s “bake cupcakes” or “answer customer calls”, whatever it is, list them.

Find your community partners. From local emergency departments to the Red Cross, there are resources to help you.

Be sure to visit us again on Monday for the second step to prepare your business for emergencies!

What Happens When You’re Working?

May 29, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

Shelby Edwards is the founder of ODT & Associates, LLC, writer, and crisis expert. She has immense experience in the emergency preparedness field, and has put together an article for you to prepare for any emergency at work with just three steps. You can find her work, more articles, and free how-to guides at www.ourdailytoast.com.

I want you to look at your shoes.

Really, look down at your shoes. What are you wearing? Those oh so darling, oh so hot, three-inch platforms? Your fancy “I’ve made it” tasseled loafers? Fabulous.

Now let me ask you, how far do you live from your office? Do you drive or do you take transit? How far is it from your work to your child’s school?

GettyImages_148085379

Are you ready to walk there in those fabulous shoes?

Back in January, ePACT talked about needing an emergency kit at work (Where Do I Need an Emergency Kit?). Did you get that done yet?

Those shoes you’re wearing are just part of why you need that kit. A great many of us spend the biggest part of our waking week at the office, so the odds are good that when something serious happens we’ll be at work. The question is how ready are we to deal with a major emergency or disaster? You’ve likely thought about your family, now what about you?

What can you do today to get ready at the office? Three things.

1. You do need that emergency kit. Don’t let the label stop you from getting this done. Tonight, dig one of those extra backpacks or messenger bags out of the back of your closet. Before you put it down, stick in a pair of sturdy shoes you can really walk in, a practical change of clothes, and outerwear that fits where you live. Slip in a snack like a protein bar, a bottle of water, maybe a little cash, and a comfort kit with a toothbrush and some band aids. From there, customize for you. Need medications? Like chocolate? Wear contact lens? Add that stuff. Ten minutes and you’re done –perfection is not your goal. An incomplete kit is better than no kit at all. Put it by the door and take it to work in the morning. Check it once a year to make sure you still fit in your pants.

2. Your office. Do you walk to your desk the same way every day? When was the last time you took the stairs? When was your last fire drill? Do you know the fastest way out of the office from that conference room you spend too much time in? Mix it up. Actually walk in or out a different way on a routine basis. Try the emergency stairs.

The simple act of doing a walk through will greatly decrease your confusion in a disaster. And while you’re on your walk about, look for stuff that might makes things harder in an emergency. Things like that thousand pound art piece in the lobby that might squish you in an earthquake. Look at where you are with fresh eyes.

3. Your employer. After you make sure your employer has your up-to-date emergency contact information, it’s time to ask them about their disaster plans. How do they plan to respond to a fire, to an earthquake? What is their plan for recovering and getting back to work after a major event? Don’t be shy, ask.

That’s it. Three things. Three things and you personally will be more prepared to deal with a major emergency at work. You will be more able to get home or to your child’s school if an earthquake makes transit and driving impossible. You will know more about your employer and be an active part of the effort your organization is making to be prepared. Take care of you, be ready, your family needs you.

Be Safe for Bike to Work Week

May 28, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

shutterstock_62572630 copy With the weather warming up upon summer’s arrival, we’ll be seeing more cyclists on the road. Biking is an environmentally-friendly and healthy activity that can replace the need to drive a vehicle! With the many benefits biking brings, several North American cities are implementing a Bike to Work or Bike to School event. Check with your local government and/or state for more information on this event or if the event is not implemented in your region, you can still participate by biking to work or school yourself!

Cycling provides many benefits, but it does pose risks to safety as well. According to bicycle statistics provided by CAA, 64% of bicycle accidents on the road result in death while around 7,500 cyclists are injured annually. On late Saturday evening, a cyclist from North Vancouver, BC passed away after she had collided with pedestrians on the sidewalk and ended up on the road where vehicles were passing by (Vancouver Sun). Tragic stories like this remind us that cycling safety is of utmost importance.

To ensure you are safe while riding your bike, we have selected the top 3 safety tips for you:

Be alert – Like pedestrians, cyclists are extremely vulnerable in comparison to other road users. It is important for cyclists to always be aware of what is happening on the road by doing shoulder-checks when needed.
Know the correct hand signals – Unlike other road users like vehicle drivers and motorcyclists, bicycles do not have signal lights so it is important to know the correct hand signals to notify other road users. Visit the CAA website to learn hand signals to properly communicate with others on the road.
Wear a helmet – The majority of Canadian provinces have made it a law for cyclists to wear helmets. Bicycles do not protect against injuries as well as a vehicle may, so it is extra important to be equipped with proper gear such as helmets. It is also a good idea to have elbow and knee pads to minimize the impact if you fall.

Oklahoma Tornado: A Devastating Week

May 24, 2013 Emergency Preparedness

Earlier this week, a devastating tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma, impacting more than 10,000 families, many of whom were left homeless. The cleanup in Moore started shortly after the disaster, but progress was deterred after a massive thunderstorm hit the area Thursday morning.

News coverage and social media were quick to circulate information and resources, and we have compiled a few of the many sources available online for affected residents in Oklahoma:

Central & Western Oklahoma Region of American Red Cross for more information on disaster relief: http://www.redcross.org/ok/oklahoma-city
City of Moore has announced that The Shops at Moore is open as a resource centre for local residents: http://www.cityofmoore.com/shops-moore-open-resource-and-relief-center
Google Person Finder can help with locating loved ones impacted in the area: http://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html
Website to help those with pets to reconnect: http://www.okclostpets.com/

You can also read our previous blog on Preparing for Tornado Season, as they generally run from March to August, and we want to help as many families access preparation resources and be as prepared as possible.

According to TIME’s Special Issue on the Oklahoma Tornado, locals in the area had approximately 16 minutes to respond to alerts before the tornado hit Moore. Prepare your family, your home and your place of work ahead of time so if you only had minutes, you are ready to grab a kit and get to a safe place. Our thoughts are with the families and community of Moore as they continue to recover and we hope extreme weather will not impact the area further.