Emergency Action Plan Toolbox Talk
In an emergency nobody reads a plan. They do whatever they were told last, which is why it has to be said out loud before there is a reason to.
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The talk, read this out
Somebody tell me the street address of this site. Not the name of it, the address, the way you would say it to a dispatcher. Take your time, because on the day nobody could.
The address is the first thing that fails. People know the site as the Miller job or the plaza, and the ambulance needs a number and a street, and sometimes a cross street and which gate to come in.
Second is who calls. If everybody assumes somebody else called, nobody called. On this site the rule is that the person with the casualty calls or names one person and tells them to call, by name, out loud.
Third is where we go. The muster point is a fixed spot, it is away from the building, it is not in the way of the fire trucks coming in, and it does not move because it is raining.
Fourth is the head count. The only reason we muster is to find out if anybody is missing, which means somebody has to have the list and somebody has to count. A crowd standing in a parking lot is not a head count.
If somebody is missing, that information goes to the fire department when they arrive and it goes to them fast. Nobody goes back inside to look. That is the part of this that gets people killed twice.
The written plan has to name the escape routes, who stays behind to shut down anything critical, how we account for everybody, who does rescue and medical, how fires get reported, and who to ask about all of it. If that plan exists and you have never seen it, then it does not exist today.
Point at these before anybody starts
A talk delivered in a trailer is a meeting. Stand where the work is and put a hand on each of these.
- The muster point. Everybody look at it right now.
- The two ways out of the area you are working in today.
- Where the site address is posted, and read it out.
- The first aid kit, and who on this crew is trained.
- The gate the fire truck would come through, and what is parked in front of it.
- Who is holding the crew list today.
The rules that apply
- The plan is in writing and it covers escape procedures and route assignments, who stays to shut down critical operations, how everybody is accounted for after evacuation, rescue and medical duties, how fires and emergencies get reported, and who to contact about the plan.
- There is an employee alarm system, and if it is used for more than one purpose each purpose has a distinct signal.
- The site address, including the cross street and the gate, is posted where anybody can read it to a dispatcher.
- One named person calls 911. If nobody was named, the person with the casualty calls.
- The muster point is fixed, clear of the building and clear of the route emergency vehicles need.
- Nobody re-enters for a missing person. That information goes to the fire department on arrival.
Ask the crew
Three questions, answered out loud by name. This is the part that tells you whether anybody was listening.
- What is this site's address and which gate do they come in?
- Where is the muster point and who counts heads there?
- If you found somebody down in the basement, who calls and what do you say first?
Close with this
The plan is worth exactly as much as the part of it you can say without reading it.
A talk nobody signed for is a talk that, as far as anybody can later prove, never happened. Use the free toolbox meeting sign in sheet in PDF, Word or Excel, or print the PDF above, which already has the signature lines on it.
Questions people ask
Does a small crew need a written emergency action plan?
The section applies to emergency action plans required by a particular OSHA standard, and several standards require one. The practical test is different anyway: if an ambulance had to find you today, could anyone tell it where you are.
Who is allowed to go back in for someone?
Nobody on the crew. Rescue is a trained, equipped job, and the standard makes rescue and medical duties an assigned role in the written plan, not something a bystander decides to take on.
How often should the muster point be said out loud?
Every time the site changes shape. A new excavation, a new crane, a new fence line or a new stack of material can put the old muster point behind the hazard, and nobody notices until the day it matters.
More toolbox talks
TOOLBOX TALK: THE EMERGENCY PLAN
Attendance
Everybody who was present signs, including subcontractors and anybody visiting the site.