When unexpected emergencies like fires, natural disasters, power outages or security breaches strike a building or facility, having an experienced facility management company at the helm can quite literally be a lifesaver. These providers play a critical role in emergency preparedness through thorough planning and, when crises do occur, their personnel spring into coordinated action to protect people, assets, and operations.Â
Comprehensive Emergency Planning
Effective emergency response starts long before any actual incident, through meticulous planning and preparation by the facility management team. Their duties include conducting site risk assessments, developing robust emergency action plans and ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations, codes, and industry best practices.
This emergency planning process accounts for potential threats unique to each facility, be it hazardous material spills, severe weather vulnerabilities, active shooter scenarios or any other contingency. Documented policies and procedures are created covering areas like evacuation routes, shelter locations, medical response, victim accounting and more based on situation types.
Regular Training and Drills
Once emergency plans are established, facility management companies like All Pro Cleaning Systems don’t just let them collect dust; they make emergency preparedness an ongoing practice through constant training, drills and iterative improvements over time. Occupants take part in simulated evacuations and scenarios to prepare themselves.
Meanwhile, facility staff and key personnel undergo advanced emergency response training touching on areas like first aid/CPR, fire safety, incident command structures, emergency communications protocols and use of protection equipment. Drills help evaluate real-world readiness and identify any plan shortcomings to be addressed.
24/7 Emergency Operations Center
When an actual crisis strikes, most facility management providers have 24/7 emergency operations centers that immediately get activated to coordinate all response activities related to that event. These EOCs serve as central command hubs equipped with redundant communications capabilities and situational monitoring dashboards.
Dedicated facility crisis management teams at the EOC assume an immediate leadership role – mobilizing needed personnel and resources to the impacted site, issuing alerts/updates to key stakeholders, providing guidance to those onsite, tracking accountability of personnel and much more. Their focus is crisis resolution and business continuity.
Damage Assessment and Mitigation
Once any active threats have been neutralized post-incident, facility managers transition into damage assessment and mitigation mode to stabilize conditions and limit downtime impacts. Their teams conduct comprehensive facility evaluations documenting all affected areas, systems, and assets.
They help coordinate securing the premises, removing hazards and debris, decontaminating/cleaning affected spaces, restoring critical utilities and services, and overseeing any needed demolition, repairs, or reconstruction projects. Their efforts enable a smooth transition into official recovery and reopening phases.
Crisis Communications and Coordination
Throughout any major emergency event, the facility management company serves as a central communications hub and liaison coordinating between all involved stakeholder groups. They funnel situational details and updates to ownership groups, occupants, insurance providers, contractors, public agencies and any affected third parties.
Their teams facilitate resource procurement, secure external recovery vendors, work with governmental authorities on investigations/reporting requirements and interface with news/media entities as official spokespeople. They strive to streamline coordination and information sharing between all relevant parties during chaotic crisis periods.
Post-Incident Analysis and Readiness
Even after a facility has been restored to normal operational status post-emergency, the facility management teams still have continuing responsibilities to review the overall incident response effort through formal after-action analyses and reporting processes.Â
These post-incident investigations allow the teams to identify areas requiring additional emergency planning efforts, training programs, equipment/supply expansions or procedural updates to bolster future preparedness.
Conclusion
Having dedicated facility management partners with robust emergency management capabilities is invaluable for any organization operating critical infrastructure, high-occupancy venues, or sensitive operations. Their crisis expertise limits damage, prevents business interruptions, and quite simply saves lives.