Gil Fried, J.D. Gil Fried is an associate professor at the University of New Haven where he coordinates graduate programs in Management of Sports Industries and Facility Management, which are endorsed by the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM). Fried has worked with the IAAM on various projects from train the trainer programs to developing case studies for the International Crowd Management Conference. He is a well-known attorney in the sport facility area and serves as general counsel for several sport facility associations. He also serves as the director of risk management for OR&L Facility Management where he helps monitor risks and safety issues for several million square feet of public facilities managed by OR&L Facilities Management. He has written several books on risk and facility management and speaks extensively throughout the country. You may contact him through his Web page at www.gilfried.com or e-mail gfried@newhaven.edu.

What needs to be included in an emergency action plan under OSHA? — S. Benevitas, San Jose, Calif.

Under the Occupational Safety & Health Administration regulations, an emergency action plan (EAP) focuses on how to get workers out of the workplace to a safe area inside or outside the workplace. The EAP must include the following elements:

• Evacuation procedures including assignments of emergency escape routes
• Procedures to be followed by employees who stay behind to operate critical components before they also need to evacuate
• Procedures to verify that all employees have evacuated safely
• Identification of all rescue, response and medical duties for those who are assigned emergency tasks
• Procedures and mechanisms for reporting fires or other emergencies
• Contact name and number for contacting plan developer/implementer

Portable fire extinguisher regulations (29 CFR 1910.157 et al.) prescribing the placement, use, maintenance and testing of fire extinguishers do not apply if the employer has a written fire safety policy (an EAP and a fire prevention plan) requiring the immediate evacuation of all employees when an alarm sounds and when fire extinguishers are not available in the workplace. OSHA requires employers to mount, locate and identify fire extinguishers where they can be readily accessible to the employees. All portable fire extinguishers or fire hoses must be inspected on a monthly basis. The extinguishers need to undergo internal inspection each year and the inspection needs to be recorded and the record kept at least one year or until the extinguisher is discarded, whichever is less.

In addition to having functioning fire extinguishers in the right location, employees must be trained in how and when to use them. When an employer provides a portable fire extinguisher, the employer also must provide educational programs to familiarize employees with the general principles of using fire extinguishers and the risks inherent in trying to put out early-stage fires. Such training needs to be provided when employees are hired and at least annually thereafter. The training needs to be more indepth if an employee is designated to use firefighting equipment in the EAP.

The EAP is just as critical for a facility as a marketing plan or a budget. However, while a facility might be able to function without an appropriate marketing plan, the failure to have EAP can result in significant OSHA fines and potential civil liability if an accident occurs.

Besides the EAP, OSHA requires all workplaces to be built or modified to provide a safe environment for employees.

Regulation 29 CFR 1910.36 requires permanent exit routes, made with adequately fireresistant construction materials, be adequate in number and highlight the exit routes outside a building. It also spells out the minimum capacity, height and width for exit routes. An exit route is an unobstructed path of exit travel within a workplace to a place of safety.

At least 70 percent of OSHA fines are prompted by an employer failing to have a written OSHA Safety Plan. A work environment is not safe by accident, but through planning, and there are different plans for different concerns.

Another frequent OSHA violation entails improper or lack of employee training. When an employee fails to carry out his responsibilities in a safe manner, the excuse often is lack of knowledge or training. The most effective way to address this issue is to have written rules, policies and/or procedures regarding the hazard in question. The next key is to show the rules or policies were communicated to employees. OSHA requires employers to instruct their employees to recognize and avoid hazards specific to their work site – the hazards of which a reasonably prudent employer would have been aware. Thus, even open and obvious risks still need to be analyzed and specific strategies must be developed to educate employees on how to avoid the obvious hazardous condition.

An employer needs to document the education and training given for each employee. In addition, refresher courses must be provided every couple of years to ensure each employee’s education and training is current. Furthermore, some method of validation of their understanding can be useful to counter employee claims of ignorance. If an employer can show employees were well trained, knowledgeable and experienced in executing the safety rules, the employer should have a strong argument when OSHA investigates an injury.