Getting Results with Archibus

Emergency Preparedness

Workplace emergencies—whether due to natural conditions such as blizzards and floods, or man-made situations such as chemical spills, burst pipes, or gas leaks—require immediate access to facilities information in order to protect life, minimize damage, and recover critical business functions. Since workplace emergencies typically require personnel to vacate the building, remote access to facilities data and drawings using the Web is key.

First, you establish the data that you will need in the event of an emergency: emergency contact lists, emergency escalation lists, egress plans, hazardous material plans, facility systems and their dependent systems, and so forth.

If an emergency does occur, you provide this facility data to first responders, to broadcast information on staff, and to begin the recovery process. Remote access over the Web is particularly useful in emergencies because you typically cannot enter the building to access your database. Sites often mirror their facilities databases and Web server at a remote location so that if the primary database and Web server are disabled during an emergency, they can  remotely access and update the data using Web Central.

With the Emergency Preparedness application, you document the areas in your facility holding hazardous materials. For information on the ways that other Archibus applications support the management of hazardous materials, see Managing Hazardous Materials with Archibus Applications.

Emergency Preparedness

Location

This is available in both Archibus SaaS and the Archibus non-SaaS offering.

  • Sustainability & Risk / Emergency Preparedness

Business Result

In event of a building emergency, protect life, minimize damage, and recover critical business functions.

Used By

First Responders

Emergency Response and Recovery Team

General Staff

Assessment Team

Managers

Business Process Owners

CAD Users

Reasons for Automating

To provide remote access over the Web or corporate Intranet  to basic employee data and floor plans required during an emergency.

To communicate with employees during an emergency.

To track recovery status of building areas.

To facilitate recovery to an operational mode.

Prerequisite Applications

Space Inventory, to develop a room inventory

Reports/Results

Egress and Occupancy Plans

Hazardous Materials Plans

Employee Advisory Bulletins

Emergency Contacts Lists

Employee Emergency Information

Employee Status Reports

Systems and Zones Highlight Reports

System, Room, Equipment, and Site Status Reports

Hazard Overview

The following users are typically involved in entering data to be used in a building emergency.

User

Tasks

First Responders

During the emergency, use floor plan drawings to locate staff, egress routes, and hazardous materials.

Emergency Response and Recovery Team

During the emergency, assist first responders by accessing floor plan drawings.

Access an employee’s contact list to notify them concerning employee condition.

Access key vendors and government agencies (contacts) to notify them of the emergency and status.

Develop advisory bulletins and post on the Web or email so that staff and contacts know how to proceed.

Access an emergency escalation list -- a listing of employees who have authority in an emergency to expedite decisions and purchases for each recovery team to quickly approve decisions and purchases necessary for returning the division to an operational mode.

General Staff

From home, log on to the Web to check the Employee Advisory Bulletins for information on the current status and contingency plans. You might also receive this by email.

Assessment Team

Once the emergency is contained, inspect individual areas and note the condition of facility systems, equipment, and rooms. This information is vital to managers and recovery team members in determining how to best resume operations.

Manager

Review the site status reports prepared by the assessment team to determine how restore operation of the business unit.

Write advisory bulletins for their division and department managers to keep them abreast of the emergency and recovery efforts. Post this or send by email to employees, vendors, and other contacts.

Business Process Owner Update or define basic data such as departments, divisions, buildings and rooms, so that this data is available as choices for above users completing forms over the Web.
CAD User Work in AutoCAD to add egress routes, hazardous material plans, sprinkler zones, HVAC zones, emergency lighting zones, and other zone information to floor plan drawings.

See Also

Emergency Preparedness application overview