What are the steps involved in preparing an emergency response guide?

Compiling an emergency response guide that can come in handy at critical moments requires the core steps of basic data planning, framework construction, practical content filling, multiple rounds of verification and polishing, and dynamic updates. It cannot be implemented by just finding a template online and changing the name of the unit.

Two years ago, when we helped the Economic Development Zone Chemical Industry Park to prepare the emergency guide for hazardous chemicals leakage, we didn’t touch the document at all in the first two weeks. We walked around the park every day and found out the material types, toxicity, and maximum diffusion range of each of the 17 companies involved in hazardous chemicals. We even knew which section of the fire escape in the park was usually easily blocked by cargo, whether there was a toxicology department in the surrounding tertiary hospital 3 kilometers away, and how long it would take for the nearest fire rescue station to send police to the park. Many people in the industry feel that this step is too time-consuming. Parks of the same type can just modify the existing guidelines. However, last year, the industrial park next door tried to save trouble and copied the template of other parks. They did not consider that the west gate of their park is next to a primary school, and the evacuation route was not specially designed to divert students. When a small-scale leakage did occur, parents rushed to the door and blocked the evacuation route, almost causing a secondary accident. This was a pitfall that saved the effort of doing thorough research.

Don’t rush to write the content after you’ve figured out all the basics. You must first lay down the skeleton of the guide. There are also different voices here. Most of my friends in the compliance department think that compliance content such as the basis for establishment and division of powers and responsibilities should be placed at the front to facilitate inspection by superiors. However, we have done user testing and found that in a real emergency, first responders such as front-line operators and security guards would not have more than 10 seconds to read the guide. If they can’t find what to do, they will immediately panic. So now we usually make two sets of frameworks. The pocket version of the emergency instructions puts quick disposal cards for different scenarios directly at the front, just like the vernacular prompts posted on the outside of the first aid kit at home: "Rinse with cold water for 15 minutes before applying medicine for burns." The detailed process will be attached later. ； The archived version follows compliance requirements, and both sides can be taken into consideration.

When filling in the content of the skeleton, you will not go astray. It is most taboo to write empty words and cliches. Don't write "evacuate people as soon as possible". Instead, write "When a leak occurs in warehouse No. 3, the warehouse manager on duty will take the east freight elevator to guide the people in the office area on the second floor to evacuate to the south square. The security guard at the north gate will be responsible. "Seal the north entrance and prohibit unauthorized persons from entering." Each item must be related to a specific person, specific action, and specific point. It is like a recipe for a novice. Don't write "a little salt" but "add 2 grams of fine salt." Otherwise, everyone will have different understandings, and it will be easy to mess up if something goes wrong.

It’s not finished until the content is filled in. We must work with the front-line employees who stay on site every day to polish the details. The last time we showed the draft of our guide to the senior team leader in the warehouse, he immediately pointed out the problem: the location we wrote for to shut off the main valve after a leak was the "southwest corner of the warehouse", but the southwest corner is usually stacked with half-person-high raw material barrels. When an accident happens, it is impossible to squeeze through, and you have to go around the back door and take the fire escape to get to the main valve. If we didn't ask these experienced employees to give advice, the contents of the guide would not be implemented at all. After polishing the details, at least two full-process simulation drills were required. When we were working on a fire emergency guide for a chain store last year, we discovered during the first drill that we had not considered the operating habits of cashier employees. When the alarm went off, everyone's first reaction was to lock the cash register first and then guide customers, which wasted more than ten seconds. Later, we coordinated with the supermarket to add an emergency automatic locking function to the cash register, and added in the guide that "the cash register automatically locks after the alarm is triggered, without the need for manual operation by employees" to close this loophole.

Many people think that once the guide is compiled and published, it is over. In fact, this is just the beginning. Just in the past few years, many parks have added new refrigeration warehouses. The previous list of hazardous chemicals did not include a solution for refrigerant leakage. Some companies have replaced new production equipment, and the risk points have long been different from before. If it is not updated in half a year, the guideline will not keep up with the actual situation. Our current habit is to make a small update every quarter, conduct a comprehensive review and adjustment every year based on the emergency drill situation throughout the year, and update it at any time when there are changes such as site renovation and new business formats. Only in this way can we ensure that the guide is truly useful and not just a display in a file cabinet.