Just as you prepare your home and family for an impending hurricane, it’s important to prepare your facilities and work sites. Planning ahead now can make a big difference in how well facilities and work sites fair during the storm.
Local emergency operations officials and the National Weather Service will provide hurricane landfall probabilities. Approximately 60 to 48 hours before the hurricane is expected to make landfall, you should begin preparing and making plans to secure your project, equipment, and personnel in a timely manner. Accomplishing this in a timely manner allows personnel to also take care of their home and family needs in a responsible timeframe so they too be prepared.
BEFORE THE STORM
□ Schedule a meeting with staff to review your Hurricane Action Plan, contingency plans and emergency roles and responsibilities and provide contact information
□ Monitor the weather for changes regularly
□ Update employee contact lists and test your communication plan
□ Share post-event communication strategy with employees
□ Develop plans for post-storm damage assessment activities. Determine who will perform facility, equipment and product assessments. Create plans for how assessment results will be communicated.
□ Stop all material deliveries
□ Move materials and equipment to a safe storage area that can be moved
□ Prepare and protect materials or equipment that cannot be moved
□ Move any uninstalled materials to a safe location
□ Remove scaffold when possible
□ Remove fence screening, signs, banners, etc.
□ Obtain materials to cover exterior openings
□ Ensure that construction trailers and shipping containers/storage boxes are properly anchored and tied down
□ Remove loose jobsite materials and debris that could become projectiles
□ Clean all drainage systems, grade site to move water to safe locations, sandbag and protect areas where water is not wanted
□ Remove/move computer systems to a protected area
□ Back-up computer systems
□ Move project drawings and specifications to a protected and secure location
□ If emergency personnel are remaining on site during the event, ensure that adequate supplies for their well-being and protection are available and that safety precautions have been taken
□ Turn power off
□ Turn gas lines off
□ Turn all water off that is not used for fire protection
AFTER THE STORM
□ Continue monitoring radio, tv, NOAA to ensure the storm has passed
□ Wait until an area is declared safe before entering to secure the site and survey damage
□ Have assigned teams perform damage assessment of project, facilities, equipment, and product.
□ Utilize 24 hours security if necessary
□ Survey the area for safety hazards such as live wires, leaking gas or flammable liquids
□ Call in key personnel and notify contractors to start repairs. Make sure safety systems are fully implemented before work is allowed to begin.
□ Keep employees informed of the status and when it is safe to return
□ Do not allow employees to return until the site is safe to enter
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