About 90% of the Malaysian industries could not activate their Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) according to their Emergency Response Plans (ERPs).* Having a comprehensive ERP approved by the authorities does not guarantee success in emergency response operations. This has always been a hiccup in an organization’s emergency response preparedness.
Misalignment Of Emergency Response Team’s Skills And The Actual Workplace Hazards
Workplace hazards are specific to a workplace depending on the industry, building layout, raw materials used, machinery installed, and number of employees on-site. Different potential incidents can happen in two workplaces with similar industrial operations. Even within the same company, the cafeteria will have workplace hazards that differ from the storeroom.
Despite that, emergency response training modules are often standardized to cover a range of common emergency response skills without considering actual workplace hazards unique to the workplace. Even though the ERT members learned to use a fire extinguisher or bandage a cut wound, they are not equipped to respond to incidents beyond the scale that can be solved using a fire extinguisher and a bandage.
For example, during chemical spillage and leakage control training, ERT members learned to use a spill kit to contain the spillage. However, if their workplace stores volatile hazardous materials such as chlorine and ammonia, a spill kit can contribute nothing to handling the spillage incident. The misalignment of emergency response skills and the actual workplace hazards leads to failure in the ERP execution.
The Absence Of Tactical Leaders For Incidents Of Larger Scale
Workplace incidents are unpredictable. Even if the ERT members are equipped to handle specific injuries or fire incidents, an unpredicted situation affecting more victims or covering a larger area can throw the entire ERP off. This is because common emergency response training often only focuses on technical know-how. When the incident escalates with multiple casualties, ERT members are lost as they are not trained to make tactical decisions, and even appointed ERT leaders are not trained to do so.
Incidents of a larger scale require ERT leaders such as an on scene commander or an incident commander with tactical skills to craft a clear plan by making critical decisions in prioritizing actions, allocating resources, and ensuring the safety of both responders and victims. Hence, ERT leaders should receive sufficient training in leadership and tactical emergency response skills beyond the technical ones to look at incidents from a wider lens. This should be taken into consideration when setting up the ERT.
For example, even though the ERT consists of several first aiders proficient in basic life support, when a fire results in multiple casualties, there is no direction as to which victim they should handle first if the tactical ERT leader is absent or is selected from the same pool of responders who received the same training. An ERP that does not consider the tactical skill requirement of ERT leaders is why an ERT fails to respond to a large-scale crisis.
Not All Employees Learn About the Emergency Response Plan
In a workplace covering a large land area with hundreds of employees, any employee can encounter an incident regardless of whether they are trained in emergency response. All they learn is to evacuate the premises should the alarm ring from an evacuation drill. As ERP often focuses on the emergency response skills of ERT and evacuation procedures, it leaves out the critical link on how employees should notify the right person to escalate the incident if they come across one.
An effective ERP involves every employee in incident detection, notification, and escalation. This process can begin with a single employee and extend beyond the Crisis Management Team (CMT), depending on the severity of the incident. Even though incident detection can be done automatically by installing certain devices, without a clear procedure and clarity of incident detection, notification, and escalation process, ERT might be the last one to learn about the incident.
For example, if an untrained ordinary staff came across a collapsed person some distance from the main building, do they know how and to whom they should notify and escalate the incident? An ERP that does not include a Staff Response Plan (SRP) can confuse general employees when an incident occurs, leading to more severe consequences due to delayed actions.
Over-Reliance On Scripted Drills
Scripted emergency response drills are easy to execute with their objectives 100% achievable when the ERT knows exactly what, when, and how the mock incident will happen and play out. These rehearsed exercises are often done to meet compliance requirements rather than to test the ERP feasibility and the ERT responsiveness. Relying on scripted drills molds the ERT to always follow the script without developing critical thinking and real-time problem-solving skills. Over time, the ERT members will wait for instructions during a real emergency as they have been conditioned to follow the exact steps laid out for them.
For example, when an ‘incident’ is only anticipated during scheduled quarter or annual drills, the ERT will remain dormant for most of the year, unprepared for the unexpected. During a real crisis where no scripted instruction is provided, they may be left confused or ‘frozen’, unsure of what to do. An ERP designed solely for scripted drills fails to account for the unpredictable nature of actual workplace incidents, leaving the ERT ill-equipped to handle emergencies that do not follow an expected pattern.
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An ERP is nothing more than paperwork if it is not actively through unscripted, varied scenarios. Safety officers must proactively challenge and refine their plans with realistic drills to make sure that the ERP can cater to hazards specific to their workplace, ERT leaders are well-trained to lead the ERT efficiently, all employees are trained in SRP, and drills are realistic to push the ERT to think and act independently.
**The statistic was taken from a survey done by Muhammad Muazzam Jamaluddin in 2020 with around 300 ERT team leaders.
