PART A
Roles and Responsibilities
- Work Place Manager - Notify the appropriate emergency service such as police, ambulances, and electricity supplier of an emergency, and also call for an evacuation procedure.
- Emergency Service Commander - Assume control during an emergency, and send services to the site
- Employees - switch all power operated equipment on the site; move calmly to a safe area; wait for roll call and further instructions from supervisors; and return to work only if instructed.
- Supervisors - check for the switching off of all power operated equipments; check that all persons are safe and have been evacuated; carry out roll calls; and notifying the manager of roll call results and wait for further instructions.
Emergency Procedure
The emergency procedure that are to be adopted are: accurate identification of the hazard by its location, cause, and extent which in our case is at the corner of the site; affected people should be ready for an evacuation procedure or other emergency duties that they would embark on; notification of emergency situation to emergency services such as police, ambulance, fire brigade, and national electricity supplier; where no risk to people is available, then controlling of the emergency is appropriate until professional assistance arrives. Controlling of electricity is done by clearing the area to provide a clear view of electric cables, and switching off the main electricity supply box of the area; and where appropriate a partial or full evacuation of staff, visitors should be done through previously designated emergency routes.
Documentation
- Emergency Procedure Checklist - Filled by the work place manager to ensure that persons within the area are completely aware of what the emergency plan is and what would be the responsibility of the respective people in the organization.
- Accident or Incident Report Form - Filled by the site supervisor to provide up to date information and statistics of the incident.
- Procedure Manual - Construction employees and supervisors should attend training of handling emergency procedures after which they are handed with an emergency procedure manual. The manual acts as a guide to handle emergency and evacuation situations.
Plant Requirements
Plant and equipment requirement required in this emergency situation are: a detailed emergency plan as the electricity is high risk; visible and clearly mounted fire extinguishers and hose reels; unobstructed access ways; presence of a first aid room and Medicare centre to tend to the injured; unobstructed emergency stair cases in the stories; and an effective evacuation warning device such as sirens or bells.
Authority Alerted
The authorities notified are: police to record statement with the driver of the accident truck; the hospital to allow for provision of ambulance services; and the national electricity supplier to carry out procedures on their grid.
Evacuation Procedure
After considering the above listed requirements, then the procedure that must be followed in an evacuation is as shown below:
- Once the emergency is discovered which in our case is possibility of live electric cables on a site then the work place manager is notified
- The workplace manager would then activate an evacuation procedure using sirens, a bell or any other system, and notify the appropriate emergency service of the incident
- The notification would allow for the emergency service commander to assume control where he will send emergency services to the scene
- Evacuation procedure would be activated through an alarm that would prompt employees and supervisors to perform certain duties
- Construction employees are to: switch all power operated equipment on the site; move calmly to a safe area; wait for roll call and further instructions from supervisors; and return to work only if instructed
- Supervisors on the other hand are to: check for the switching off of all power operated equipments; check that all persons are safe and have been evacuated; carry out roll calls; and notifying the manager of roll call results and wait for further instructions.
- After the emergency has been controlled and everything is back to normal, then de-briefing ensues and work either continues or people dismissed.
If someone were to be hurt in the incidence then the First Aid personnel should carry out life saving procedures before transferring of the victim to the onsite Medicare centre where they would get the necessary care and treatment. After saving their lives they would be treated for mental shock before being released. Serious injuries are to be taken to the hospital using an ambulance after emergency treatments.
PART B
The incident that occurred at the site was the presence of a collapsed electric pole and power lines at the corner of the building site that was caused by a truck that swerved and hit the pole so as to avoid hitting a child. The emergency procedure that was taken was to alert the necessary authorities like the electricity supplier and to switch off the main electricity supply to prevent injuries, damage of property, and death. After the situation was controlled and evacuation procedure was done to remove possible injuries and keep people safe. Injured people were treated on site before transferred to the hospital.
The preventive measures that could be put in place to avoid the incidence were: making sure that the site is protected by earth leakage device; surrounding the site with thick barriers that are poor conductors of electricity; making sure that electric cables are underground as opposed to overhead ones; and making sure that roads for vehicles are far away as possible from work sites.