Here are a few tips that will improve not only your compliance but also the overall efficiency of your emergency action plan.
1) ALWAYS have two muster/assembly areas (e.g., a primary and a secondary) on opposite ends of the facility
2) MARK/LABEL these areas accordingly so that it is noticeable to contractors, truck drivers, visitors who have been separated from their hosts, etc.
3) Try to pick an area with shelter so that in inclement weather, an orderly headcount can take place
4) have a means of communication with the Incident Commander or Safety Officer (e.g., cell phone, radio, etc.)
5) have a copy of the evacuation and headcount procedures stationed at both muster areas
6) SEGREGATE workers into smaller groups muster areas so they are in more easily managed groups rather than just a “mad mob” milling around talking on cell phones!!!
A MAJOR COMPONENT of any evacuation procedure is how a facility will FIRST KNOW EXACTLY who was on-site at the time of the incident. This is the first stage in the critical path of a successful evacuation; however, most facilities fall WAY SHORT of having this capability. Folks it is 2011, the days of relying on the “supervisor know who is on his shift” or we use the “buddy system” are days of bygone! As the CSB report indicates, even with an electronic time clock system, the facility must have a BACKUP means in the event of a power outage, fiber optic issue, etc. Also, a VERY IMPORTANT limitation of sole dependency on a time clock system is that contractors, truck drivers, and visitors are not using the system. Many facilities will have sign-in/out logs for contractors and/or visitors, but too many are forgetting truck drivers at loading docks, tank farms, propane tanks, hazwaste 90-day pads, etc. The only people that do not officially log into and out of the site are the USPS, Fed-EX, and UPS drivers; but even then, our guards log them on an in/out board and how many are in the vehicle.
Finally, if you have a shelter-in-place procedure, does it contain a headcount provision to ensure all personnel made it to a safe haven?