I suggest you consider making your guidebook simple, mobile, attractive and compact so people can easily carry it and have it on hand always. If it is too large and cumbersome it defeats the purpose, people will not use it. I have seen some huge monstrosities in my day. If the intention is to leave it in the office or command center that is fine but do not expect people to lug a large document to the beach or on a 5k run! These voluminous plans might be handy to do forearm curls if you do not have your weights handy but in a crisis, they would not be so valuable.

You should additionally (not to replace the physical guidebook) consider an Incident Management app with all of the above in it. It should not be used as a replacement for the physical guidebook. You can brand the app with your logo. I discuss app creation in the technology category on the site.

Tip – Create a compact colorful emergency guidebook that includes emergency response and business continuity best practices. Partner with your Safety, Security, HR and graphic design experts on this project. They will have valuable information to contribute.

Tip – Briefly detail response procedures. Detail responses to probable threats such as fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, active shooter and terrorism. Customize it by location to align with their most probable risks.

Tip – Diagram your rally points. Perhaps, use custom insert pages so you can easily change them without reprinting the guidebook. If rally point locations change or you add additional ones you can simply replace the necessary pages.

Tip – List critical police, fire and medical phone numbers on the cover or inside cover.

Tip – Leave space on the inside cover for the user to list personal contact info and prescribed medications, etc. – discuss this with your HR and Legal departments.

I include my favorite custom guidebook publishers and specific Incident Management app recommendations in the free Ultimate Business Continuity Tools and Technologies Newsletter.