The Ultimate Guide to Disaster Response: Guidelines for Non-Desk Employees

In non-desk workplaces, proper emergency preparedness safeguards your workforce. With approximately 80% of global workers engaged in hazardous, high-mobility roles, a structured emergency response plan transforms chaos into coordinated action. Your strategy must address workplace-specific hazards while protecting employees, customers, and vendors. 

Focus on three priorities: protecting health through injury response protocols, enhancing safety via clear evacuation procedures, and establishing reliable communication channels that function during system failures.

Developing a Personalized Disaster Preparedness Plan: What Guidelines Apply in Any Disaster Situation

Creating an effective disaster preparedness plan means developing a customized approach that addresses your specific workplace environment and employee needs. Here's how to build a plan that works for your organization.

Framework for Plan Creation

Start by establishing a foundation that meets OSHA's Emergency Action Plan (EAP) requirements while tailoring it to your unique characteristics:

• Assess your workplace needs: Identify potential hazards specific to your facility, industry, and location. Manufacturing facilities may focus on equipment hazards, while coastal businesses might prioritize hurricane preparations.
• Document essential procedures: At minimum, your plan should include:
• Reporting procedures for fires and emergencies as required by OSHA standards
• Emergency escape procedures with route assignments and safe areas
• Floor plans and workplace maps showing evacuation routes
• Shutdown procedures specifying which employees are responsible for critical equipment
• Methods for accounting for all personnel after evacuation
• First aid locations and emergency response protocols
• Designate a coordinator: Select a responsible individual to lead your emergency plan. This coordinator needs authority to make decisions during emergencies and must be known to all employees.
• Go beyond compliance: Enhance your basic plan with best practices, including thorough safety protocols:
• Post emergency contact numbers prominently throughout the workplace
• Invite local emergency responders to tour your facility
• - Conduct regular training drills that involve both responders and your personnel
• Consider special needs: Make provisions for employees with unique requirements or those caring for elderly family members.

Involving Employees

Your employees are valuable resources in developing an effective emergency plan:

• Gather diverse perspectives: Include employees from different departments, shifts, and roles in the planning process. Those who work directly in various environments can provide insights about potential hazards that management might overlook.
• Clarify roles and responsibilities: Work with employees to define who does what during an emergency. Clear role definition prevents confusion and duplication of efforts when quick action is needed.
• Provide comprehensive training: Ensure all employees understand:
• Evacuation procedures and routes
• Location and use of emergency equipment
• Their specific responsibilities during an emergency
• Communication protocols during and after an incident
• Review and refine with feedback: Once you've drafted your plan, review it with employees to confirm everyone understands the procedures to follow before, during, and after an emergency event.
• Promote a culture of preparedness: Regular drills and updates to the plan keep emergency preparedness top of mind. When employees participate in these activities, they develop greater confidence in their ability to respond effectively in a crisis.

Remember that emergency plans aren't static documents—they should evolve with your organization and be revisited regularly to address new hazards, changes in your workforce, or lessons learned from drills and real emergencies.

Preparation Steps Before Disasters Occur

Proactive planning makes a significant difference in disaster preparedness. Natural disasters like Hurricane Helene, which cost an estimated $34 billion according to Times, demonstrate why advance preparation matters for businesses and individuals.

Supply Checklists and Family Communication Plans

Creating emergency supply kits should be a priority for every workplace. At minimum, your emergency kit should include:

• Gauze and bandages
• Painkillers
• Flashlights
• Extra batteries
• Warm blankets
• Non-perishable food items
• Bottled water
• First aid supplies
• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio

These items can be helpful while waiting for emergency services during a disaster. Keep kits accessible and ensure all employees know their locations.

For family communication plans, develop a straightforward disaster preparedness plan that's clear and easily communicated. Simplicity helps—a concise plan enables everyone to remember and implement necessary actions effectively.

Special Considerations for Employee Safety

Workplace disaster plans should address specific employee needs:

• Categorize employees by potential impact level:
• Severely affected (those who might lose homes or have family impacts)
• Moderately impacted (those facing disruptions like power outages)
• Minimally affected employees
• Evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures: Develop clear protocols for both scenarios. FEMA provides a Quick Reference Guide and checklist that can help you develop these plans.
• Remote work contingencies: Equip employees to work remotely when possible and ensure managers are comfortable supervising a distributed workforce.
• Time-off policies: If a disaster is predicted, consider allowing employees time off to prepare their homes and families. This shows you prioritize their safety, increasing loyalty and appreciation.
• Communication systems: Establish multiple channels to reach employees during emergencies, including text alerts, phone trees, and designated check-in procedures.

Review and update your emergency plans quarterly, addressing any changes in personnel, locations, or potential vulnerabilities.

Safety Guidelines During Disasters: Applying the Right Measures in Any Situation

Disasters pose numerous hazards that require proper preparation and safety protocols to reduce risks. Implementing appropriate safety measures can significantly decrease the impact on individuals and organizations.

Preventing Common Hazards

Different types of disasters present unique hazards that require specific preventive measures:

• Floods are among the most common hazards in the United States. They can be triggered by sudden rain accumulation, rising rivers, tidal surges, ice jams, and dam failures. Workers and individuals in flooded areas face heightened risks that can be reduced through proper evacuation planning and education about flood-related hazards.
• Hurricanes introduce multiple dangers including exposure to extreme heat, chemical hazards, work zone incidents, loud noises, and increased risks of trips and falls.

Multiple disaster types may require shelter-in-place actions rather than evacuation. FEMA's Shelter-in-Place Pictogram Guidance provides visual instructions to help individuals and organizations prepare for such scenarios.

Safety Through Communication: Your Emergency Lifeline

During emergencies, a reliable communication system is one of the most valuable tools a business can have. Text messaging services help ensure immediate contact with employees, keeping everyone informed when it matters most.

For industrial workplaces, three priorities stand out: protecting employee health through proper medical response training, enhancing safety with clear evacuation procedures, and maintaining reliable emergency notification systems that function when standard systems fail.

Yourco's SMS-based employee notification system delivers emergency alerts directly to your frontline workers' phones with a 98% open rate. When internet connectivity fails, you cannot rely on communication tools like apps or emails. Having a reliable and simple way of reaching all employees instantaneously is incomparable when it comes to disaster response. The importance of text alerts cannot be overstated; this immediate communication helps HR managers coordinate evacuations, relay instructions, and account for personnel during emergencies. 

Try Yourco for free today or schedule a demo and see the difference the right workplace communication solution can make in your company.