Seeing the news about the events at the Channel Tunnel this week, has made us think about the importance of being prepared for a wide range of health and safety related issues. Here a train broke down in the tunnel and people had to be evacuated to safety and no doubt some would have been frightened of what was going on. To enable such an evacuation requires planning and staff to be trained otherwise a situation can quickly spiral out of control.

So what could happen in your workplace and have you given it sufficient consideration? Ask yourself if you would be well prepared and would your staff be trained to take control or would you be relying on luck going your way?

It amazes us that so many businesses we have started to work with have often at best only considered what to do in the event of a fire. And even then their plans are sketchy at best and often training is lacking. For most businesses there are many other events that could have a serious impact if not managed properly. Maybe it could be a suspect package delivered, a bomb threat or even as one client found a burst water mains in the street leading to no toilet facilities to the building.

Clearly you can’t think of all that could happen or have plans in place for every event but it’s worth taking the time to think of those that could have a serious impact on the business. Responding well and handling the press effectively could save a business from grief and maintain its reputation.