Staying safe in the workplace: Do you know what to do?
We want you to be aware of how you can access multiple resources to prepare yourselves for an event that we hope we never face.
I know that you join me in grieving with the families who have recently lost loved ones in Buffalo and Uvalde as well as all of those who continue to mourn those lost to previous gun violence. The Office of Protection Services works diligently each day to protect us and our visitors from the threat of an active shooter, but we also must be prepared to act ourselves if we ever face such a terrifying event. The reality is that many active shooter events occur with no notice and are extremely short in duration. The outcomes for those confronted with an active shooter situation often depend on their personal actions and preparedness.
It is important to note that we have no information to indicate that there are any current threats to our facilities. The Office of Emergency Management and our OPS staff are in regular contact with federal and local law enforcement, and they are prepared to swiftly take any actions needed to protect our staff and the public. While this is an uncomfortable topic to consider and discuss, we want you to be aware of how you can access multiple resources to prepare yourselves for an event that we hope we never face.
Staff are encouraged to take the Office of Protection Services Active Shooter Awareness Training on Moodle (access code: activeshooter2017). It is designed to provide a basic understanding of how to respond to the threat. Instructions for creating an External Moodle account can be found at https://moodlex.si.edu/sidocs/ExternalMoodleNewAccount.pdf.
Additionally, the Office of Emergency Management provides training sessions that are specially tailored to prepare SI employees for an active shooter threat in the workplace. The OEM training initiative complements and builds on the Moodle course by focusing on how to implement the Department of Homeland Security strategy of “Run. Hide. Fight,” which provides the best chance for surviving an active shooter situation. These sessions raise awareness of the common characteristics of active shooter incidents so that staff can better understand the threat and associated risks, improving their ability to respond in the context of their environment. To date, OEM has provided 46 hour-long presentations to more than 2,300 staff members across the Institution.
Once sufficient staff within a unit have completed the OPS and OEM training, they are ready to participate in full-scale exercises. These exercises are announced in advance and are designed to practice the lessons learned without subjecting participants to disturbing or upsetting, images or sounds. To date, staff have successfully completed eight full-scale exercises, reinforcing improved safety procedures and reactions to an active threat.
As many staff continue to telework, we will soon be offering the OEM Active Shooter Training via MS Teams or Zoom to ensure it is accessible to all who want to participate. Announcements will be made about these offerings in the coming days.
We have tools available to help SI staff prepare for workplace emergencies, including active shooters. One of the best ways to be prepared is to sign up for the Smithsonian’s LiveSafe app. The app will notify SI employees of emergencies and allow them to communicate directly with the Smithsonian Communications Center. For additional information, or to sign up for LiveSafe, visit http://vol.si.edu/download/X1LGFPFV3GWGIUPF.
While we hope no one will ever again face the threat of an active shooter, it is a sad reality that we must do everything we can to ensure the Smithsonian is prepared to keep our staff and visitors safe.
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Posted: 26 May 2022
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