Guide to Best Practices for Workplace Security Available to Employers

By Vicki Cannon, Director of Communications, South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance

All of us are vulnerable to a terrorist attack, whether on an airplane, in a public building, or at work. In the workplace, our best defense is a vigilant workforce and the implementation of carefully thought-out security measures by employers.

On May 23, 2002, Gov. Jim Hodges joined his Advisory Committee on Workplace Security in unveiling a blueprint for South Carolina businesses to follow to protect their employees and their job sites from terrorism or sabotage.

Security, safety and health professionals from our stateÕs leading employers created the workplace security guide, entitled Prepare, Prevent, Protect--Best Practices Workplace Security. Gen. Steve Siegfried, special advisor to the Governor for Homeland Security, and Rita M. McKinney, director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and chairperson of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Workplace Security, headed the committee to develop the guide. Vicki Cannon, South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance director of Communications, served on the committee and chaired the Communications Subcommittee.

Prior to September 11, businesses conducted workplace risk assessments to prevent or prepare for accidental explosions, major infrastructure failures or natural disasters. Little thought was given or preparation made for the event of a devastating act by an unknown enemy. "We are at war, and every citizen is a soldier. We must build up our defenses in our towns and our workplaces. Employers must be proactive, as well as reactive," said Siegfried.

In an effort to prepare, Gov. Hodges charged the committee to:
1. Identify safety and health threats in our workplaces that could possibly occur from terrorist activity or sabotage; and
2. Develop checklists of best practices for employers in preventing and responding to acts of terrorism.

"The guide's introduction is designed to capture the attention of an employer who might take lightly the need to do an assessment of his or her business. 'Is your company at risk of a terrorist attack?' the guide asks. The response is, 'Absolutely!' Regardless of size, location, or technology, terrorists could involve any employees and any business in their sinister plans," emphasized McKinney.

"They could hijack a company's truck loaded with flammable materials and crash it into a public school, steal hazardous chemicals from a work site to bring harm to a neighboring city, or drive a delivery truck with a bomb onto a company's property. In short, no one is safe from terrorism," she explained.

Every employer has the responsibility to develop a security plan to provide for the safety of their employees and their communities, and this guide is an excellent preparation tool as we prepare, prevent and protect.

The guide asks businesses to develop a security plan for their work sites that includes risk assessment, security processes and crisis management. It provides a step-by-step plan employers can use to survey job sites, identify risks and manage them in the best way possible. For example, a company might identify its stored ammonia as a potential risk. A release of ammonia into the general population could result in eye irritation, difficulty in breathing or death, depending on the amount released. The guide asks the business to consider ways to manage the risk of the ammonia being sabotaged or stolen by terrorists. A company could increase plant security; review current procedures for storing/handling/transferring the ammonia; reduce its inventory; install an alarm system to warn employees and the neighboring population of a release of the chemical; have an emergency action plan in place with drills and assessment of drills; and educate the community on the hazards associated with ammonia and the actions people should take in the event of a release.

In addition to chemicals, the report offers instruction to businesses on ways to manage risk-provoking situations, such as:

• storing infectious materials,
• storing radioactive materials,
• storing explosives,
• loss of essential services, like electricity or food and water,
• proximity to shopping malls or facilities with high volumes of traffic,
• procedures for receiving packages and materials,
• use of transportation services like trucking or shipping, and
• proximity to high profile sites such as water dams or landmarks.

The guide is available free of charge on the Internet at the Homeland Security Office web address: www.state.sc.us/homeland, or through the SCMA web site: www.myscma.com. Employers can also call the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation at (803) 896-4380 for a free copy.

This is the first effort in the country to produce this type of guide. "The U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and OSHA's National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) are working to develop a national strategy on workplace security. They have requested South Carolina's report to use as a model as they develop their plan," explained McKinney.

Federal OSHA Administrator John Henshaw commended our state for taking a proactive stance for workplace security, saying South Carolina's security plan and new web page "sets an excellent example of how the federal and state governments can work together to complement and reinforce efforts that add value to every workplace and every citizen."

The guide will be revised periodically to better address security needs. After reviewing the Homeland Security Guide, please give us your suggestions and feedback. Please send your comments to the Workplace Security Advisory Committee at P.O. Box 11329, Columbia, SC 29211-1329, or you can reply via email to: contactllr@mail.llr.state.sc.us