It all starts with prevention – As with any quality active shooter training it all starts with prevention. Whether in schools, office settings or construction sites knowing and training everyone in your organization (family members included) in potential warning signs. Part of that training needs to include what to do if warning behaviors are observed, who to report them to, and that receiving information will be used in a non-punitive manner whenever possible to help and support the individual in crisis. Reporting needs to have multi-access points, making reporting easy, confidential, and at times anonymous. Once reports are received a threat assessment team will manage that concern. This process of course has several nuances and needs more in-depth exploration than this article is intended for. As we examine, in our training this problem is a people problem and people are what can prevent it and improve it.

In training with construction companies, I have found many companies place a high priority on the mental wellness of their staff. Educational posters and QR codes can be found throughout sites giving resources lists specific to job areas. A good example for other states or regions can be found at Wisconsin Construction Wellness Community (WCWC) www.wisconsinwell.org     

Response to an active shooter at a construction site:

Let’s boil this down to two overarching concepts that need to take place during an active threat. Both overarching concepts are also time sensitive and need to be done with expediency in mind. No matter where you are at the site when the initial attack begins everyone’s first step is the same – Get Yourself (& others if applicable) Safe. As you begin getting yourself safe, if possible, start communicating with your team, contractors, deliveries, the rest of the site. Like a pebble in a pond, we want a ripple of action and communication to spread throughout your entire site and staff (On and off site), we call this our Ripple of Safety.

In order to facilitate that ACTION and COMMUNICATION we recommend an active threat safety brief for all sites that might look like this: