I was reading an article recently about how diverse the threats are on businesses nowadays and how so many are not prepared and practised to deal with what could happen.

The article focussed upon the increasingly diverse safety considerations faced by those responsible for commercial buildings, making it more important than ever to have in place a robust evacuation strategy.

It also suggested that for many decades, the primary safety risk faced by commercial buildings was fire but now the scope is expanding.  It covered more modern threats such as terrorism, social activism and crime how this needs to be borne in mind as potential evacuation triggers.

It cited recent examples such as London’s flagship shopping centre, Westfield in Stratford, where a bomb scare in September 2014 caused all staff and visitors to be evacuated.  This incident came just a few days after a similar evacuation at Luton Airport in Bedfordshire.

Clearly, the world is less secure than it used to be, and in business we must adapt to this changing landscape.  The risk to a business will obviously vary and will depend upon location, type of business, the building design, the business profile and a number of other issues.  Most businesses are aware of the need to complete a fire risk assessment and part of this will focus upon fire evacuation.

However for many businesses, just having fire evacuation plans in place is not enough and they need to plan and train their staff for other potential emergency situations.

As well as life safety protection, businesses need to consider the reputational damage that can result from neglecting to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the people in the building you are responsible for.  It is arguably even more important to protect reputation than to protect property.  According to recent research, around 80% of larger businesses consider their reputation as their most significant asset.

Over the past few years we have helped a number of our larger clients to consider and plan for more than just a fire emergency.  Having the right plans in place and staff trained to efficiently put these plans into action has ensured they are ready and prepared for any relevant emergency should it arise.

If this is something your business needs help with then why not contact us for a no obligation discussion.