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Workplace Emergency Planning Inclusive of People with Disabilities*
RS2007-IG01
Final Report Date: June 2008
| Principal Applicant: | Margaret Birrell (BC Coalition of People with Disabilities) |
| Co-Applicant: | Karen Martin (Independent Contract Researcher) |
For more information about this project, please contact Karen Martin.
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
Issue
It is important that workers and employers are aware of the hazards faced by workers with disabilities during an emergency or disaster, and know what to do to prevent injury or death. Planning for alternative communications (e.g., for people with deafness or visual disabilities) and inclusive evacuation and recovery procedures is of key importance to employee safety in disaster situations. In this project, workplace emergency planning practices in B.C. were reviewed to determine how inclusive they are of the needs of people with disabilities. The research also examined information from other jurisdictions to identify relevant best practices that could be applied in B.C. workplaces. A worker and employer handbook on emergency planning in the workplace was developed based on the findings.
Key findings
The findings highlight the need in B.C. for more comprehensive workplace emergency planning that is inclusive of workers with disabilities. Based on the research, the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities recommends the following:
- Incorporate planning for a broad range of workers with disabilities into all phases and components of the workplace emergency plan, not just evacuations.
- Use multiple methods of emergency notification to workers depending on the specific needs of the workforce.
- Evacuation planning needs to go beyond leaving people with mobility disabilities in fire refuge areas — there must be plans to fully evacuate them from the building when there is imminent danger to their lives.
- Workplaces in B.C. should utilize the handbook, Workplace Emergency Planning for Workers with Disabilities, developed from this research, to assist them in their emergency planning.
Objectives
- To examine current workplace emergency planning practices in B.C. in relation to being inclusive of the needs of workers with disabilities
- To increase the knowledge base of emergency planning in the workplace in B.C. and Canada
- To apply the research findings to the development of a workplace emergency planning handbook to provide employers and workers with a practical solution to this issue
Methods
The literature review included guides, templates, kits, training courses and specific emergency procedures. The researchers reviewed documents from the United States, England, Canada and B.C., from a range of sources including government organizations, non-profit organizations, colleges and universities.
Potential key informants from a range of organizations in B.C. and other provinces were invited by letter to participate. Of the 116 organizations contacted, there were 29 responses, and a total of 27 interviews were conducted.
Results
Overall, the emergency planning documents from the United States were found to be more comprehensive in accommodating people with disabilities. They also covered a broader range of disabilities (e.g., visual, mobility, respiratory, cognitive) than the Canadian plans and guides. For example, a number of federal agencies in the United States have put multiple methods of emergency notification in place (e.g., text based paging systems for employees who are deaf or hard of hearing).
Most of the Canadian workplace emergency plans and guides considered people with disabilities only in the evacuation component, and not in the other components of planning, such as plan development, communication/notification, drills and training.
Most of the plans from both Canada and the United States did not provide for evacuating people with mobility problems from the building. Plans typically provided only that people with mobility problems be taken to safe refuge areas within the building, to wait for first responders.
There was also a lack of appropriate language for referring to people with disabilities in both the Canadian and American documents. For example, the terms “special needs”, “the disabled”, and “impaired” were used rather than “people or persons with disabilities” or “visual or mobility disabilities”.
B.C. workplace safety standards require emergency plans to include the safety of all employees, but the standards do not specifically address the accommodation of employees with disabilities. Therefore, a number of the B.C. workplaces that were researched met the emergency planning safety requirements, but did not incorporate planning for workers with disabilities. In addition, most of the non-profit work sites from B.C. did not have any emergency plan, due to small staff sizes.
Conclusions
The literature and key informant interviews highlight the need in B.C. for more comprehensive workplace emergency planning that is inclusive of workers with disabilities. Based on the research, the B.C. Coalition of People with Disabilities recommends the following:
- Incorporate planning for a broad range of workers with disabilities into all phases and components of the workplace emergency plan, not just evacuations.
- Use multiple methods of emergency notification to workers depending on the specific needs of the workforce.
- Evacuation planning needs to go beyond leaving people with mobility disabilities in fire refuge areas — there must be plans to fully evacuate them from the building when there is imminent danger to their lives.
- Workplaces in B.C. should utilize the handbook, Workplace Emergency Planning for Workers with Disabilities, developed from this research, to assist them in their emergency planning.
Future directions
Two important areas needing further research are: universal design in relation to emergency planning, and the movement time required for people with mobility disabilities to evacuate from buildings.
Universal design includes considerations such as wider staircases and larger landings, increased dimensions for clear floor space in places of refuge for wheelchairs, increased maneuvering clearance in exit ways, ramped entrances and exits of buildings, and the force needed to open and close doors. Movement time required for individuals with mobility disabilities to leave the building includes considerations such as how long it takes to go up and down stairs or ramps, the pace of manual and power wheelchairs, and maneuverability factors.
Since the time it takes for people to evacuate from a work site during an emergency can often mean life or death, these considerations are critical safety factors.
Publications and Presentations
Workplace Emergency Planning for Workers with Disabilities: A Handbook for Employers and Workers. BC Coalition of People with Disabilities. 2008. (Note: this web page also includes additional related resources based on BCCPD’s work in this area)