As we all know, disasters can strike anytime and anywhere. Businesses should have an emergency preparedness plan, including an office survival kit. Create a plan to ensure the safety of your employees when preparing your office or business. As part of your disaster preparedness and urban survival supplies, here are a few options.
Ready.gov has an excellent section on business emergency preparedness.
All hazards must be considered in business continuity planning (man-made and natural disasters). You should plan ahead of time to deal with any emergency. Carefully assess the situation and use common sense and available resources to care for yourself, your coworkers, and the recovery of your business.
#1 Educate Yourself
Understand the types of emergencies that may affect your business.
#2 Business Continuity Planning
Examine how your company operates both internally and externally.
#3 Emergency Preparedness
Your employees and coworkers are your company’s most essential and valuable assets.
#4 First Aid Kits
Consider the necessities of life first: clean water, food, fresh air, and warmth. Create a survival kit for the office.
#5 Choosing Whether to Stay or Leave
Plan for either a shelter-in-place or an evacuation.
#6 Fire Protection
The most common type of business disaster is fire.
#7 Medical Emergencies
Take steps to give yourself an advantage when responding to medical emergencies.
#8 COVID-19 & Influenza
Maintain your company’s readiness to deal with COVID-19 and influenza. It is critical to protect your employees and customers. Place hand sanitizers in strategic locations. Encourage employees to wash their hands and wear masks in the workplace. If possible, allow fresh air to circulate throughout your business/office space. Consider a HEPA air filtration system.
In addition to the steps outlined above, keeping phone lists of your key employees and customers on hand is necessary. Ensure that your supervisors have access to this list.
It is best to be prepared to shelter in place regardless of where you are. An office survival kit is an excellent addition to your urban survival supplies. Include items such as:
Food & Water:
Rest assured that you have food and water in the office kit and proper nutrition in a disaster. These products have a 5-year shelf life.
Ten boxes of Aqua Literz
Ten x 2400 Calorie Food Bars (24,000 Calories)
Fifty Water Purification Tablets – each tablet purifies 1 liter of water.
Light and Communication:
Never be stranded without the necessary supplies to keep in touch with those around you.
Four-in-One Dynamo Radio Flashlight
Rechargeable Squeeze Flashlight – 3 LED flashlight
36-hour emergency candle that can also be used as a stove
Five 12-Hour Green Emergency Glow Sticks
5-in-1 Survival Whistle
Waterproof Matches Box
Shelter & Staying Warm:
Almost nothing is worse than being cold and without a place to stay. With these items in your survival kit, you will be warm even in freezing weather.
Ten Emergency Survival Blankets
Two-Person Tube Tent with Rope
Ten Emergency Ponchos with Hood
Survival Tools:
You will be glad to have these items in your office kit for emergency preparedness. You may even find yourself using them daily.
6′ x 8′ Blue Tarp
7-1/2 Pry Bar, Flat
Two Shovels
Swiss Army Style 16 Function Knife
Two pairs of Palm Dotted Work Gloves
Two rolls of duct tape x 10 yards
Ten N95 Respirator Dust Masks – NIOSH Approved
Twenty non-woven face masks.
Hygiene & Sanitation:
When you don’t know how long you’ll be without power or utilities, the simple act of freshening up can improve your attitude in any situation.
Two Toilet Bags with Chemicals
Ten Hygiene Kits
Ten Pocket Tissue Packs
Air Freshener
First Aid Kits:
With these items in your survival kit, you can treat minor injuries and provide relief to those in need.
Two Portable First Aid Kits
Two Office First Aid Kits
Other Items:
If you are in a boring situation, use these items to keep yourself entertained until the situation changes.
Two decks of playing cards for entertainment
Books, magazines, and puzzles
Conclusion
This survival information was created with the assistance of emergency preparedness experts. It adheres to the guidelines established by government agencies and non-profit emergency preparedness organizations.
There is so much more to emergency preparedness for your business that you should thoroughly review other Ready.gov resources. Create a plan, purchase an office survival kit, and train your staff on disaster preparedness. This is just another tool to add to your urban survival kit and another way to help you stay self-sufficient in a crisis.
