Facilities Manager's Role in Keeping the Workplace Safe

1. Facility managers have a large number of responsibilities and one of the most popular responsibility is creating a safe and secure environment for all employees. No employee deserves to go to a workplace that poses serious safety hazards. Such scenarios unfortunately might occur and are more likely to occur in the absence of an advanced plan. While in reality, it might seem impossible to prevent every single safety hazard in the workplace, facility managers can play a key role in creating a safe and secure environment for all the employees. Keeping a tab on the presence of all the employees has very little to do with micro management and more with making sure that they are safe and productive at the same time. Not knowing where an employee is can often pose a threat to his/her security. When a facility manager knows where an employee is, he can more proactively deal with any situation. A lot of organizations use cloud-based facility management

2. software to know all the information about a facility and its equipment that helps them to instantly access information and thereby quickly take any security or preventive action. If you know in which part of thle facility your employee is, you can use information about that part of the facility from a Asset management Software and take quick security actions as and when required. Crimes in the workplace can add to the cost of businesses no matter how big or small the business is. Employers and facility managers need to therefore take a few decisions that can eliminate the chances of crimes in the workplace and add up to the building security. Let us take a look at the different type of security features that can be added in the building: •Security doors that are equipped with security locks and bolts are a great way to secure your building, especially the areas that are out of the public view.

3. •Security alarm systems like motion sensors, breaking glass detectors and door and window alarms can instantly alert about any forced entry. •External lighting can be incorporated in different access points of the building and in the parking lots. •Security cameras can be connected to video recording systems and they can be monitored by a security personnel. •Key cards must be issued to only those individuals who are allowed go inside the building. Moreover, once in a while we read stories about violence in the workplace and there are several instances of disgruntled employees walking inside the workplace and attacking colleagues and employers. A recent study shows that nearly 700 employees are killed at work every year in the United States. Though violence in the workplace is actually an unregulated safety hazard, yet employers can be strictly held accountable if it is found that no workplace violence program did actually exist in the first place. Facility managers need to understand that any random act of violence can occur at any time in the workplace. By taking appropriate steps and prevention strategies, these risks can be lowered. Facility managers, in general, plan in advance to prepare for the impact of disasters in any facility. These include anything from natural disasters like floods and hurricanes, earthquakes and the like. A planning process needs to be always in place and it also needs to involve an approach that covers all the hazards considering the fact that different kind of threats can actually take place in the workplace. Once a plan has been developed, it is needed to be implemented. This involves assessing all

4. the resources, developing a system that will deal with the incidents and training all personnel so that they will be able to execute the plans successfully. Ongoing tests and drills are needed to be exercised so that all employees are ready to execute the plan when a disastrous incident actually takes place. This also helps facility managers understand whether a plan is effective enough to combat any threat or disaster. And most importantly, what is more important than the plan you make is letting your team and the residents and employees understand the plan and learn how best they can execute it. There are a lot of steps that facility managers can take to ensure the safety and security of a facility and its residents and employees. Gone are the days when facility managers would deal only with brick and mortar. The modern-day facility manager uses the latest technologies, makes strategies and ensures that the facility is safe, energy efficient and contributes to the environment footprint. This role can be a challenging one. By taking help of resources like Health Compliance Software, facility/compliance managers of healthcare organisations can gain the highest level of control over a workplace and its employees.