What are the steps involved in preparing emergency response guidelines?

The core logic of compiling emergency response guidelines is actually not complicated. To put it bluntly, it is to first understand all the risks in the scenario, then set up an implementable disposal process framework, complete the support package of the entire chain, and finally iterate through practical exercises without so much pretentiousness.

Two years ago, when I was working on fire emergency guides for the streets under my jurisdiction, one of my colleagues first came up and searched for a general template for high-rise office buildings, and wrote dozens of pages about high-rise fire extinguishments and the use of fire elevators. It was only when I turned around and visited the district that I realized that most of our houses are self-built in urban villages. The highest is only three floors, and there are no fire hydrants above half a floor. There is really no way to avoid risks. Don't sit in the office and make up laws. Talk to people on the front line, such as the old security guards in the community, the boss of the canteen at the entrance of the village, and the front-line workers in the company. They know best which low-lying areas are prone to waterlogging, which roads are inaccessible to fire trucks, and which warehouses are filled with flammable goods. You can't find these details no matter how much information you look up.

Once the risk base is clear, the next step is to clarify the logic of disposal. Don't make false statements like "leaders attach great importance to it" and "launch the plan as soon as possible". Write it so that when people are panicking, they can get the key points at a glance. Last year, I went to a chemical park in a neighboring city to communicate. Their hazardous chemical leakage guide was very practical. It included the first contact person corresponding to different leakage levels, evacuation radius, whether to report environmental protection and fire protection, and even what level of protective clothing to wear. Even a safety officer who had just been employed for half a year could not make a mistake when he got it. Unlike some places, the guidebook is written like a work summary. If something goes wrong, you can’t find who to call after half an hour.

It is not enough to have a disposal process. If something is really lacking, no matter how smooth the process is, it will be in vain. Those trivial protection contents may seem inconspicuous, but they can save lives at critical times. I have seen a trading company's flood prevention guide before, and the procedures are clearly written. However, when there was a heavy rain, the life jackets I took out were all purchased three or four years ago. They were moldy and unthreaded in the warehouse and could not be worn. This was because the storage location, custodian, and update cycle of the materials were not embedded. There are also things like where the backup generator will be started if there is a power outage, which school playground is the nearby temporary settlement site, and the phone number of the contact person. These contents must be written clearly. Don't wait until something happens to find it.

Once the draft is written, everything will be fine and you can print and bind it. You have to run the drill twice with the people who really want to deal with it, otherwise you won't know where the pitfalls are. A while ago, we made an emergency guide for stampede accidents for large supermarkets in our jurisdiction. When we wrote it, the planned evacuation route was very smooth. But we actually took security guards and shopping guides to walk through it and discovered that the unloading side door of the fresh food area is usually locked. The only key is the warehouse management. If the warehouse management is off duty, no one can be found. Later, we quickly made up for this point and put a spare key in the fire box next to the door. Moreover, the guide is not permanent. It needs to be updated at least once a year. New roads are built in the jurisdiction, community staff are changed, and new nursing homes and kindergartens are moved. The corresponding content must be adjusted. A guide that does not remain unchanged for two or three years is basically useless paper.

There are also different voices in the industry. Some people think that the guidelines should be written as detailed as possible, and even the words to be spoken during disposal should be clearly marked to prevent front-line personnel from panicking and making mistakes. Some people think that emergencies are too variable and writing too rigidly will easily constrain their hands. They must leave enough flexibility for those handling the situation on site. In fact, both ideas are correct. For areas such as subways and civil aviation, which are highly standardized and have fixed scenarios, you can write more detailed information. If flood control and geological disasters in mountainous areas are inherently variable, it would be more practical to leave more room for on-site decision-making.

To put it bluntly, the emergency guide is essentially a "life-saving manual" for people working on the front line. Don't make it a paper material for inspection by superiors. When writing it, go to the scene for two days and ask more people who have actually experienced accidents and dealt with dangerous situations. No matter how many templates you apply, it will be more effective.