As an employer, you have a duty to protect your staff’s health and safety in an emergency. In the eyes of the law, that means providing the necessary tools to ensure your employees can swiftly exit the building should an earthquake, fire, or some other natural disaster force you to evacuate.
If you work in a multi-storied building, one of those tools is an evacuation chair for stairs. They help people with reduced mobility descend stairs rapidly and safely when the elevator is out of use.
But is your job done once you have these tools on the premises? Not quite. Here’s how you can put safety first when using evacuation chairs for stairs.
Know How it Fits into Your Escape Plan
Panic in an emergency can cost lives, so it’s crucial your business has a detailed and rehearsed escape plan. Join forces with your health and safety board to perform a risk assessment plan so that you understand potential threats or obstacles to a safe exit.
If your office sprawls over several storeys, and each storey has multiple staircases, you’ll need to deliberate over how many evacuation chairs you’ll need.
Consider your staff and potential guests to make this decision. Anyone with reduced mobility may require an evacuation chair for stairs, including the following groups:
- The elderly
- Pregnant people
- Disabled individuals
- Injured people
- People who use mobility tools
For guidance, check your local labour board and safety organizations to see if your exit plan is accessible to everyone on staff.
Learn How to Operate it Safely
An evacuation stair chair is useless if no one understands how to operate it properly. This mistake could cost lives as people fumble over equipment in a high-pressure situation.
Establish whose role it will be to operate the evacuation chairs for stairs and train them to use these tools correctly. This designated operator should regularly refresh their skills so that they don’t forget how to operate it. You should also train someone else as a back-up in case your first pick isn’t in the office when an emergency happens.
Make sure you create an effective communication plan so that everyone involved — both the person who requires an evacuation chair and the person who will control it — knows how they’ll work together in an emergency. Set aside time to conduct a drill so that they can rehearse this evacuation plan.
Make Sure You Inspect It Regularly
A regular fire drill helps your staff familiarize themselves with the plan, so there’s less confusion should you ever have to follow it for real. You’re more likely to escape safely when your employees evacuate the building calmly.
These rehearsals are also an excellent opportunity to check that your accessibility tools are in working order. By running through these escape plans often, you’ll troubleshoot any potential problems without the added pressure of an actual emergency.
Include this chair with any routine checks your health and safety representatives carry out on fire extinguishers, exit signs, and more.
Bottom Line
There’s more to creating an accessible exit strategy than simply providing the right tools. You need to make sure your staff knows where to find this life-saving equipment and how to use it effectively under pressure. Take some time to implement these new rules of your exit strategies.