EM 385 Guide: Facility or Construction Project Emergency Response
Anyone who works as a contractor with the US Army Corps of Engineers has to be familiar with the Safety and Health requirements mentioned in the EM 385-1-1 manual.
Failure to do so can lead to serious repercussions from the DoD or the Department of Defense. If the supervising officer stops work on a project because of violations, you can end up with $2000 in fines per day till the project is completed.
If the supervising officer stops work on a project because of violations, you can end up with $2000 in fines per day till the project is completed. Click To Tweet
Therefore, a lot of time, money and resources can be saved if EM 385 requirements are met beforehand. It can also aid in the creation of an Emergency Response Plan that addresses these issues:- Determining operations that require hazardous substances
- Pre planning with emergency responders to determine their role and responsibilities
- Roles of personnel when it comes to communication, training and authority
- Determining personnel who will be responsible for responding to hazard substance releases
- Determining the likely scenarios that can lead to emergencies and difficult situations.
- Determining safe distances and refuges in case of emergencies. This includes identifying those locations in the ERP and training employees to seek them out.
- Determining likely emergency recognition and prevention plans.
- Determining if the facility can be secured and describing access controls during emergencies
- Determining evacuation routes and necessary health procedures.
- Determining decontamination procedures and describing those plans to personnel if they come in contact with leaking harmful substances.
- Mapping out escape routes and ensuring all personnel evacuate the area safely.