Referencing Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy, Vic Sordillo, Mayor of Warren Township, NJ, said, “One thing that I learned is when there’s a big
disaster, you are alone.” Sordillo spoke
to Safety 2013 attendees in a Wednesday afternoon session titled, “Hurricane/Superstorm
Sandy: What the Safety Professional Can Learn From the Perfect Storm to Prepare
for Future Natural Disasters.” In the event of an emergency, such as Hurricane
Sandy, Sordillo, who is also global technical services manager for Chubb Group,
said everyone needs to be prepared because once it hits, you’re on your own. "You have to make plans with your friends and neighbors. You have to be self-sufficient," he said. Sordillo also advised that once the disaster hits, communication is key. “Communication
systems are extremely important,” he said. “Tell your people when to be at
work, where to go, what to do.”
Copresenters Stephanie Altis-Gurnari, a loss control
professional with Chubb Group, and Steven Pomponi, managing partner of
Consulting Safety Managers, also provided information on Hurricane Sandy, how emergency and disaster response was
handled, and how safety professionals can manage safety at a disaster site. Altis-Gurnari
reminded attendees of the mass destruction the storm caused, noting at one
point, 8 million people were without power. That’s in addition to the gas
shortages, downed trees and power lines, salt water corrosion and much more.
Pomponi was deployed to an affected Hurricane Sandy site as
a healthcare provider, but because of his safety background he was asked to
focus more on “protecting the protectors” or how to provide safety to the
safety personnel. “Disaster sites
necessitate dynamic safety management systems,” Pomponi said. With a dynamic site,
the safety approach has to be dynamic, as well, because hazards are constantly changing. He touched on five core safety processes that were utilized during the storm:
- risk assessment
- structure
- training
- hierarchy of controls
- management review
He urged attendees to think about
how they could use these processes in a more static environment. “One key takeaway
is that when you go back to your company, look at the safety management systems
you’re using and think about if they are there from a static standpoint or are
they adaptable to a dynamic one?”