Introduction
It is important that every organization prepares emergency preparedness plan to enable its employees to be prepared and know how to conduct themselves during emergency situations effective. Emergency preparedness planning helps to prevent or minimize the extent of damage of the anticipated or disasters that are likely to occur (Sutton & Tierney, n.d.). In organizations, at-risk individuals are most vulnerable during emergencies and may tend to depend on the services the organization. Therefore this, paper is an integrated emergency preparedness plan of an organization.
Determine the at-risk individuals or target group and delimitations
The first step involves determining the target group which is those people who are highly vulnerable to emergency situations or disasters (United States & Office of Disability Employment Policy, 2005). The target group in this instance is the organization’s employees and probably their clients. The population of the target group has to be determined before the planning process beginnings. This aids in facilitating the emergency planning processes and strategies.
Identify key management documents
The managers should establish two documents which are very essential in ensuring a proper and sound emergency management. These documents include a general preparedness policy and a more precise preparedness programme (United States, Congress, House, & Committee on Energy and Commerce, 2017). The preparedness policy will help to determine and guide the framework for the emergency preparedness for the organization. The preparedness programme will help to expound on the preparedness policy in order to narrow the overall priorities translating them into concrete events.
Resource prioritization
The organization should ensure that it prioritize and ascertain that there is appropriate allocation and usage of vital resources dedicated to be used in emergency preparedness. Due to this, it is significant to make concrete decisions that relates to factors such as maintenance, geospatial distribution, procurement and composition (“Introduction to disaster preparedness,” 2000). Proper resource prioritization practices are important in preparedness planning as it is quite similar to purchases of goods and services. Also, the organization should utilize transparent purchases processes, undertake costs estimation and estimate beneficial capacity of services and products as well as ensure that reliable and constant suppliers of emergency facilities and resources are chosen who meet the existing standards of the requirements.
Ensure follow-up
The organization’s management should ensure that activities that are planned are undertaken and the outcomes should meet the objectives, necessities and agreements identified in the emergency preparedness policy and programme pertaining to the organization (“Planning for an Emergency,” n.d.). Internal and external investigation and supervision needs to be undertaken in order to control and manage whatever has been accomplished, the manner in which it is accomplished and the standards and quality of how it is accomplished. The supervision will improve the cooperation and precisely independent centralized organizational units. Moreover, follow-up can be undertaken by relevant government authorities through external audits.
Planning assumptions
This is where the organization requires considering the threats, vulnerabilities and critical functions of the organizations. The organization should also ensure that it prioritize big risks and identify risks that possess high risk to the organization (Trump, 2011). Focusing on planning assumptions, assist the organization to attain a rich knowledge base which can essentially facilitate the emergency preparedness planning.
Mapping of critical functions
The organization should ensure that it maps out critical functions and vulnerabilities within the organization so as to ensure that the organization recognizes the activities, services and goods that it should take into consideration so as to be capable of maintaining, event in situations when the organization is experiencing adverse and difficult incidents (Lewis & Payant, 2003). The organization should identify the critical functions that it has legislative, administrative and political accountability for (Lewis & Payant, 2003). Identification of critical functions and vulnerabilities can be practical through preparing a list of critical functions, main employees, major infrastructures, and other significant critical resources.
Vulnerabilities, threats identification and monitoring
The organization should maintain the emergency preparedness by ensuring that it updates its critical threats and vulnerabilities that are probable to affect the organizations critical functions and other environmental, environmental and lifestyle reputation (Balog et al., 2003). Identifying new and emerging threats and monitoring are essential in analyzing vulnerability and risk. Identifying and monitoring threats should be integrated in general information collection undertaken by the employees daily through the media, interactive networking initiatives etc. (Trump, 2011). The organization should eventually come up with the a threat catalogue listing all natural, technological and man made threats that the organization is expecting and intends to prepare itself against. However, the documents enable the organization to analyze its risk and vulnerabilities.
Vulnerability and risk analysis
Vulnerability and risk analysis is important in creating an overview of threats constituting big risks and the organization’s vulnerabilities relating to these threats. The organization has to undertake vulnerability and risk analysis so as to enable the organization to propose appropriate countermeasures to mitigate and prevent the threats identified (Lewis & Payant, 2003). This analysis should be undertaken regularly as it enables the organization to take into consideration emergency preparedness and integrating them into other different planning tasks. However, vulnerability and risk analysis can be carried out in various means according to the specified method used by the organization (United States & Office of Disability Employment Policy, 2005). In essence, the organization should consider the following factors when carrying out the analysis; select analytical focus, select threats intended to be analyzed, assess the likelihood of the identified threats resulting into actual incidents and assess the probable consequences.
Prevention
The organization should establish and enforce preventive measures and incorporate them in other planning processes of the organizations (Balog et al., 2003). This will facilitate the organization to entirely evade extraordinary incidences by minimizing the likelihood of these incidents occurring or rather lower the potential effects and outcomes to the admissible level, in a position where it can be comfortably managed through normal operational procedures instead of requiring utilization of crisis management plans together with emergency operation response.
Identification of critical incidents intended to be prevented
The organization should focus in identifying the current and critical threats facing it together the risks attributed to it. By identifying and monitoring critical risks, vulnerabilities and threats analysis and other forms of information gathering are generation of an effective emergency preparedness plan (Lewis & Payant, 2003). The organization should further, primarily put emphasis in the less considered and rare individual incidents. Considerably, common happen incidents should also be taken into considerations if only they are considerably accounted to unacceptable consequences when incorporated over some time.
Determination of ways to prevent incidents
To come up with the most effective initiative, the incidents that have been identified to be in need of preventive measure can be chosen through two categories; physical measure and influential behavior. Prevention measures are usually regulated and controlled by directives, technical codes and legislation and as well subjected to regular control such as fire safety inspection, food control and health, and safety inspection (“Introduction to disaster preparedness,” 2000). Additionally, it is essential that the organization increase collaboration among organizational units so as to make sure that a comprehensive prevention strategy is attained (“Planning for an Emergency,” n.d.). Influential behavior as well enables the organization to build, maintain and alter people’s attitudes and their general behavior. This will thus promote and enhance every person’s capacity to prevent unexpected incidents in the right manner.
Training
The organization should undertake training of its employees as part of the emergency preparedness plan in order to equip them with necessary knowledge and skills to exploit during emergency preparedness efforts (Lewis & Payant, 2003). All employs have to undergo this training regardless of their work positions. The organization needs to obtain an overall overview of competence it should have and has to be accessible and readily available with regards to emergency preparedness planning and managing crisis. A devoted training program has to be established by the organization (Trump, 2011). Moreover, with regards to identifying of competence needs, the organization should select employees who will be provided with unique emergency preparedness training. The training should involve new and existing employees. The training alternatives should focus on addressing a wide range of threats.
Exercises
The organization must often exercise and in different ways in preparation for the management of extraordinary incidents. Exercising of these emergency preparedness helps to test and facilitate the development of the organization. This is the most important way of achieving a preparing and preventing emergencies as the organization has to organize its own internal activities and also take active participation in multi-party exercises organized by other organizations focusing on coordination during crisis (United States & Office of Disability Employment Policy, 2005). The context of the exercise needs to be organized in a way that is related to the emergency preparedness obligation, goals and the specific threat that the organization faces. The exercises should encompass the all organizational departments and people undertaking crisis management in the course of real incidents (Trump, 2011). Special attention should be taken for the employee turnover for the exercises. Based on the objectives, motives, and existing resources, the organization can select between diverse sorts of exercises.
Evaluation
The organization should ensure that it evaluates its emergency preparedness, and operational management activities in extraordinary incidents in the organization’s jurisdiction. However, the organization must also ensure evaluation of its performance effectiveness after every exercise. This entails both exercises that are undertaken internally and after participation in collaborated exercises organized by other organizations (Balog et al., 2003). This evaluation enables the organization to concurrently reveal things that worked out well in the course of the incident that is questioned and must be encouraged and whatever did not work out well will have to be change so as to make improvements on the future conduct. Organizational evaluation on its way of conduct in the course of extraordinary incidents may facilitate resourceful efforts that provide a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan (Trump, 2011).
When the organization undertakes the evaluation of its exercises, the emphasis needs to be geared towards learning instead of just describing. A top notch evaluation records the events based on who, what and how the exercise or incidents was undertaken. To assess crucial opportunities for advancements, assessments account based on facts for vulnerabilities that exists in the emergency management of the organizations. The evaluation needs to be began and terminated shortly after the precise incident that is questioned. To minimize the reaction time, the organization may gain advantage through the preparation of a general evaluation notion having instructions and directions on how the organization plans to establish and undertake evaluations.
As a different and unique part of comprehensive preparedness plan, evaluation does not simply regard to starting projects after another (“Planning for an Emergency,” n.d.). Evaluation is simply a significant part that reminds the organization to use the knowledge acquired from prior evaluation reports or other things that enable the organization to exploit experiences systemize conclusions and recommendations about the organization’s behavior across incidents. Additionally, the organization can usually gain resourceful learning through assessing evaluation reports noted by other organizations, national or international bodies.
Emergency management plans
The organization being responsible for critical functions, it should pose a general emergency management plan. The main motive of this plan is that it enables the organization executives and its personnel a practical tool which is available to them to use during extraordinary incidences (Trump, 2011). Therefore, the plan should make a description of how overall emergency preparedness should be undertaken and the way emergency preparedness capabilities ought to be given top priority. To meet the motive of the emergency preparedness plan practically, the organization’s emergency management plan needs to be action-oriented, comprehensive, and up-to-date. Moreover, the plan needs to be easy to read and easily understood, regularly tested and accessible all the time (Balog et al., 2003). The organization should appropriately manage emergencies in a format that different among organizations based on the areas of accountability, organizational culture and traditions. It is therefore recommendable that the organization establishes one, overall emergency management plan backed up by some contingency plans, templates or auxiliary plans.
Activation and operation of the emergency management unit
The organization needs to consider setting up an emergency management unit (Lewis & Payant, 2003). This unit will enable the organization’s management to have a fixed organizational setting encompassing, popular and experienced procedures immediately when it is identified that an extraordinary incident occurred which calls for emergency management unit. The emergency management should describe the supportive functions, meeting facilities, and substitution processes.
Management of information
This entails the capacity to settle on the right decision at the right time depending on the emergency management unit’s capacity to form a cumulative and comprehensive overview (Trump, 2011). Therefore, it is important to gather, analyze, and ensure distribution of relevant information regarding the emergency management in all stages
Coordination of actions and resources
Emergency management requires coordination and cooperation among organizational units or with external partners (United States & Office of Disability Employment Policy, 2005). Principles, procedures and instructions needs to be clearly elaborated here in order to enhance coordination of actions.
Emergency communication
The organization should establish a devoted emergency communication team to ensure a timely, consistent and transparent emergency communication via the channels for the organization and also external channels (Trump, 2011). Such dedicated teams assist in laying down the foundation for beneficial relations with the media.
Operational response
The organization should choose who is will be in charge of operational response and give him or her mandate to oversee emergency instants. The organizational units have to be determined as well that will take part in operational response during emergencies (Lewis & Payant, 2003). Moreover, the number of employees required to be involve in the operational response and the quantity of resources needs to be determined (Balog et al., 2003). Procedures and directions need to be well defined to ensure smooth coordination and collaboration with operational responses from other organizations.
To sum up, organizations require appropriate emergency preparedness plan to ensure that it thrives in its business. Emergency preparedness planning helps to prevent or minimize the extent of damage of the anticipated or disasters that are likely to occur. Therefore, a proper emergency preparedness plan is necessary.