Would you know what to do if an emergency occurred while you were on the job? Do you know what actions to take if a co-worker was seriously injured, a fire ignited, an earthquake or a tornado hit?

Are you prepared to react? Emergencies and disasters are a reality of everyday life. Too many lives are lost and property is damaged because no one was prepared to properly react when immediate decisions and actions counted. A good start in learning how to respond to an emergency is through certification in Basic First Aid and CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation). These courses teach important skills. But even more important than the first aid skills gained, they teach how to respond to an emergency. Programs offered by organizations such as the highly respected American Red Cross teach people about the kind of situations or conditions that might precipitate an emergency. Knowing what to look for and how to react could save the life of a co-worker or family member.

Your company should have an emergency action plan. Review it periodically, and be aware of what steps to follow when calling for emergency help. Know the course of action to take in likely emergencies at your facility. This will improve your safety awareness in everything you do.

Being mentally aware is also your best preparation for a potential emergency. Analyze beforehand what to do if one of your coworkers is injured, and if that injury is life threatening. Know how to protect yourself, your coworkers and the company in case of an emergency.

Chances are, during a crisis, you won’t have much time to plan the best possible action— so make those decisions ahead of time. When an emergency does occur, it is your responsibility to be mentally ready.

Regular workplace self-inspections are an essential part of any accident prevention program. An effective self-inspection program relies on thorough, periodic evaluations of hazards throughout the workplace as well as consistent follow-up to assure that any unnecessary hazards are resolved as quickly as possible. The best way to ensure that your program meets these criteria is to use self-inspection checklists. A self-inspection checklist assists you in performing consistent inspections. By using a self-inspection checklist you can track whether conditions are improving or worsening and isolate the causes of those changes.