When Does OSHA Require an Emergency Action Plan?
1910.38 does not apply to everyone by itself. It switches on when another standard calls for a plan, and the course starts by working out whether yours does.
- Another standard triggers it. An employer must have an emergency action plan whenever an OSHA standard in Part 1910 requires one (29 CFR 1910.38(a)).
- Fire extinguishers are the common trigger. Providing portable fire extinguishers for employee use is the trigger most workplaces hit, under the fire extinguisher standard at 1910.157.
- Written, with one exception. The plan must be in writing, kept in the workplace and available to employees. An employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate it orally instead (1910.38(b)).
- Six elements minimum. It must cover reporting, evacuation and route assignments, employees staying for critical operations, accounting for everyone, rescue and medical duties, and who to contact (1910.38(c)).
Process safety, grain handling, ethylene oxide, MDA and 1,3-butadiene each trigger a plan too, and the course's checklist walks all of them.
What Must an Emergency Action Plan Contain?
OSHA sets six minimum elements. Most plans that fail an inspection are missing one of the last two.
- How to report. Procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency (29 CFR 1910.38(c)(1)).
- How to get out. Procedures for emergency evacuation, including the type of evacuation and exit route assignments (1910.38(c)(2)).
- Who stays. Procedures for employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate (1910.38(c)(3)).
- Who is missing. Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation, plus rescue and medical duties and the names or job titles of people to contact (1910.38(c)(4) to (c)(6)).
The alarm system is separate: it needs a distinctive signal for each purpose and must comply with 1910.165.
