OSHA's Evacuation Planning Steps

The following steps follow OSHA’s recommendations for developing an evacuation plan. Information from other sources is also included.

Determine conditions under which an evacuation would be necessary.
Also determine conditions under which sheltering-in-place would be more applicable. This requires managers to think broadly to anticipate emergencies that may happen and how employees should react to these situations. Perhaps the business includes processes that, once begun, must proceed to their conclusion without interruption or they will result in fire or explosion. A total building evacuation in this case may be impractical or dangerous. Managers must decide which conditions warrant evacuation and which do not.