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Be Prepared for Weather Emergencies at Work | SERVPRO of Dublin/Vidalia/Claxton
7/14/2023 (Permalink)
If your home or business was damaged in a storm, call SERVPRO of Dublin/Vidalia/Claxton to get you back in action.
When it comes to running a business, the best principle to instill in your staff will always be staying prepared for anything. While you consider every hurdle your business might face, don’t forget to think about how you will handle a weather emergency.
A prepared team is a team that becomes resilient and works well together. Work with your crew to prepare for emergencies that might occur outside so that everyone responds well in order to stay safe and mitigate as much loss as possible.
When the weather turns severe, a panicking team can create a bigger disaster than the storm rolling through. Make sure every emergency is approached calmly so your teams weathers every hurdle well.
The best place to start in creating your severe weather plan is by assessing the potential storms your business may face. Get to know the weather in your area and what severe weather each season brings, and find out ways the area around your property has been damaged in the past. When you know what you are facing you can create more specific plans.
Our area of Georgia enjoys mostly mild weather, although the spring and summer often brings strong thunderstorms and occasional tornadoes. While our surrounding areas are not far from Georgia’s coast, we are outside of most hurricane threats. Heavy rains, strong winds and flooding are always a possibility, however.
While you investigate the specific threats to your business, make sure you check where your location lies in relation to flood plans. You should also ensure you have several ways to stay connected with up-to-date local weather in order to prepare for bigger storms as early as possible.
Communication is key when it comes to keeping everyone safe and calm. Create a communication plan that gets messages out to everyone in your building so that they can work together cohesively.
Your communication plan should include more than one way to contact one another in the event that one form goes down as the storm moves in. Your staff needs multiple ways to clearly understand when it is time to gather supplies and when it is time to evacuate.
If a weather emergency requires evacuation, your employees need to know exactly how to get out quickly and safely. Practice exit routes on a regular basis, and make sure they are clearly mapped out and displayed throughout your building. Consider adding emergency lights that will work without power to any areas that could be challenging to navigate.
Weather can turn severe fast, making evacuation unsafe in certain situations. When you can’t get the crew out, make sure they know where the safest place to shelter is. Visit this space when you practice your emergency plans, and store emergency supplies nearby. A low-level location without windows is your best bet for a safe shelter.
Regardless of whether you have to stay or go, make sure your emergency plan is so well-known by everyone you work with that they can jump into it as calmly as possible. Emergencies will always be scary, but the more prepared your team is, the smoother things will go and the lower anxiety can stay. Practice always makes perfect!
Don’t let extreme weather take control! If storms strike your business, SERVPRO® can help you restore your losses.