Why Architects and School Officials Need to Work Together on Vulnerability Assessments
Working on construction in a school district requires a lot of attention to detail, as building a facility for children and students is especially important to adhere to safety requirements. To ensure that everything is accounted for, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, has outlined the school vulnerability assessments. A vulnerability assessment identifies, evaluates and prioritizes risks and areas that need improvement individual schools and school districts. This also makes it necessary to design a system of accountability with timelines required to address the risks. Learn more about these vulnerability assessments and why it’s important to adhere to them.
Why are vulnerability assessments beneficial?
Vulnerability assessments are crucial to school emergency management planning. Being able to predict specific threats potential hazards in a facility and understanding how they can be eliminated with emergency management can drastically reduce dangers in a school. They inform all four of the interconnected phases of emergency management, especially the prevention/mitigation phase, to help determine which areas should be focused on. They also give the school to partner with emergency personnel, first responders, mental and public health officials, and the local government to identify and prevent these issues. By establishing these relationships, communication is accelerated when there is a crisis and they can address the situation as soon as possible. Violence occurs easily in sites where there are weaknesses present, which also means that it’s harder to intervene quickly. These types of situations can mean that there issues such as victims being unable to escape, staff doesn’t identify threats, and communication is sparse. These types of site weaknesses are often identified in a vulnerability assessment.
Why is it important for architects and school officials to work together?
Vulnerability assessments must be performed starting at the very beginning of designing a school. This will allow architects and school officials to determine a solidified plan and identify issues that must be addressed. Making sure that these assessments are performed ahead of time will allow for the best results. It’s also important to eliminate hazards within the facility. Products such as lockers or bathroom partitions could be made up of material that is harmful to the air quality, be prone to mold, or contain dangerous parts. Make sure you choose materials that are safe for the students instead of hazardous. Scranton Products are made up of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), a material that is Greenguard certified and meets the strictest standards for air quality. In addition, these products are a solid material throughout, so you’ll never have to paint them and contribute to VOC emissions. They are also impermeable to moisture, meaning they resist mold and mildew that can also be harmful. Make sure to take these items into consideration as an architect or a school official. Working together on a vulnerability assessment can make all the difference for a school’s safety. Click here to find out where you can buy Scranton Products.
