Following a catastrophic disaster during business hours, employees may be stranded at work for days to weeks until roads are cleared for safe driving. And, if the office building suffers structural damage, employees may be forced to shelter outdoors and endure the elements. Electricity may be out for weeks leaving everyone in the dark and causing water treatment plants to stop working. There may also be injuries requiring medical attention when no emergency assistance will be available. Not only do you want to keep your employees safe, but also it is your responsibility to take measures to protect your employees from foreseeable dangers such as natural disasters. Failure to maintain standards of protection opens managers and officers to liability if losses or injuries occur because of their failure to act.
Below is a summary of the different categories of emergency preparedness supplies that you should have in your workplace for employees.
Emergency Water
Your office should also keep a minimum of a 3 day supply of emergency water per employee. But don’t waste company money storing bottled water when it only stores safely for 6 months. Our office emergency preparedness kits come with 3 day supply of emergency drinking water which is US Coast guard approved to store safely for 5 years. However, it is also important to remember that ideally you should have a gallon of water per employee for emergency preparedness because running water will likely be unavailable or unsafe. The cheapest and easiest way to prepare to have enough water for drinking and sanitation is to have water purification and storage supplies such as water purification tablets and 55 gallon water storage barrels.
Emergency Shelter Supplies
There is a possibility that your office building(s) may be unsafe to occupy after a major disaster. Because employees may be forced to stay overnight and outside at work for several days if not weeks, our emergency office preparedness kits also come with the emergency shelter supplies to protect employees from the elements. These supplies include emergency thermal blankets and emergency rain ponchos which offer protection from harsh weather conditions. Additional recommended emergency office shelter supplies to help protect workers from extreme weather include a canopy shelter, body warmer pads, and tube tents.
Emergency Lights
Your office will likely be without electricity after a disaster which is why you need emergency lights to help employees navigate around dangerous debris in the dark. Don’t waste your company’s money storing regular battery-powered flashlights and batteries for an emergency because regular batteries have a shelf-life of only 6 months and last only hours. Our deluxe office emergency preparedness kits come equipped with a solar and hand crank radio with lantern light which never needs batteries and 12 hour emergency lightsticks which have a 5-year shelf-life.
Emergency Radios
In the event of an emergency while employees are at work, there is a chance that everyone will have to evacuate the office building and travel to a safe location. Because electricity will likely also be out, emergency coordinators need to have emergency radios for listening to emergency broadcasts in order to know where to go for safety. Due to the limitations of battery use, we recommend the am/fm solar and hand crank powered radio with lantern light which never needs batteries! Regular battery last for hours and have an extremely limited shelf-life of around only 6 months.
Emergency First Aid Kits
In a major disaster while employees are work, many may become injured as they evacuate the building or campus due to dangerous debris. That is why businesses need to keep comprehensive emergency first aid kits that can easily be mobilized to safety. We recommend the Trauma Central Supply Kit which contains the appropriate supplies to treat up to 75 people for injuries and is ideally suited for school emergency preparedness.
Emergency Search & Rescue Supplies
There will likely be dangerous amounts of broken glass and other debris that could trap employees and cause injuries to others trying to help rescue them. That is why your office needs to keep emergency search and rescue supplies as part of its emergency preparedness plan. Our office emergency preparedness kits come with leather-palmed work gloves, vinyl gloves, and dust masks for protection from dangerous debris. We also highly recommend the additional purchase of our emergency search and rescue kit which comes with such life-saving equipment as OSHA approved hard hats, safety goggles, emergency rescue pry/crow bars, and much more.
Emergency Sanitation Supplies
It’s not a pleasant thought, but your office’s plumbing will likely be unavailable after a major disaster and employees may be sharing shelter outdoors. Because it is important to avoid employees getting sick during a time of disaster, your office needs to have emergency sanitation supplies to maintain sanitary conditions. Our office emergency preparedness kits packaged in 5 gallon containers are designed to be used for emergency sanitation. They also include the necessary toilet bags, toilet chemicals, toilet seat cover and lid, and tissue packs for each employee.