Naturally when you hire a new person, you must make them aware of the handling of all of the above situations, but at a minimum annually you should review your plan. That review should include ensuring that your employees know their role in an emergency, employee emergency contact information is current and your emergency action plan is current.

Emergency preparedness is something most businesses overlook, but is so necessary.  Being prepared to handle likely emergency scenarios can save a company thousands of dollars in lost production. Recently, Safelink presented an idea to some of its clients on how to review their emergency action plan and related safety features in the laboratory in a fun, interactive way. Remember as a child participating in a scavenger hunt? Why not use the same format to review this information with your employees and test their knowledge on this topic. 

Here’s how it works: 

Each clue listed below is placed at the location of the previous clue’s answer. Each team of employees will travel from clue to clue until they have unearthed the answers to all of the clues. This exercise should take a very brief amount of time and a different team could go each day until all employees participate. The safety coordinator could give a small prize to each employee as they complete the hunt. This needs to be documented as safety training on the emergency response and fire safety programs.

Clues (Choose the ones that apply to your facility.) :
I can smother you when the going gets hot (fire blanket).
Boo-boo box (First Aid Kit).
When the clouds funnel down, hunker down here (inside gathering place).
A kit good for more than spilled milk (chemical spill kit).
Two of my buddies and I are hanging around to take care of things when it gets too hot to handle (three fire extinguishers).
I’m easy on the eyes (eyewash station).
I can provide helpful details if a chemical gets too up close and personal (MSDS).
When you have to get out of dodge, you and your friends are supposed to meet at my place (outside evacuation place).
If there is trouble underfoot, I melt those troubles away (rock salt or ice melt).
If it starts to shake, rattle and roll, you can stand under me (door way).
When I start to rain in doors, you better get out (sprinkler system).
Gas makes me go off (carbon monoxide detectors).
I’m the Terminator of gas (main gas shut-off location).
I’m here to keep you secure (security alarm).
I point the way to safety (evacuation maps or exit signs).
I’m on page number ___/behind tab number ___ in the Health and Safety Manual and give you helpful emergency information (Location of emergency plan in the Health and Safety Manual).

Nancy Wadsworth is the safety coordinator for Boos Dental Laboratory in Minneapolis, Minn.

“We recently conducted a scavenger hunt at our facility and it was a huge success. The employees really enjoyed themselves,” Wadsworth said. “We started out by creating teams made up of members from different departments. This introduced them to their co-workers. During the course of the hunt employees not only learned where things were located but what they were for. I had employees who learned when to use a spill kit instead of the first aid kit and where they were located. Finding the safe meeting location was also an eye opener for some. It was a great training tool that was fun, entertaining and effective.”

Doesn’t this sound like something that you can do in your laboratory? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and make safety fun!
 

Borg is the co-founder and president of SafeLink Inc. Since 1991, she has actively participated as a presenter and on-site instructor to audiences of dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and dental laboratory technicians throughout the US. Prior to founding SafeLink, Borg held senior level management positions in mortgage banking, banking and the family entertainment business. Her positions included responsibility for facilities management, human resources, Risk management, crisis and disaster recovery and health and safety.