Building/Department Emergency Actions Plans

All employers are required to have a written emergency action plan (EAP) kept in the workplace and available to employees for review. The purpose of an EAP is to organize employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies. When combined with proper employee training, emergency plans help prevent employee injuries and minimize facility damage during emergencies.

Mandatory elements of an EAP include:

• Procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency;
• Procedures for emergency evacuation;
• Procedures to be followed by employees who remain to conduct critical operations before they evacuate;
• Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation;
• Procedures to be followed by employees performing rescue or medical duties;
• The name or job title of every employee who may be contacted by employees who need more information about the plan or an explanation of their duties under the plan; and,
• An employee alarm system that uses a distinctive signal for each purpose.

Individual Building/Department Plans

Click to locate & download your building's plan

Individual Building/Department Plans

Training Requirements

All employees are required to be familiar with the emergency plan for their work area. Supervisors, Principal Investigators, or their designees are responsible for ensuring people within their area of responsibility are trained on this plan when:

• They are initially assigned to a job;
• Their responsibilities under the plan change; or,
• When the emergency plan changes.

Training may be conducted in a variety of ways including having employees read the plan and/or via instruction by a supervisor or department leader. Regardless of how conducted, training must be documented for recordkeeping purposes. This can be accomplished by completing and submitting this certification form. 

Resources

Emergency Action Plan Template

The University's EAP template provides a format for standardizing emergency plans across the University and shall be used by those responsible for developing department, area, or building emergency plans. EAPs shall be retained at the department level. While they may be posted on a department web page, accessing an EAP shall require University credentials.

The OSHA Evacuation Plans & Procedures eTool provides additional clarification and guidance regarding emergency action plans.

Regulatory Requirements

29 CFR 1920.38