September is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month, and I provide some information from the Ready Business Fact Sheet. A national survey of businesses with 2-999 employees conducted by The Ad Council in December 2007 found:

• 38 percent said their company has an emergency plan in place in the event of a disaster
• 59 percent assessed their own business as “very” or “somewhat” prepared in the event of a disaster
• 55 percent of businesses surveyed said that they had taken either significant or small steps to improve emergency preparedness in the past year
• The surveyed businesses said that the most important threats for them to address are fires followed by cyber attacks and then hurricanes, winter storms, tornadoes and terrorist attacks.

It's good to see that work is being done even in these days of a challenging economy, but every workplace needs to have a basic emergency plan in place. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires emergency action plans for companies with 10 or more employees. Fire and life safety codes also require emergency plans.

It's good to see that businesses are focusing on natural hazards. With tropical storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav, and possibly Hurricane Ike, the dangers of tropical cyclones are clearly evident. With the 7th anniversary of 9/11 approaching, it's good to see that people haven't forgotten that terrorism is still a threat. The reality is, however, that there are dozens and dozens of hazards that can impact businesses today. We'll take a look at hazards—natural, human-caused, and technological—and risk assessment in the coming days and week.