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The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) states that a competent person must have the correct qualifications, training and experience, access to the relevant tools, equipment and information, manuals and knowledge of the special procedures recommended by the manufacturer of the extinguisher. Fire extinguishers must be serviced by the competent person in accordance with British Standard BS5306-3:2009: Code of Practice for the commissioning and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers, which sets out the procedures.

Ensure Correct Fire Extinguisher Maintenance with these 6 Tips

1. The mass of the extinguisher must be checked against that recorded on the maintenance label when first put into service or last recharged. Labelling must not obscure the BS EN3 markings or manufacturer’s markings.
2. The label must state that maintenance was carried out according to BS5306-3. It must also record the measured mass of the extinguisher at the time of servicing or the difference between the measured mass at the time of service and the mass recorded at commissioning.
3. When your extinguisher is recharged, this must be recorded on the label. The words ‘Non-maintained’ can only be used if the technician does not have the parts available and does not intend to return to your site.
4. Extinguishers manufactured to older British Standards may still be serviced so long as they can be returned to a serviceable condition. Soda, acid, riveted and plastic-bodied extinguishers and those requiring inversion are excluded.
5. The technician should provide a written report which advises the Responsible Person of any extinguishers that have been condemned, not maintained or are missing; of any replacement extinguishers needed to meet the minimum requirements of BS5306; that any replacement or additional extinguishers are provided as soon as possible and that there must be adequate fire fighting equipment available at all times.
6. There is a tolerance period of 1 month either side of the 12 month basic service interval, so there is a saving to be made by not bringing the service forward, which some technicians may recommend.

Avoid putting your workers and others who use your premises at risk. Ensure your fire extinguishers are maintained by a competent person.

• Fire safety legislation requires the establishment of procedures for serious and imminent danger and the provision and maintenance of suitable means of escape.
• Employers must ensure staff are aware of the fire evacuation procedures, including location of fire exits and assembly points. Carry out fire drills and exercises.
• Those who may require additional support and assistance when evacuating should be identified and specific plans developed for them.
• Fire exits and emergency routes must be properly marked with signs and, where necessary, adequate emergency escape lighting.
• It is the duty of the responsible person/duty holder/appropriate person to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of escape routes to enable occupiers to reach a place of reasonable or total safety. Each employee should be aware of the action to take in the event of fire and the recommended evacuation policies.
• Assembly points outside the building should be indicated clearly. These points should have been selected in consultation with the fire authority and routes to them signposted with appropriate notices.
• Systems for providing relevant information to the fire and rescue services should be developed.

Ensure you provide a safe environment for employees.

Have you got an up to date fire risk assessment?

Contact us if you require advice.

Poor health and safety leads to illness and accidents that could prove an huge drain on the company finances. Simple but effective health and safety practices pay for themselves. They also improve the company’s reputation among customers, regulators and employees. Given the considerable increase in penalties under health and safety legislation, the cost of non-compliance is likely to exceed by a long way the cost of compliance.

Having bad health and safety provisions can harm a business. It can reduce productivity, damage products, equipment or premises, there could be considerable fines and legal costs if prosecuted, plus insurance premiums could rise.

Most competitive tendering now requires businesses to disclose any health and safety investigations and convictions.

Many customers won’t deal with businesses that have a bad health and safety record and good employees might not want to work for a company like that.

Having safe and healthy working conditions will make it easier for a business to attract and retain customers, employees and business partners.

If you would like an audit to see if the company complies with health and safety legislation, contact us.

This is a straightforward process for assessing risks in the workplace.

How to assess the risks in your workplace, follow these five steps:

1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precaution
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Review your assessment and update if necessary

Don’t  overcomplicate the process. In many organisations, the risks are well known and  the necessary control measures are easy to apply.

Ensure that you involve your staff or their representatives in the  process. They will have useful information about how the work is done that will  make your assessment of the risk more thorough and effective. But remember, you  are responsible for seeing that the assessment is carried out properly. When thinking  about your risk assessment, remember:

• a hazard is  anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from  ladders, an open drawer, etc; and
• the risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other  hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be.

If you require assistance, contact us….

For many businesses the management of health and safety issues and keeping up with the multitude of regulations can seem like an overwhelming task.

For some companies the answer is to ignore it and convince themselves that it does not apply to them.

What are your legal responsibilities?

According to Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, all employers have a duty to ensure that – so far as is reasonably practicable – the health, safety and welfare of all employees is looked after.

The Act also requires that employers of five or more employees have a written statement of their health and safety policy and that this is, along with any revisions, communicated to the workforce.

It is also important to carry out a Risk Assessments. Three reasons why…

1. Financial reasons: There is considerable evidence, that effective safety and health management in the workplace contributes to business success. Accidents and ill-health inflict significant costs, often hidden and underestimated.

2. Legal reasons: Carrying out a risk assessment and implementing what you have written down are not only central to any safety and health management system, they are required by law.

3. Moral and ethical reasons: The process of carrying out a risk assessment and implementing what you have written down will help to prevent injuries and ill-health at work.  Employers are ethically bound to do all they can to ensure that their employees do not suffer illness, a serious accident or death.

Risk assessments are good for business!

So don’t put it off any longer and get started on your risk assessment today.

Contact us if you require advice…