Emergency Planning Committee Training
The plans and preparation to avoid emergencies and to cope with them effectively if they do happen, needs acceptance in the organisation that it affects. If the plans and preparation are done in isolation, with no acceptance by those in authority at the facility, the occupants will not take ownership of the procedures in emergencies. In order to get this buy-in by those in authority, the AS3745 requires that the responsibility for developing implementing and maintaining all the essential components of emergency planning be held by the EPC. The EPC must, therefore, be representative of the stakeholders in the facility.
AS3745 requires the EPC have at least two people, at least one of which must be ‘competent’. That is someone who has acquire the skills to carry out the task – usually through training, experience or a combination of both.
The responsibilities of the EPC include:
This is an essential component of complying with AS3745.
For a complete list of required components go to Compliance Emergency Planning Package.
- Identifying events that could reasonably produce emergency situations.
- Developing an emergency plan.
- Ensuring that resources are provided to enable the development and implementation of the emergency plan.
- Nominating the validity period for the emergency plan and the evacuation diagram. NOTE:
- The validity period should not exceed 5 years but may be less than 5 yearly, depending on the requirements of a maintenance cycle, a major change to the facility or an accreditation regime.
- Ensuring that the emergency plan is readily identifiable and available to the appropriate persons.
- Establishing an emergency control organization to operate in accordance with the emergency plan.
- Authorizing the release and implementation of the emergency plan. The following shall apply to the implementation process:
- Awareness of the emergency response procedures.
- Training: For Emergency Control Organisation members and facility occupants.
- Testing the emergency response procedures
- Review of procedures during implementation and amending as required
- Establishing arrangements to ensure the continuing operation of the Emergency Control Organisation.
- Ensuring that the register of Emergency Control Organisation members is current and readily available.
- Establishing strategies to ensure visitors are made aware of emergency response procedures.
- Ensuring that the emergency response procedures remain viable and effective by reviewing, and testing the emergency response procedures at least annually.
- Ensuring that the emergency plan is reviewed at the end of the validity period, after an emergency, an exercise, or any changes that affect the emergency plan.
- Ensuring that a permanent record of events for each emergency is compiled and retained.
- Identifying and rectifying deficiencies and opportunities for improvement in the emergency plan and emergency response procedures.
Compliance Emergency Planning provide EPC training to ensure members are aware of their role and capable of carrying out their duties. Compliance Emergency Planning often works with EPCs to provide guidance in decision making and methods to meet the requirements of legislations, Standards and duty of care.
Ask Compliance Emergency Planning about an EPC workshop to develop EPC member skills and provide guidance in developing the emergency plan