If the work of your organisation involves the management of large estates – as is often the case in the public sector such as bodies like the NHS, universities, and academies – ensuring the highest standards of fire safety compliance will not be a mere “nice to do”. Instead, it will be completely essential.
UK laws and regulations such as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Building Safety Act 2022 outline strict requirements for managing fire risks at premises.
However, many organisations across the UK encounter a broad range of difficulties in their efforts to achieve and maintain fire safety compliance. Challenges that can often arise include the likes of incomplete risk assessments, poor system maintenance, unclear accountability, missing records and documentation, and inadequate training of staff.
Any failure by organisational decision-makers to maintain compliance with the UK’s fire safety laws poses a variety of risks. Naturally, non-compliance heightens the dangers that fire can pose at a particular site; moreover, it can bring legal penalties and reputational damage for organisations.
Today, we’ll be setting out some of the key fire safety challenges you can expect your organisation to have to deal with. Along the way, we will put forward practical solutions to these issues.
Understanding why fire safety compliance should be a top priority for facilities managers
There is a well-developed legal and regulatory framework in the UK for the management of fire risk. So, it is of the utmost importance to be well-informed on the specific legislation applicable to you and your organisation.
Vital elements of the UK’s current legislative and regulatory fire safety landscape include:
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Commonly referred to as “the FSO”, the Fire Safety Order is the primary piece of legislation governing fire safety in English and Welsh buildings.
Applicable to all workplaces and the common parts of buildings containing two or more domestic premises, the FSO imposes certain responsibilities on those in control of such premises – the “Responsible Person”, typically the owner or landlord.
The legal duties that come under the FSO include carrying out and recording a fire risk assessment, and implementing and maintaining general fire safety precautions.
- The Building Safety Act 2022
When this Act was given Royal Assent on 28th April 2022, it became the most comprehensive UK legislation to have affected the UK built environment for decades.
This law overhauls previously existent regulations, and sets out how buildings should be constructed, maintained, and made safe.
Section 156 of the Act amends the FSO to help improve fire safety in all buildings the Order regulates. These changes came into force on 1st October 2023, and include – among other stipulations – a new legal requirement for all Responsible Persons to record their fire risk assessment in full.
Prior to the Building Safety Act 2022, it was only necessary for the significant findings from a fire risk assessment to be recorded – and only in specific circumstances.
As a facilities manager, you must ensure your organisation’s compliance with the aforementioned provisions. Otherwise, you could be running the risk of such potential consequences as penalties, legal action, and operational shutdowns.
While there is no part of the built environment where fire safety isn’t important, it certainly takes on a critical role across such high-risk settings as NHS facilities, universities, and academies.
Ensuring fire risk assessments area being carried out properly and regularly
The Building Safety Act 2022 made a significant difference to the legal situation for fire safety in the UK. So, you should take the time to ensure your organisation is adhering to the latest rules in its management of fire risks across its estate.
Since 1st October 2023, it has been a legal requirement, in accordance with Article 9 of the FSO, for a fire risk assessment to be in place at a workplace, regardless of the number of employees there. It is also now crucial for all findings of the risk assessment to be recorded.
You will need to take the following steps in carrying out a fire risk assessment:
- Identify potential fire hazards, including any possible sources of ignition, fuel, and any work processes that may heighten the likelihood of a fire breaking out.
- Identify people who may be in danger at your site if a fire occurs. Such individuals may encompass employees, contractors, visitors, and members of the public.
- Evaluate the risks posed by hazards you have identified, and determine whether the current precautions are adequate. You will need to make decisions at this stage of the evaluation on whether – and how – to reduce or remove certain hazards.
- Record your findings, put together an emergency plan, and provide training. This is the stage at which you must detail the actions taken, and let all relevant individuals know about these actions.
- Review and update the fire risk assessment at regular intervals, or when significant events occur. Examples of the latter include – but are not limited to – any fires or “near misses”, or significant alterations having been made to the building, such as new installations or structural changes.
Unfortunately, various issues can often arise among organisations that need to carry out fire risk assessments. Frequent problems include assessments being incomplete, a lack of follow-up assessments, and a failure to keep records updated.
So, how can you begin to address issues such as these? The short answer is by implementing a structured and automated fire risk assessment process. This can be made so much easier when you adopt a suitable fire risk assessment software platform, such as Vision Pro Software.
Taking this step will help ensure that as a facilities manager, you benefit from a strong, comprehensive, and accurate overview of the fire risks at your workplace at any given time. This, in turn, will enable you to take rapid, efficient, and well-informed action.
Ensuring fire safety systems properly maintained
The fire safety systems and equipment at any premises will play a critical role in keeping people safe if a fire breaks out.
Unfortunately, there are all too many instances of organisations failing to put in place a system for proactive and regular maintenance of their fire safety systems. This heightens the risk of vital equipment – such as fire alarms, emergency lighting, sprinklers, and extinguishers – failing to work at the very time they are most needed.
If such deficiencies in your workplace’s fire safety systems do occur, there could be a delay in people being aware of the fire in the first place. This may increase the likelihood of affected individuals being unable to exit the building safely, with lives potentially being lost as a result.
So, you should never underestimate the importance of carrying out regular checks to make sure all fire alarms, emergency lighting, and related systems and equipment at your premises are working. If any faults are discovered, these will need to be recorded.
Again, the establishment of a proactive maintenance schedule can be made much more straightforward when you invest in the right software, complete with digital tracking.
Vision Pro Software, for instance, draws upon the Vision-tag with NFC technology. When this is used alongside the software and mobile app, emergency assets such as fire extinguishers and lighting can be identified, recorded, maintained, and monitored with great efficiency.
Making sure there is clear accountability for fire safety compliance
UK law makes clear who is accountable for fire safety compliance at a particular site; under the FSO, the “Responsible Person” is the person in control of a given building or premises.
Examples of such individuals can include building owners, landlords, employers, occupiers, and anyone else in control of a site, such as facilities managers or building managers. There may be multiple “Responsible Persons” for a particular property – in which case, they will need to work together to comply with their duties.
Putting the specifics of the law to one side, a common issue that can arise with fire safety compliance is that of unclear roles and responsibilities within facilities teams. If it is far from obvious who has responsibility for or “owns” a specific compliance task, it may be overlooked altogether, with the consequence of the organisation falling out of compliance.
An effective solution to this problem, is to adopt a compliance software platform that allows for role-based access. This means tasks can be assigned to specific people, and the completion of such activities tracked, to help ensure accountability.
Keeping fire safety records and documentation up to date
Recordkeeping and documentation will always play a fundamental role in any proactive and responsible approach to fire safety compliance.
Sure enough, “Responsible Persons” under UK law are expected to maintain accurate and up-to-date records. These must encompass not only the fire risk assessments they have carried out, but also actions taken to manage identified risks, training given to staff, and service certificates for fire safety equipment.
It is still too common, however, for “Responsible Persons” to rely on paper-based documentation or outdated spreadsheets when seeking to manage fire safety compliance responsibilities.
Such outmoded documentation methods are slow and cumbersome to use. Furthermore, it may not be easy to access and edit such records for all people who need to see and change them.
By contrast, today’s leading digital compliance software platforms – such as Vision Pro Software – make secure, real-time recordkeeping possible. They allow for all stakeholders to access and update the relevant records “via the cloud”, using a secure and centralised system.
Making sure staff are properly trained on fire safety procedures
A recent study of people in the UK shed light on the alarming gaps in fire safety knowledge that still exist across the country’s workforce.
It was discovered through this research that around two in five (44%) Britons would not know what to do in the event of a fire breaking out at their workplace. Moreover, nearly half (47%) of respondents would be unable to locate their fire safety assembly point. In addition, only around a quarter (24%) of those polled knew which type of fire extinguisher they could use to put out fires on different types of materials.
Such stark findings contrast with the requirement the FSO sets out for employers to give adequate fire safety training to their workers. This training is supposed to address such topics as the recognition of fire hazards, how firefighting equipment can be safely used, and evacuation procedures.
The good news is that as a facilities manager at your organisation, you can greatly help bridge such common training gaps by implementing a structured training schedule and digital record tracking. This can be another major benefit of using Vision Pro Software.
How can compliance software like Vision Pro Software improve fire safety management?
We’ve referenced our own fire safety compliance platform a number of times in this guide. So, let’s take a look at how our leading software can contribute to significantly enhanced fire safety management at your premises:
- Firstly, Vision Pro Software is cloud-based and secure, which means compliance records can be constantly accessible and always up to date.
- The software allows for automated fire risk assessments, thereby eliminating much of the scope for human error, and helping to ensure compliance deadlines are met.
- It provides for centralised fire safety tracking, with fire safety integrated alongside other compliance responsibilities.
- Vision Pro Software also enables audit-ready reporting, with instant access provided to documentation for inspections.
- The software is cost-effective and scalable, which helps make it an excellent solution for decision-makers across large organisations such as the NHS, universities, academies, and multi-site facilities.
A key component of fire safety management is the implementation and ongoing maintenance of a Fire Strategy. Under UK fire regulations such as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, a Fire Strategy outlines how a building complies with fire safety laws and ensures the protection of occupants. It serves as a structured process and a central repository for all essential fire safety information, covering areas such as evacuation plans, fire detection systems, and emergency services access.
A Fire Strategy should outline a building’s layout, occupancy, and construction materials, alongside clear fire safety objectives for protecting life, property, and business continuity. It must also provide information about means of escape, fire detection and alarm systems, suppression measures, passive and active fire protection, evacuation procedures, and fire safety management, including staff training and maintenance schedules. Additionally, it should ensure compliance through regular fire risk assessments and provide emergency services with clear access points. Given the complexity of managing this data manually, Vision Pro Software offers a streamlined, digital solution to ensure ongoing compliance.
By hosting both live and historical fire safety information within a secure, cloud-based system, Vision Pro Software ensures that all elements of a Fire Strategy are easily accessible and up to date. The platform’s unique dashboard reporting consolidates crucial compliance data, providing a real-time overview of fire safety measures across an entire estate. Whether it’s tracking the status of risk assessments, monitoring maintenance schedules, or preparing for inspections, facilities managers can gain full visibility and control at a glance.
This digital approach not only simplifies compliance management but also enhances accountability, streamlines audits, and ensures that organisations remain aligned with the latest fire safety regulations.
What are the next steps to strengthen fire safety compliance?
So, now that you are better-informed on the fire safety challenges that can frequently arise at workplaces like yours, you will be in a stronger position to take action to enhance compliance.
This is likely to mean arranging for the fire safety audit that will enable you to identify current gaps. From there, you will be able to engage key stakeholders within your organisation about ongoing fire safety management. You may also begin to implement a transition from any manual processes you may still be using, to an automated compliance system like Vision Pro Software.
To find out more about leveraging Vision Pro Software as part of a more proactive and efficient approach to fire safety at your organisation, please don’t hesitate to contact our team today.
