When disaster strikes, the focus of the front line is alleviating the situation and saving lives.
Having an emergency preparedness plan in place allows you to truly support your community, industrial site and team members while they do what they do best. In your planning, it is critical to consider what kind of portable sanitation and temporary site services you will need on location. Covering these essentials ensures your site is safe, clean and comfortable in a high-stress situation.
Whether you are responding to a tropical storm, earthquake, hurricane or forest fire, make sure you have a plan to activate the following services:
- Portable restrooms and restroom trailers. Providing a clean restroom with stocked supplies like hand sanitizer and toilet paper is vital. When disaster strikes, the last thing your emergency response team should worry about is where to go to the bathroom. Depending on the nature of the emergency and layout of the site, portable restroom units and restroom trailers can provide a safe and clean place to use the bathroom. Natural disasters often leave areas unsanitary and without access to water. Proper portable sanitation can help eliminate these issues and decrease the risk of waterborne illnesses. Make sure to maintain a healthy and safe restroom environment by ensuring your restroom units and trailers are restocked with needed supplies and sanitized professionally by a specialized team.
- Portable sink and hand sanitizer stations. Hand hygiene is more critical than ever during an emergency. Keeping hands clean during an emergency response effort helps prevent the spread of germs and infectious diseases. It is also vital your employees and contractors are able to wash their hands of dirt and debris from cleanup efforts.
Portable hand washing stations are fully equipped with fresh water, antibacterial soap and paper towels. Place these near toilets, lunch tents, entrance gates and delivery areas of your industrial site so it is easy to wash hands after using the restroom as well as before and after meals. Hand sanitizer stations are another great addition to expand and reinforce hand hygiene further across your site as they are easy to move and provide the flexibility to move with your crews.
- Roll-off dumpsters. Damage to the surrounding landscape and buildings is not uncommon when disaster strikes. Tropical storms, earthquakes and hurricanes can take down administration buildings, trees, power lines and more. It is imperative to remove debris from roads or pathways in order to keep people safe and expedite your response effort. Equally important is to dispose of any site waste properly, safely and responsibly.
- Temporary fence panels and barricades. In an emergency situation, it is important to secure the area and ensure the general public is a safe distance away from your efforts. Barricades can be used to create a clear detour path for pedestrians, employees and contractors. Temporary fencing is a reasonable option for longer cleanups and helps keep debris in and people or wildlife out of dangerous areas. It is important to note that the efficacy of temporary fence panels and barricades is almost entirely dependent on how they are installed. Therefore, make sure that you partner with an experienced team of professionals to ensure fencing is installed in a safe and secure manner.
- Water holding tanks. Do not forget about holding tanks. When severe weather or an emergency situation takes down the power grid, public utilities also go down. In emergency response situations, time is of the essence. Having a risk mitigation plan in place for utilities such as water is critical. Water holding tanks ensure cleanup efforts keep moving no matter what.
Preparing for the unexpected can be challenging, but United Site Services (USS) is always ready to support when a natural disaster or severe weather hits your industrial site, no matter the scale. USS has extensive experience deploying temporary site services in the wake of tropical storms, hurricanes, forest fires, power outages and more. With a coast-to-coast footprint and robust fleet of equipment, USS has the unparalleled ability to mobilize rapidly and deliver what you need when you need it. The USS team is ready to help you expect the unexpected.
For more information, visit www.UnitedSiteServices.com/BIC or call (800) 864-5387.