A panel of safety experts have issued a report on workplace safety after U.S. active shooter incidents reached an all-time high in 2017.
The American Society of Safety Professionals says the first thing any company, big or small, needs to do is a risk assessment.
“They need to develop a plan based on what they determined that risk would be, then train everybody on that specific plan,” says spokesman Brian Hammers.
That training includes how to report a possible danger to management and where to go in case of an active shooter.
“It's not like a fire evacuation plan where everyone just hits an exit,” says Hammers. “Things can be very fluid so we want to make sure they understand what they need to do. The more that we practice the better off we are.”
The study also offers suggestions on surveillance, building upgrades and HR tips to help keep employees safe.
“From developing policies and procedures where employees can safely report things to talking about background checks for hiring. Checks of social media prior to doing that hiring. So Human Resources plays a very important part in keeping employees safe.”