How Earthquakes Toss Safety Procedures Out The Window

The recent Virginia earthquake was proof-positive that many safety procedures fly in the face of what people are inclined to do. In fact, instinct is more likely to be followed than Safety process when faced with the reality of a quake.

According to FEMA web site, they warn to "stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to different locations inside the building or try to leave."

This AP video, shows people did the exact wrong thing during the quake. In fact, the video also emphasizes the dangers of what could happen when exiting a building during or right after an earthquake: getting hit by falling debris.

It's great that you THINK you have a Safety Plan in an emergency. But until you address the underlying attitudes and fight-or-flight response mechanisms of your people that will instinctively overrule your Safety Plan in an emergency, you have a worthless piece of paper when the time comes.

You may have developed a set of rules and procedures that are logical in an emergency, but during times of crisis, people don't act logically nor do they think logically because your rules fly in the face of everything that is ingrained through a lifetime of their experience.

When faced with a crisis, people will act in the same way as they always have because their behaviors are habitual. You, as a Safety Professional, have to change that - and it will take more than an amendment to your Safety Manual. It takes getting into your people's psyche and changing their fight-or-flight programming.

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Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker