Getting Ready for Emergencies
Training, Advance Planning are Key to Rapid Response
Story by Mike Rosenbaum
A forklift operator misjudges a turn and punctures
a drum. Liquid pours out onto the shop floor, flowing toward a
drain.
You’re working two rows away. You turn and,
from 30 feet, see the forklift operator lying on the floor near
the leaking drum. You smell a strong solvent-like odor and see
six co-workers unloading a heat treat furnace near the drain.
What do you do first?
At this moment, don't you wish you had some emergency-response
training?
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Layron Dejarnette
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UAW members in Region 1 don’t have to wish. They’ll
be well informed if they ever face a scenario like the hypothetical
one outlined above, which was part of a new emergency-response
training program held at the Regional headquarters in Madison
Heights, Mich., in February.
The program’s goal is to teach workers how to respond to
emergencies. The pilot program, which may eventually be used throughout
the UAW, is aimed mainly at IPS, TOP and other non-Big Three facilities
that may not have adequate emergency response plans in place.
“This type of assistance is long overdue,” said Region
1 Director Ken Terry. The goal of Region 1’s pilot program,
he said, is to “see that these programs are established wherever
they are needed.”
Brian Negovan from Local 155, Local 9699’s Rob Burleson
and Ralph Stephan from Local 1781 attended the three initial sessions
in February, along with Bryan Barrett, a management rep from Tower
Automotive, whose employees are represented by Local 155. Shari
Barrick from Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Local 1781) also participated.
Negovan was pleased with the program, and with Tower’s involvement.
“It’s a good program for the membership,” said
Negovan. “Any type of program that we put in and get management
involved in is important.”
Burleson noted the importance of “getting the plan in place
ahead of time. Have the plan there, hone the plan, work on it,
keep going over it and over it--once or twice or three times a
year.”
To spread knowledge throughout the region, the three UAW trainees
are scheduled to train four other Region 1 local unions. They
will also receive further training at Black Lake this summer,
sponsored by the UAW.
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Nine Steps to Safety
As a general rule, there are nine steps to follow
after an incident like the chemical spill described
above:
- Alert others nearby that an emergency is
taking place and that someone must call for help
immediately.
- Size up the situation. Take a moment to
decide which action (rescue, evacuation or control)
can best protect the safety and lives of co-workers.
- Evacuate the immediate area and keep people
away.
- Rescue the injured, but only if it’s
safe to do so. Remember: It is not safe to enter
any area where there has been a recent toxic chemical
spill. A recent study of confined space workplace
fatalities showed that 60 percent of those killed
were would-be rescuers who tried to save a co-worker.
- Decontaminate the victims. This will only
be done by trained personnel, but co-workers should
inform rescue workers about the chemicals or hazards
involved.
- Control the hazard, once the victims are
safe. Again, in a case involving toxic chemicals,
trained personnel must perform this task.
- Report the incident to the proper officials
or organizations, including your local union.
- Critique your response and identify ways
to improve your response procedures.
- Prevent future incidents by taking steps
to improve workplace safety.
Always remember to help or protect people first,
the environment second and property third.
Source: Region 1 Rapid Response training
manual.
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