Emergency Management Plan: Compliance Fundamentals

The Emergency Management Manual (EMM) or Evacuation Plan is one of the foundations for ensuring your site or facility is compliant in accordance with AS3745:2010 – Planning for Emergencies in Facilities. The plan is created by the Emergency Planning Committee (EPC) and outlines the key components that are required to ensure safety during emergencies.

We will discuss all the fundamental parts required in the Emergency Management Plan (EMM) in this post.

Required elements for compliance include:

Purpose and scope

• The scope of the emergency evacuation plan is provided at the beginning, to give all readers a short overview of what the plan will cover.
• Defining the scope is extremely important as it gives occupants immediate context as to whether the plan will apply to them or not during emergencies.

Structure and purpose of the Emergency Planning Committee

The EMM outlines which occupants of the facilityare part of the Emergency Planning Committee and outlines their purpose to:

• Develop, implement, and maintain the emergency plan
• Manage all emergency response procedures
• Oversee any related training in a building or facility

Identification of the facility

It is imperative that the EMM clearly defines the facility to which it applies, to give occupants a clear directive as to whether the plan applies to them during emergencies.

Descriptions of the emergency features within the facility

When describing emergency features in the evacuation plan, it is imperative that the following are covered:

• Safety features – example: Smoke & carbon monoxide detectors, emergency shower units and more.
• Fire features – examples: Fire hydrants, fire hose reels or fire blankets.
• Security features – examples: CCTV, locked entrances, or secure perimeters.

Organisational arrangements of the facility

The Emergency Management Manual must outline the organisational structure of the site in terms of:

• Who to contact & advise requirements
• Management structure of staff
• The Employee Support Program arrangements of the site if required

Extent and record of the emergency plan distribution

A record of where the EMM has been distributed must be included. During emergencies, occupants & wardens may need to communicate the locations of other EMM’s thus this record is vital.

This information also includes the location of any Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for people with disabilities.

Hours of occupancy

The manual must outline the hours which the facility or site is occupied by any person staff or otherwise. It is required that all hours which the facility is available are documented rather than simply business operation times.

The EPC nominated validity period

Emergency management plans must outline the date which they are to be renewed. Without renewal the plan is deemed no longer compliant with AS3745:2010.

Date of issue

To remain as compliant with the above point as possible, the emergency management plan must state when it was created. This assures the relevant parties that the plan still resides within its compliant period.

Emergency identification outcomes

This section of the EMM provides identification of which events require emergency consideration

• Identifying specific emergency events and scenarios that affect the people in a facility arising from internal and external events.
• Identifying the possible consequences of each emergency to the people within the facility and their vulnerability before, during and after the emergency.
• Deciding which types of potential emergencies are to be included in the Emergency Plan.

Emergency response procedures

The EMM must record the plan of action, in response to a specific class of reasonably foreseeable emergencies.

Generally, emergency response procedures follow these 5 steps:

• Assessing the risk of the emergency
• Surveying the work environment
• Identifying leaders and administrators
• Choosing an emergency notification system vendor
• Practicing the plan

Evacuation Diagrams

A vital part of the emergency management plan is the emergency evacuation diagram. To ensure that all occupants can quickly and easily get the information they need to evacuate in the event of an emergency, these diagrams must also be placed within the facility.

The diagrams within the plan must contain and inform occupants of evacuation procedures, locations & directions of the nearest emergency exits, fire equipment, assembly areas and emergency contact details.

You can learn more about what’s required in an emergency evacuation diagram in this detailed post.

Training arrangements

Outlining how training of occupants & wardens will be carried out must be defined within the EMM to ensure compliance is maintained.

Emergency Response Exercises

To ensure occupants & wardens are prepared for when emergencies occur, training exercises must be defined. These exercises must be practiced every 6 months.

Review and routine servicing

It’s imperative that the Emergency Plan & associated elements are inspected, tested, and routinely serviced to ensure compliance. If any deficiency is discovered in the Emergency Plan, they must be reported to management so that they can be rectified to ensure compliance.

All guidance in terms of what to inspect, test or routinely service can be found in the Australian Standards 1851.

 

 

The AS3745:2010 framework outlines a wide assortment of requirements to ensure that emergency management manuals are compliant. It can be easy to overlook these details, however they are vital in ensuring that occupants are safe during the high-pressure experienced in emergencies.

Our emergency management manuals are expertly handcrafted, to ensure clear compliance for your organisation and the safety of your occupants.

Download the AS3745:2010 compliance infographic

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