717 Emergency Action Plans

Evaluating Your Workplace

Think about possible emergency situations and evaluate your workplace to see if it is sufficiently prepared using the following OSHA standards:

• Design and construction requirements for exit routes - 29 CFR 1910.36. This standard contains requirements for the design and construction of exit routes. It includes a requirement that exit routes be permanent, addresses fire resistance-ratings of construction materials used in exit stairways (exits), describes openings into exits, defines the minimum number of exit routes in workplaces, addresses exit discharges, and discusses locked exit route doors, and exit route doors. It also addresses the capacity, height and width of exit routes, and finally, it sets forth requirements for exit routes that are outside a building.
• Maintenance, safeguards, and operational features for exit routes - 29 CFR 1910.37. This standard includes requirements for the safe use of exit routes during an emergency, lighting and marking exit routes, fire retardant paints, exit routes during construction, repairs, or alterations, and employee alarm systems.
• Emergency action plans (EAP) - 29 CFR 1910.38. Again, the EAP facilitates and organizes employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies.
• Fire prevention plans (FPP) - 29 CFR 1910.39. The purpose of the fire prevention plan is to prevent a fire from occurring in a workplace. It describes the fuel sources (hazardous or other materials) on site that could initiate or contribute both to the spread of a fire, as well as the building systems, such as fixed fire extinguishing systems and alarm systems, in place to control the ignition or spread of a fire.

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