Emergency action plan: 5 items to review with a new tech

• The alarm the crew hears should be one a new hire can recognize at once as the signal for emergency actions.
• Name each evacuation type in the plan using plain words the new hire can follow.
• Name and train the helpers before the plan is put into use.
• Sit down with each new hire at initial assignment and go through the parts they need to know.
• Keep the written copy where the crew can read it, and show the new hire exactly where that is.

The rule text quoted in this article, from Washington State Legislature, describes one jurisdiction's rule, so check your own state or local requirements before you treat it as your standard. Use the sections below as a review sequence your crew can adapt to its own sites.

A new technician can reach a job before anyone has explained what to do in an emergency, and fire is a clear case of why that matters. Any outbreak of fire threatens the safety of those on site and will be costly in damage and delay, according to HSE. Put the plan in front of the new hire before the first assignment, not after the first callout. For a related checklist, see Fire safety: 8 checks to review before dispatch.

The HSE page is a separate publisher from the Washington rule text, so its wording describes fire risk in general terms rather than setting a rule for your shop. Use it as the reason to take the review seriously, then move on to the plan's own parts. Keep the first session focused on those parts so the new hire can ask questions before any field work begins.

Keep the first-day review in one sitting if you can, and use a printed or shared copy so the new hire can follow along. Hand over the full written plan rather than a summary, so the new hire sees the complete text and where it is kept.

Ask the new hire to say back, in their own words, what the alarm means and where they go when it sounds. Their answers show which parts of the plan need another pass before they work alone. Note the date and the topics covered in the crew file, so the record shows who has been briefed.

Employee alarm signal

The employee alarm must be distinctive and recognizable as a signal to perform actions designed under the emergency action plan, according to Washington State Legislature. Play the signal for the new hire during the review and confirm they can name what it means.

Distinctive is the test that matters most in that sentence, so judge the sound with the crew rather than assuming it. Ask the new hire to describe the alarm in their own words, and compare that description with what the crew hears on site. If the description could match a phone ring or a passing vehicle, pick a different signal for the plan.

The employee alarm system must provide warning for necessary emergency action as called for in your emergency action plan, according to Washington State Legislature. Write the situations that trigger the alarm into the plan, so the new hire can connect the sound with the action.

Recognition matters for the whole crew, not only new hires, so run the alarm past experienced technicians too. Keep a short written note of the signal and its meaning with the plan, so the review has something to point to after the spoken walkthrough.

Test the signal in the spaces where your technicians actually work. Sound that carries well on a quiet street may not reach a crew working inside a loud building, so stand in each common work area and check whether the alarm can be heard over the noise of the equipment running on site. Write the date of the test and the result into the crew file.

Keep the alarm meaning separate from routine messages. If the crew uses a similar tone for shift changes, customer arrivals or parts pickups, a new hire may not treat it as an emergency. For the routine side, see Customer arrival updates: 4 messages and owners. Name the signal in the plan as the one that starts emergency action, and tell the crew that no other message uses it. Repeat that point at each crew meeting so the meaning stays the same for everyone who joins later.

Types of evacuation

You must establish in the emergency action plan the types of evacuation to be used in emergency circumstances, according to Washington State Legislature. Write each type into the plan so the new hire can follow it on a job site.

Keep each description short and specific, and name the route or gathering point the crew uses at each site. If your crew works at more than one kind of site, write the types so they fit each kind, and say which type applies at each one.

Review the types on a walk-through where possible, pointing out each route or gathering place. Update the types in the written plan whenever a site changes, and tell the crew which version is current.

List the types in the order a new hire would need them, so the first type in the plan is the one they are most likely to use on a typical job. Read each type aloud during the review, and ask the new hire to point to where the crew would go.

Trained evacuation helpers

Before implementing the emergency action plan, you must designate and train a sufficient number of persons to assist in the safe and orderly emergency evacuation of employees, according to Washington State Legislature. Name the helpers in the plan and confirm their training is complete before the plan goes into use.

The rule uses the words sufficient number, so set that number with your team and write the decision into the plan. Tell the new hire who the helpers are during the first review, and explain what each helper will ask people to do.

Train helpers on the evacuation types and the alarm together, and record who completed the training. Update the helper list when people join or leave the crew, so the names in the plan match the people on the job.

Plan for absence as well as presence. Name at least one backup helper for each work area, so an evacuation does not depend on a single person who may be off site that day. Confirm that each backup has completed the same training as the primary helper, and write that check into the crew file.

The plan must include names or regular job titles of persons or departments who can be contacted for further information or explanation of duties under the plan, according to Washington State Legislature. Choose a name, a job title or both for each contact, since a job title can stay the same when staffing changes. A name tells the new hire exactly who to ask.

Put the contact list next to the written plan, so the new hire does not need a second document to find an answer. Keep the list current when someone changes roles or leaves the crew.

Give the new hire a direct route to each contact on the first day, such as a phone number or message thread your crew already uses. Ask the new hire to repeat the contact names back to you, so you know they can find the right person.

Sort questions by purpose, so the new hire knows which contact to ask about a duty and which to ask about general information. Ask the new hire to write down which contact covers each part of their own work, and keep that note beside the list.

Decide whether each entry should be a person, a regular job title or a department. A name gives the new hire a specific person to ask, while a department covers questions that no single person handles. Check the list against the current crew each time someone joins or leaves, and update any entry that no longer matches.

Keep the contact list short enough that a new hire can read it in one sitting. Each entry should match a question a new hire is likely to have on the job, such as who explains a duty or who answers a question about the alarm. Test the list by asking the new hire to name the right contact for two of those questions. Write the list in the same order each time, so the new hire learns where to look.

Initial assignment review

The review happens upon initial assignment and covers those parts of the plan which the employee must know to protect the employee in the event of an emergency, according to Washington State Legislature. Schedule the review before the new hire's first job rather than at a later meeting.

Keep the review to the parts the new hire will use on the job, such as the alarm, the nearest route and the helper names. Do it in person where you can, and let the new hire ask questions before they begin work. Confirm at the end that they can point to the alarm and the contact names without looking at the plan.

If the new hire is later assigned to a different site, review the parts of the plan that cover that site before they go out alone.

Keep a short checklist for the review, with one line for each part of the plan the new hire must know. Mark each line when the new hire can explain it in their own words. File the checklist with the crew records after the review.

Written plan kept at the workplace

You must keep the written plan at the workplace and made available for employee review, according to Washington State Legislature. Place the copy where the crew passes it on the way in, and show the new hire that spot during the first review.

Keep the copy current when the plan changes, and tell the crew when a new version replaces the old one. If your team keeps paper files, put a copy there too, and check each copy against the current plan.

Choose a spot that is easy to reach during the workday, and keep it clear of equipment and stock. Mark the spot in the crew's site notes, so a new hire or a substitute can find it without asking.

Write the date of the current plan beside the copy. The date helps when the plan has changed since a new hire was last briefed. Tell the new hire during the review which version they are reading.

Suppose a crew of 10 has 3 work areas and hires one technician. The review covers the alarm, the 2 evacuation types the crew uses, and the names of the helpers, with one backup for each area. The new hire repeats the contact names back, then finds the written plan at the spot marked in the site notes. Each checklist line is marked only after the new hire explains it in their own words.

The filing record for this section is shown in the table below. That entry is past history, not a current deadline.

The table below lists one quoted line from each publisher.

Do not quote filing dates as current deadlines when you brief a crew. Check the current text on the source page before you rely on any date.

Note the source beside each quoted line in your crew notes, so a later reader can see whose wording is whose.

Pick one new or recent hire and walk them through each plan item in this article this week, then place the written plan where the crew can read it every day.

Who should be named as a contact in the plan?

The plan should list who can be contacted with questions, using names or regular job titles, according to Washington State Legislature. Choose a name, a job title or both for each contact. Keep that list beside the written plan so the new hire can find it.

When must a new employee be briefed on the plan?

A new employee must be reviewed upon initial assignment on the parts of the plan they must know, according to Washington State Legislature. The review should come before the new hire's first job. Keep it focused on the parts that protect the employee in an emergency.

Where must the written plan be kept?

The written plan must be kept at the workplace and made available for employee review, according to Washington State Legislature. Choose a spot the crew passes during the workday. Point that spot out to the new hire during the first review.

Must the alarm be distinctive?

Yes, according to Washington State Legislature, the alarm has to stand out and be recognizable as the signal for actions in the plan. Play the signal for the new hire so they can judge it themselves. If it could be mistaken for everyday noise, choose a different signal.

What must the plan set for evacuation?

The plan has to set the types of evacuation the crew uses in emergencies, according to Washington State Legislature. Give each type a short name the crew will use when it matters. Keep each description specific to the sites where the crew works.

Does this text apply in every state?

No. The Washington text, according to Washington State Legislature, is one jurisdiction's rule, so do not read it as the rule everywhere. Check your own state and local requirements before you rely on it.

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