Emergency preparedness – commonly known in facilities management as emergency management – is a discipline of unvarying planning, preparation and support for emergency situations that may someday affect either the premises or the human and physical assets that exist on the premises. It is a program that seeks to both avoid risk – as well as prevent the negative impacts of risk when the situation arises.
With the advent of modern communications, computer systems and software, emergency preparedness has become much easier to manage. In the event of an emergency situation or a natural disaster, these systems allow facilities managers to gather and manage a great deal of information and assistance. It is no accident that the term “emergency planning” is routinely used by facilities managers – due simply to the fact that proper, comprehensive planning is what saves lives and assets during a time of crisis. When the proper information is readily available to help a facility or property, there is a shortened response time – and in these cases, time is a crucial element.
Emergencies may come in the form of naturally-occurring events such as lightning strikes that lead to blackouts, fires that begin on the premises, earthquakes that rattle the foundation and shake the building façade, landslides that may carry tons of material in their wake, flooding or tornadoes that can reap untold damage.
Emergencies may also be on-site events that either begin with individuals on the property or directly affect other individuals. Examples of these include elevator malfunctions, computer virus attacks, spillage of hazardous materials, workplace violence incidents, or medical emergencies. In each of these cases – whether natural in occurrence or instigated by some form of human behavior – emergency preparedness software applications such as the PropertyTrak facilities maintenance program by AirMass is designed to mobilize emergency services. The expected outcome from usage of emergency preparedness software is mitigation of losses and damage, speedy and effective response, and recovery from any damages.
In the event of an emergency situation, the PropertyTrak software application helps to inform the management team of the situation. This communication is routed through multiple communications devices and allows access to emergency preparedness and response information from cell phones, personal computers, laptops, and tablet devices. The PropertyTrak facilities maintenance program also includes emergency response templates that have been created to help companies and their facilities management team prepare for a number of emergency situations.
The emergency response templates include the following:
• Bomb Threats
• Crisis Communications
• Earthquake
• Elevator Malfunction
• Fire Response
• Hazardous Materials
• Hurricane
• Medical Emergency
• Power Outage
• Tornado
• Water Intrusion
• Workplace Violence
To learn more about leading technology advancements aimed at enhancing the safety of a facility and related facilities management topics, request a software demo from PropertyTrak by AirMass.