2021 Facilities Management
Virtual Master Class:
Emergency Preparedness for Facilities Professionals

Webster’s defines emergency as an “unforeseen combination or resulting state that calls for immediate action.” But note, this does not mean crisis! Crisis means “a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention.” When it comes to an "emergency" in your facility, you must know how to tell the difference between an urgent situation and an actual disaster. Sometimes these issues are easier to spot, like a fire or flood. Others aren't as easy, like carbon monoxide poisoning and other odorless gasses leaking into your facility. Even if there are less urgent situations you must address, how you respond makes all the difference. This session will help you define an emergency within the structure of your facility or campus.

Here, you'll learn:

• Various examples of emergency situations that can occur within a facility,
• Planning objectives to help you prepare in case these situations occur, and
• First steps for assessing an emergency.

Emergency plans are not designed to be kept secret. However, there are some things that should not be shared in the normal course of communicating the plan. One example would be egress capabilities. This session will explore communication avenues and examples of included items.

Here, you'll learn:

• How show and tell are both part of communication,
• What to include/exclude in communication, and
• How to reach all of your occupants.

Many plans fail in the first minutes of an emergency because they are created by imperfect human beings and there are too many unknowns for even the most skilled planner to foresee. Plans are much better when they are flexible and encompass what you know. Technology is the key in many cases.

At the end of this segment, you'll be able to:

• Identify reasons for execution failures,
• Define some helpful technologies to assist plan execution,
• Discuss "recovery" as the next to last step, and
• Reimagine your plan consistently and constantly

Have lingering questions about points raised during the this intensive workshop, or want to revisit a fundamental concept or two from earlier in the day? Take advantage of this opportunity to get clarification from our expert before you wrap up for the day.