How Can Your Building Manager Protect
You in an Emergency?

Anticipate, Plan, Train (Now Do It Again)... In Bob Baer's new CIA thriller, Blow the House Down, the hero drills out the front door lock (on a weekend) and his accomplice blasts a dead pigeon through a window (with a 5-inch pneumatic gun) to disguise an office break-in.

But don't try this at One Sansome ( Citigroup Center) in San Francisco. That trick is already in their Emergency Procedures binder.

OK, I'm exaggerating. But after touring this high rise recently with Tom Gille, COO of CAC Real Estate Management, who manages the building, I was impressed with their extensive emergency procedures program.

Imagine twelve different disaster scenarios (fire, earthquake, flu outbreak, etc.) occurring at three different times (workday, transition, non-workday) for three different types of building personnel (engineering, security and operations). That's 108 possible scenarios. Now document what each person should do.

Building Operations Manager Marc Gille walked me through his thick, color-coded master binder outlining everyone's role and the associated training regimen. Then we visited the FCC ( Fire Control Center), where all systems (like the public broadcast hookup and HVAC controls) are located and emergency gear is stored. Wow.

The adjacent images show the color-coded, reflective safety vests (with matching hard hats) that each staff member will wear in an emergency. Each vest is labeled with the building's name, "One Sansome Street," and "Floor Warden" (Red), "Building Staff" (Green) or "Security" (Blue), so that outside emergency personnel like police and fire will quickly know the person's role.

Now here's the immediate payoff. One Sansome's insurance premiums savings exceed a hundred thousand dollars annually. Risk preparation meets its reward!

-- Peter Pike