Where to place an AED

An AED should be placed so that a responder can reach it, bring it back and start using it within a few minutes of someone collapsing. In practice that means putting units on main routes, near where people gather and where risk is highest, in places that are visible, signed and always accessible. Large or spread-out sites usually need more than one.

Why minutes matter

In sudden cardiac arrest, the heart's rhythm becomes chaotic and it stops pumping blood. Each minute without CPR and defibrillation lowers the chance of survival. Emergency medical services often cannot arrive within the first few minutes, especially in large buildings, high-rises and remote sites. Bystander CPR combined with an early shock from an AED gives the person the best chance. Placement decides how early that shock can come.

Heart and stroke organizations recommend placing AEDs so they can be retrieved quickly, and many programs use a target of a brisk walk of a minute or two each way from any point. Use this as a planning tool, not a rule, and walk the routes yourself.

Step 1: Look at your risk

Think about where cardiac arrest is most likely and where a delay would be longest:

• Areas with many people: lobbies, cafeterias, gyms, auditoriums and event spaces
• Areas with older or higher-risk occupants: seniors' residences, clinics, community centres
• Areas with physical exertion: fitness facilities, sports fields, heavy work areas
• Areas with electrical hazards, where electrical contact injuries are possible
• Remote or hard-to-reach areas: upper floors with slow elevators, large warehouses, outdoor yards, field sites
• Places where emergency services will take longer to arrive or find the patient

Step 2: Map response times

Use a floor plan or site map. Mark the proposed AED locations, then walk from the farthest points in each area to the AED and back at a brisk pace, timing it. Include:

• Stairs, elevators and the time spent waiting for them
• Locked doors, security gates and card readers that slow the route
• Outdoor distances and winter conditions
• Different shifts, when some areas or routes are closed

Where the time is too long, add another unit or move the location. On multi-storey buildings, a unit on every floor or every few floors near the stairs or elevators is common.

Step 3: Choose the exact spot

• On a main path of travel, where people pass and will remember seeing it
• Near other emergency equipment such as first aid kits, fire extinguishers or pull stations, where that makes sense
• Accessible whenever the space is occupied, not in a locked office or behind a reception desk that closes
• At a height that most people, including people using wheelchairs, can reach
• Out of extreme heat and cold; outdoor or unheated locations need a temperature-controlled cabinet suited to the manufacturer's storage range
• Protected from damage and tampering, while still easy to open
• Close to a phone, or in an area with mobile coverage, so someone can call 911

Step 4: Make it easy to find

An AED nobody can find is no help. Use standard AED signs, visible from a distance and from the main approach directions. Add directional signs in long corridors and large spaces. Mark AED locations on evacuation and floor plans, and tell staff where they are during orientation and in toolbox talks. Register each unit with your local or provincial AED registry where one exists, so 911 dispatchers can direct callers to it.

Step 5: Plan the response

Placement works only with people who will act. Train enough staff in CPR and AED use to cover every shift and area, and build AED retrieval into your emergency response plan: who calls 911, who gets the AED, who starts CPR and who meets paramedics at the door to guide them in. Practise it.

Special situations

• Field and remote sites. Put AEDs in site trucks or trailers, and consider where crews actually work each day. See working alone safely for people far from help.
• Multi-tenant buildings. Agree with tenants who owns, maintains and checks each unit in common areas.
• Seasonal and event use. Add temporary units for large events, and remember outdoor units in winter.
• Children. In schools and childcare, keep paediatric pads or a child mode available.

Review placement regularly

Layouts, occupancy and work patterns change. Review AED locations when you renovate, move departments, change hours or add new sites, and after any time an AED is used. Each unit also needs routine checks; see an AED maintenance checklist.

How ehZee can help

Our AED inspections look at each unit's readiness and its location, signage and accessibility, and point out gaps in coverage. We report what we found and what to address first.

Common questions