ShakeOut Spotlights

We’re highlighting some of the awesome registrants who signed up for our national drill and tsunami hīkoi.

Sharesies

The online investment platform company Sharesies is taking part in New Zealand ShakeOut for the third time.

Internal Operations Manager, Hannah Bennett says the Sharesies team practice Drop, Cover and Hold to ensure their staff feel comfortable knowing what to do in the event of an earthquake.

“The majority of our staff are based in Wellington – a city that tends to shake quite often! So, we love knowing that at least once a year, our team members are practising jumping under desks, and taking a moment to consider their emergency plans with their close contacts and whānau,” said Hannah.

“Sharesies’ number one tip for other businesses preparing for emergencies is to talk about emergency planning and practicing what to do to make it seem less scary for staff. “We’ve found that in talking through emergency planning, and practicing (like getting under your desk) we all come out feeling much more empowered and prepared.”.

“Participating in ShakeOut is pretty fun – so we love sneaking really practical and important information into something that just feels like a fun activity.”

Emerge Aotearoa Group

The Emerge Aotearoa Group are taking part in New Zealand ShakeOut to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their whānau.

The Emerge Aotearoa Group is a national charitable trust that provides a wide range of social services. Their mission is all about strengthening whānau so communities can thrive.

Safety and Wellbeing Manager, Leon Fox says “with over 1300 kaimahi from Kaitaia to Invercargill, the safety of our whānau (both our kaimahi and the people we support) is important to us. ShakeOut lets us support our whānau as we know that preparing for a natural disaster like an earthquake is vital to keeping people safe.

“We get involved in ShakeOut to raise awareness of the need to practice an emergency procedure, so that when you need it, it’s second nature.”

Emerge Aotearoa’s top tips for other organisations preparing for emergencies are:

• Don’t just go with generic procedures, e.g. in a tsunami, head to higher ground. Instead think about the specifics. Which higher ground would we aim for? How are we going to get our people there? What if the roads are blocked?
• Make your emergency procedures site-specific and then practice, practice, practice to iron out those bugs.
• Make sure you have processes (technological and manual) in place for when you have to communicate with your people in an emergency.

AJ Hackett Bungy

Adventure tourism pioneers, AJ Hackett, participate in ShakeOut every year across all of their sites in Queenstown, Auckland and Taupō.

Kawarau Bridge Bungy Site Controller, Hannah Caithness, says ShakeOut is a great opportunity to really highlight the importance of understanding what to do before, during and after an earthquake for their staff.

“The majority of our staff are based in Queenstown, so ensuring our Kawarau Bridge crew feel prepared both at work and at home is crucial,” said Hannah.

“Our number one tip for other businesses preparing for emergencies is to plan effectively and practice often.”

“We enjoy taking a break from jumping off bridges to practice role playing scenarios like Drop, Cover and Hold. It’s great to make it a fun activity all while sneaking in the important information,” said Hannah.

“We often get our customers involved, so they can learn right alongside is and remind their friends and whānau about it too. The more we talk about it, the more it will become second nature if a disaster were to happen.”

Fletcher Construction

Fletcher Construction's Otaki team are doing ShakeOut so that staff know what to do in an emergency.

The Otaki Project's Health & Safety Advisor says that ShakeOut not only creates awareness of emergency situations but its also part of our safety wellbeing program on site.

"As part of the project Health & Safety Wellbeing Plan we ensure staff are aware of what to do in a given emergency. Participating in the Shakeout last year and completing the summary highlighted that there was areas for improvement. For example, the set up of assembly areas on site, placement of assembly areas to keep staff safe while awaiting further instructions, etc."

Fletcher's top tips for other organisations are:

• If you're in a tsunami zone, make sure evacuation procedures and where to go is included in your site induction or emergency awareness program.
• When thinking about assembly areas, make sure that staff will be out of harms way. Overhead powerlines could pose further risk to staff at an assembly area if there are aftershocks.