Communication facility management

As this list suggests, the first priority for this facility is its own people, who will require the most comprehensive information and who should receive priority attention. Others on the list have widely varying information needs and levels of interest, all of which the facility manager must take into account in developing a communications plan. 

The Task Force s mission is to design a state-of-the-art process safety management system that will support all of Company X s varied business operations, and to install it at a pilot site to be determined. The team will maintain ongoing communication with Division C s Facility Managers Council, which has accepted responsibility for focusing on the division s process safety management systems. 

Facility Manager Ray Leonard is the task force s primary contact for the test. Ray is now assisting us with designing the pilot, and will be responsible for all communications, administration, and other management functions associated with its installation. He will provide weekly progress reports, and will be a strong contributor to the system review and refinement process once the test is complete. 

You will greatly enhance the effectiveness of any communications medium if you are able to incorporate favorable anecdotes from participants in the pilot test. First-person accounts of positive experience lend considerable credibility, and you may wish to consider recruiting the test-site facility manager (or other personnel) to assist the team. 

Communicate with Unit/Facility Management or Emergency Operations Center (EOC) if activated Incident Commander... 

For each nonclinical laboratory study, testing facility management shall...(c) assure that there is a quality assurance unit. (e) ensure that personnel, resources, equipment, materials, and methodologies are available as scheduled, (f) assure that personnel clearly understand the functions they are to perform, (g) assure that any deviations from these regulations reported by the quality assurance unit are communicated.. . and corrective actions are taken and documented. 

Media Headquarters. In an emergency, it is essential to maintain regular contact with the public and the media. A separate location for communications will allow that contact to continue without interfering with the operations of the MECC or overloading its communications system. There, the public affairs chief and the facility manager can receive media representatives and provide periodic updates on the emergency situation. The media headquarters should be equipped with several direct outside telephones and the facil-... 

Facility Manager. In the EMO, the facility manager has the overall responsibility for protecting people on-site, facility property, the environment, and the public during and after an emergency. With the assistance of the public affairs and communications chiefs, the manager usually serves as the spokesperson for the facility and the company, communicating with representatives of the media and other concerned audiences. 

Of major concern to the chemical industry is the public perception that facility managers have little concern for the welfare of their neighbors. Managers themselves have contributed to such false impressions by failing to interact with their communities in a consistent and meaningful way. 

An open and sincere comprehensive risk communication process led by the facility manager creates a better-informed public that is able to understand real risks (vs. perceptions) and is likely to respond effectively in case of an actual emergency. 

One such appendix should relate to emergencies caused by fixed facility or transportation incidents in which hazardous materials are involved. Chemical facilities must provide substantial support to the community in preparing this portion of the local emergency plan, and provide resources and training leadership that are not available elsewhere in the community. Where a Hazardous Material Advisory Council exists, there is an effective forum for doing this. In any case, a chemical facility manager should seek ways to help the community prepare for and recover from incidents of this nature. 

It is important that the press and the public be informed of what is going on at die site, particularly if anyone is in any danger. Facility management should take the initiative when communicating with the public, and they should be open and as forthright as possible (given that there will be... 

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