Emergency evacuation best practices for every workplace
Evacuation management has evolved significantly in recent years. In particular, technology has become an integral part of evacuation processes, making it more streamlined, reliable and efficient.
Traditional evacuation methods, often involving paper checklists and manual headcounts, are now being replaced by digital solutions that are faster, more accurate and more suited to the modern way of working.
With the rise of hybrid working environments, diverse personnel, remote access points and stringent security protocols and compliance requirements, today’s workplaces are more complex than ever.
All of these factors complicate emergency management processes, making it harder to account for people in emergencies and presenting a potentially serious safety risk.
Digital tools allow organisations to address these challenges with ease, effectively responding to incidents and safeguarding the wellbeing of everyone on site.
Industry-specific emergency management challenges and solutions
To complicate matters further, emergency management requirements can differ vastly for different industries, with very specific challenges that must be accounted for.
Processes and solutions need to be customised to suit the specific needs of different industries.,
In this article, we’ll outline these requirements for the manufacturing, healthcare and education sectors, plus beneficial features which can be customised to suit specific needs, and insights from businesses that have experienced the positive effects after implementing a visitor management system.
1. Manufacturing facilities
Manufacturing facilities often have multiple access points, shift workers and high contractor turnover.
The presence of hazardous materials can further complicate evacuations, requiring quick, accurate tracking and accountability for everyone on site.
When digital evacuation management solutions are integrated with visitor tracking, businesses get instant access to the real-time locations of visitors, employees and contractors; enabling them to better manage access points and account for everyone on site.
Specialised software can also flag areas containing hazardous materials, enabling faster, safer evacuations and reducing potential exposure risks.
Find out more: How manufacturing facility Logoplaste uses visitor management system to keep an accurate head count at all times.
2. Healthcare facilities
For healthcare facilities, patient safety is the primary focus in an emergency. As a result, evacuations need to consider varying levels of mobility and ability.
Visitors and medical staff - who are likely scattered across the premises - must also be accounted for, and there may also be a need to evacuate critical medical equipment.
Evacuations need to be conducted as efficiently and orderly as possible, which can be extremely difficult in large facilities with hundreds of people on site.
There can sometimes be hundreds of people across large facilities, making it difficult to conduct evacuations efficiently. This is where digital evacuation solutions make a big difference.
Digital check-ins enable facility managers to instantly locate and account for everyone on site, while device tracking can help to find essential equipment, enhancing both patient safety and overall emergency efficiency.
Read more: How Oakland Care uses visitor management across its multiple care homes
3. Educational institutions
Like the healthcare sector, education environments also face the challenge of needing to account for a wide range of people of different ages and abilities, often across large campuses.
It’s extremely difficult to do this manually; emergency management often relies on staff interpretation of situations, which can lead to inconsistent responses.
Digital evacuation tools streamline communication and coordination — including across multiple buildings or even campuses — and provide real-time insights into campus occupancy.
Automated, real-time evacuation reports are extremely valuable for enabling staff and the emergency services to understand where people are - preventing confusion and delays.
Read more: How Exeter College manages the whereabouts of 10,000+ students in the event of an emergency
Digital emergency management solutions and their benefits
Implementing digital solutions in evacuation management offers a range of advantages.
- Real-time tracking capabilities allow organisations to locate individuals quickly.
- Multi-device accessibility makes it possible for multiple staff and emergency personnel to monitor evacuation progress.
- Automated headcounts save time, eliminating the need for manual checks.
- Instant notification systems can raise emergency alarms immediately, making evacuations more efficient.
- Ability to carry out offline emergency evacuation roll calls
These features not only streamline the evacuation process but also contribute to a safer, more organised approach to emergency management.
Implementation best practices
For digital evacuation management to be effective, organisations need to establish specific protocols and practices from day one. These can be customised to suit the requirements of the organisation, ensuring an emergency management process that delivers on its unique factors.
- Setting up designated digital evacuation points simplifies the process, providing clear reference points for personnel and visitors.
- Staff training is essential to ensure employees understand evacuation procedures and can effectively use digital tools.
- Regular evacuation drills familiarise everyone with emergency protocols, improving response times and identifying any gaps in the process.
- Periodic system testing can also ensure digital tools are functioning correctly and are ready for use during an actual emergency.
Find out more: How do you complete an emergency evacuation with shared reports?
Compliance and reporting
Compliance with regulatory standards is essential in evacuation management. Data privacy is non-negotiable, and organisations need to demonstrate any data is collected, stored and used appropriately.
Digital solutions facilitate documentation, capturing a comprehensive record of evacuation procedures, responses, and outcomes. This documentation is also critical for regulatory audits, providing a trail to demonstrate compliance.
Tools can also be customised to satisfy the appropriate local regulations, which can vary in different states or countries.
Beyond regulatory needs, detailed records enable organisations to review evacuation effectiveness and make continuous improvements. Proper documentation supports ongoing safety assessments, reinforcing a workplace’s commitment to maintaining secure, compliant facilities.
Find out more: How visitor management systems ensure streamlined processes that satisfy data privacy requirements
Case Studies
Bunge North America
Agribusiness, Bunge, started using the visitor management system on the recommendation of an industry contact. It was particularly interested in its emergency management functionality, replacing its manual sign in process with an easy to use, reliable digital system.
“The evacuation feature is incredibly simple and has cleaned up our processes.”
Derby College
Derby College has around 20,000 students across four colleges, and replaced its manual sign in process with Sign In App. This gives staff a single, accessible view of the number of people on site in the event of an emergency, rather than trying to find and cross-reference written log books with unreliable manual head counts.
“The fire marshall can instantly view an entire list of people in the building by logging into an online portal through any mobile device, eliminating the risk of leaving someone unaccounted for.”
Find out more about how Derby College satisfies safety and other priorities with Sign In App.
Conclusion
When emergencies strike, evacuations can be highly stressful processes. The fact they don’t happen often can make it harder if people don’t know what they’re supposed to do or where they need to go.
Digital tools make evacuations much easier to manage, ultimately improving safety outcomes for everyone involved.
With real time headcounts, visitor tracking and instant notifications, organisations can safely evacuate and account for all people on site, satisfying compliance, safety and data privacy requirements.
Find out more about how Sign In App provides the world’s most advanced evacuations, alongside the many other benefits of digital visitor management.