Unfortunately, bomb threats, whether genuine or hoax, are all too common in the workplace. 
Having procedures in place and training employees to respond to threats in a calm manner are essential. You could be alerted to a bomb threat in the form of suspicious packages or in the form of telephone calls. In such a situation, your organization needs to have procedures in place to effectively handle the situation.
What do you need to do in order to effectively handle a bomb threat in the workplace?
First of all, and most obvious, call the local law enforcement agencies and security agencies.
OVER-THE-PHONE THREATS
Train employees, in the event of receiving a bomb threat over the phone, to record all the information they can about the threat; the type of bomb, the location of the bomb, the detonation time and the motive behind the bomb planting, and any other information, if available.
SUSPICIOUS PACKAGES IN THE MAIL
A bomb may be received via the postal service. It is imperative to train people to recognize a suspicious package and how to handle a package that may contain explosives. Employees must not handle or touch a package or letter they suspect contains an explosive. The package must be isolated and a supervisor or emergency and safety manager must be informed.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN
Conduct meetings with management to outline the steps to take in the event of a bomb threat or other security threats. Remain proactive in setting up procedures and checklists on how to respond to different types of threats. Train every employee in the organization and designate an emergency supervisor to guide employees during a security threat. Work with local law enforcement agencies and the fire brigade to develop a synchronized plan for handling a bomb threat in workplace.
SEARCHING THE PREMISES
Conduct searches based on the specificity of the bomb threat. If you know the location where the bomb might be, and there is a short time before the bomb explodes, evacuate everyone immediately.
When conducting a search, it could either be a discreet search of the location specified in the threat or a search of the entire premises if the threat was unspecified. If you are conducting a discreet search to avoid starting a panic, designate emergency supervisors and administrative personnel to conduct such a search.
If informing employees is necessary to the search, for example if the location is non-specific and the entire building needs to be searched, employees must be trained to search the areas near their workstations safely. Train employees to never touch suspected devices, to inform professional emergency personnel or administrative personnel about the located incendiary device. Employees and managers must be trained never to change the environment of the device, i.e., changes in temperature, switching off electricity etc.
The local police and other departments would assist in the search and in certain cases, it may be best to let them conduct a thorough search and simply evacuate employees.
EVACUATION PROCEDURES
Evacuation should also be a carefully considered option. In some situations, evacuation could lead to your employees going straight at a dangerous situation, for example towards an active shooter or using exit routes that haven’t first been searched and cleared by security teams or emergency personnel.
If evacuating, decide if a complete evacuation is necessary and how far people should be evacuated. If the threat is specific and the bomb blast is expected to be strong, it is preferable to evacuate everyone to a safe distance outside the building where flying debris won’t injure people.
Develop and follow certain procedures for potential evacuations. Develop exit routes for an emergency evacuation beforehand. These could be the same as evacuation routes for fires and natural disasters. Before evacuating, search the exit routes for potential bombs and secure the area.
In today’s world, the probability of a business facing a bomb or other security threat is very high. Having an emergency response plan for bomb and other security threats is essential to avoid the high costs of lost lives and to make the experience less traumatic.
For more information on the best practices for responding to bombs, suspicious packages and active shooters in the workplace, check out security compliance conferences at AudioSolutionz.
