Open plant to area fire, hazmat units This issue's idea comes from Elizabeth Smith, the environmental, health and safety manager at BioPort Corporation in Lansing, Mich.  She writes: "Contact your local fire department and invite them over for coffee, an overview of your safety program and a tour of the facility.  The dividends from this are incalculable. "I organized a visit a couple of years ago from the closest responding stations and the hazardous materials unit of the local fire department.  I presented a 25-minute overview of our health and safety program and opened the floor for comments and questions for another 20 minutes.  Since it was done in waves, the later presentations could anticipate and address questions which had been asked in earlier sessions, making an even better impression. "It served to allay their fears of our business operations (we work with biohazards as well as chemical ones); I got to know the people I would depend upon should something go horribly awry; and they got to interact with me and see the layout of our facility.   They now have a better idea of what they would face if they needed to respond here. "The open house opened the channel for further and more meaningful dialogue between me and the emergency management agencies here in my hometown." This article appeared in the February/March 2000 issue of MRO Today magazine.  Copyright, 2000. Back to top Back to Ideas that make sense archives