Risk Assessments and the Fire Safety Order
Risk assessments are designed to help plan out jobs in advance to highlight any potential dangers and to assist you when it comes to planning how the job will be carried out. If you own a business of any size it is important to learn the importance of risk assessments and how to carry them out adequately.
It is not possible to simply download a copy of any old risk assessment and add your business name to the top. Each and every business is different and has different risks to consider. You need to create your own unique assessments based on the challenges you will face. The aim of the assessment is to then work out the hazards and come up with methods of work which will reduce or overcome those risks without causing harm to others.
Follow Through on the Findings
Having a completed risk assessment is not enough. In order to help prevent prosecution after an incident you will need to show that you worked using the assessment and acted on the findings which were found as a result. You may need to complete a risk assessment for many jobs carried out each day and it is vital that you and your employees are aware of the methods that are in place to reduce the risks.
Fire and Risk
Risk assessments are not only required when carrying out tasks. It is also essential that companies create assessments to prevent the risks from fire to satisfy the Fire Safety Order 2005 – UK Fire Regulations. By failing to complete this type of health and safety necessity a business owner, company director or a managing agent is open to prosecution and possibly imprisonment.
Seek Professional Advice from Health and Safety Consultants
With the stakes of fire being so high for everyone involved Fire Risk Assessments services can be extremely beneficial. The experts will be able to establish the main risks for your business and help you to come up with prevention methods and solutions that not only help to prevent firs, but also work in line with the laws and regulations regarding fire and the work place.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a small shop with a small stock room or a huge plant full of warehouses; you still need to adhere to the Fire Safety Order 2005. As an owner/director or managing agent the responsibility lies with you to make sure that the Fire Risk Assessment is created, followed and based on your specific building and line of work.
Health and safety consultants are able to help you create the assessment and this will need to be reviewed on a regular basis to make sure it is still relevant. This is especially important when you introduce new methods of work, new equipment or carry out maintenance or expansions on the building.
Learn More about Fire Risk Assessments
TO find out more about the assessment service provided by health and safety consultants get in touch with the professionals. You can call Veritas Consulting on 0800 1488 677 or visit the website to read more about the importance of this service.
Fire risk assessment – action required by the employer
Where the fire safety order regulations apply to your workplace YOU MUST carry out a FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT and make an EMERGENCY PLAN.
A FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT is a structured and a systematic examination of the workplace to identify the hazards from fire. Once identified, you must then decide if a hazard is significant, who is at risk and whether the existing fire precautions are adequate so that the risk associated with the hazard is acceptably low.
If the existing fire precautions are not adequate you must take additional action to minimise the risk either by removing or reducing the hazard or by providing adequate control measures.
If you employ five or more people you must record your FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT and keep it available for inspection by the fire authority.
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Fire risk assessment – your legal responsibility
The legal responsibility for ensuring compliance with fire safety and related legislation lies with the relevant company as the employing authority, where it is in control of a workplace or is the occupier of premises.
Specific responsibilities may fall solely on the company or jointly with others in shared premises under the following (non-exhaustive) list of statutory provisions:
• The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005
• The Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007
• Disability Discrimination Act 2005
• Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982
• Private Places of Entertainment (Licensing) Act 1967
The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005
This reform is aimed at simplifying the fire safety process, while at the same time placing a greater onus on businesses to carry out fire risk assessments, which means the responsibility for complying with the Fire Safety Order rests with the ‘responsible person’ (main duty Holder).
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