Escape plans for Underground offices

Underground offices have certainly become a trend in recent times and more and more companies are planning buildings downstairs. The reason behind this is that the extra area that the underground provides is still under-utilised and therefore with proper architecture and engineering, it can be converted into a brilliant first class workspace. But there is a greater added risk associated with such offices due to their location and so proper guidelines should me followed while working in them. Adhering to this topic, we present some basic precautions and steps to be taken in such cases:-

• Before actually beginning the construction of the office it is absolutely mandatory to conduct a thorough check of the topology of the area as it is underground and also compute the risks associated in case of natural calamities like earthquakes etc. It has been found out (e.g. In China) that often proper checking is not done while building underground office and this results in massive disasters when earthquakes hit the place as the buildings in the upper layer tumble down like a house of cards squashing the employees underground! Nowadays engineers are even building special safety lofts and cubicles in the precinct for refugee during such calamities.
• The first and foremost safety routine is to check whether there is a specified fire escape plan embedded in your office and consult the authorities about it. Also a good idea is to make your fellow employees aware of it as well just in case. Many companies nowadays even put posters up on the walls of their workspaces which have detailed pictorial descriptions of the steps to be taken in case of a fire. Also it’s a good practice to conduct fire escape drills just in case once or twice a month to verify the working conditions of the fire escape equipments and routes.
• As the office is located underground therefore many employees who suffer from respiratory disabilities such as asthma may have trouble breathing inside. So it is a must to keep a track on the idiosyncratic physical conditions of all your employees and put a tab on those who can fall sick at work. Artificial respiratory and CPR equipments should be present in the office premises but it is better if a doctor is present on call so that measures can be taken quickly if one falls sick.
• Trailing wires also pose a great amount of threat to the employees if left to coil and wound at random and busy work places as employees can easily trip on them and get seriously injured. To avoid such cases it’s better to use a cable or desk-hole tidy cable system so that it minimizes the number of wires running on a floor. Also there’s a whole lot of technology being used in the office and due to malfunctions they can get damaged and catch fire. So one should always replace a flickering light or a dodgy cable as soon as they notice before it can lead to disasters in the future.

Following these basic guidelines can lead to a much better and safer working environment for underground offices.