FEATURE


for those individuals who may require additional support in an emergency situation. If your building is a public building, a General Emergency Evacuation Plan (GEEP) should also be created for any person who may be in your building in an emergency and will need additional assistance to evacuate safely.


TERRORISM Although terrorism is not often seen as a universal


business threat, the UK’s threat level is currently ‘substantial’. This prompts the need for buildings at high risk – such as transport, hotels and those in the leisure sector – to have contingency plans in place should an emergency of this kind arise.


How a building adapts its emergency procedures for this situation comes down to individual building risk assessments. The Kerslake Report: An independent review into the preparedness for and emergency response to, the Manchester Arena attack on 22nd May 2017, highlights the importance of ‘access to basic frameless canvas stretchers to enable rapid movement and evacuation of casualties during terrorist attacks or other high-threat or dynamic-hazard incidents’.


Developing a highly-effective and fast approach to horizontal evacuation – to help the injured or mobility impaired in such an emergency – is essential.


During a security threat, usual evacuation procedures – such as those designed for the case of a fire – may not be accessible or safe. For example, evacuating to a nearby carpark may not be suitable and as such an alternative safe location, within 500 metres of the building, may need to be identified and implemented. It may also be necessary to restrict evacuation routes and exits to ensure occupants remain safe while evacuating the premises.


BUILDING DESIGN With the growing amount of high-rise buildings under


construction across the UK, safe evacuation is an increasingly important concern to ensure all visitors and occupants remain safe in the event of an emergency.


According to Deloitte’s recent Regional Crane Survey 2020 is another, key, record-breaking year for the UK


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construction sector. In Manchester alone, the volume of office space currently under construction is reported to exceed 2m sq ft. for the second, consecutive year. Whereas in Birmingham, there are plans to deliver 1,857 units of student housing, 3,100 residential units and more than 600,000 sq ft. of office space.


The trend for multi-storey buildings in UK cities brings about new evacuation risks. Multi-storey buildings are not typically designed with rapid, mass evacuation in mind and, if this isn’t managed properly, it can result in bottlenecks on narrow stairwells. As such, additional considerations should be made to ensure everyone is able to evacuation quickly and safely in an emergency.


NO ‘ONE SIZE FITS ALL’ In reality, there is no all-inclusive, ‘one-size-fits-all’


approach to safe evacuation planning. Every building’s evacuation procedures should be unique and tailored to its individual risks and requirements. They should also consider the specific needs of its occupants and visitors.


To ensure your emergency procedures are as effective as possible consider:


People centred planning – policies should be created with people at their heart. Think about the individual needs of those you’re looking to protect and ensure your emergency procedures cater for these.


Embed best practice into your culture – evacuation procedures shouldn’t form part of your ‘tick box’ journey to compliance. These are most effective when they’re embedded into the culture of the organisation.


Communicate clearly and consistently – ensure everyone in your organisation understands your emergency procedures and their role in helping to ensure both their own and others’ safe evacuation.


As new and evolving risks continue to influence our emergency procedures, those responsible should be regularly reviewing their evacuation policies and training methods. This will ensure these remain up to date and account for every type of threat or emergency scenario.


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