What is a Fire Safety Risk Assessment?

A Fire Safety Risk Assessment is a systematic and detailed examination of premises and its use to determine the likelihood of a fire starting and causing harm to those in and around it. This assessment is legally required to be carried out for all non-domestic premises to ensure the safety of occupants.

The Fire Risk Assessment process involves identifying the potential sources of ignition that could start a fire (such as electrical equipment or flammable substances), the materials that might fuel a fire (such as paper, wood, or flammable liquids), and the people who may be at risk. Once these elements have been identified, the risk is evaluated, considering existing fire safety measures and their effectiveness. This risk is evaluated in terms of the likelihood of a fire occurring and the potential severity of the consequences if a fire were to happen.

Following the evaluation, a plan is developed to eliminate or reduce the fire risk to an acceptable level. This plan could involve implementing additional fire safety measures, improving existing measures, or changing how certain work activities are carried out. Regular review and updates to the fire risk assessment are also part of the process to ensure that any changes in circumstances are considered. A Fire Risk Assessment aims to reduce the risk of a fire starting, limit the spread of fire if it does occur, and ensure that all occupants can safely escape from the premises.

Who is legally responsible for ensuring a commercial building has a fire safety risk assessment?

The responsibility for completing a Fire Risk Assessment falls on the Responsible person. This individual could be the owner, landlord, building manager, facilities manager, or the occupier/tenant of a premises. In certain cases, the responsibility may also lie with the management company responsible for overseeing the building's safety.

The Responsible person is tasked with ensuring that regular fire risk assessments are conducted, identifying potential fire hazards, and implementing necessary safety measures to protect the people at risk and the property. They must ensure that emergency plans are in place and that all emergency escape routes identifyable, clear and accessible at all times.

By fulfilling these duties, the Responsible person plays a crucial role in maintaining safety in business environments and ensuring compliance with safety regulations.

What is a Generic Risk Assessment?   

Generic risk assessments cover common hazards for a task or activity. The idea behind generic risk assessment is to cut down on duplication of effort and paperwork. This type of risk assessment will consider the hazards for an activity in a single assessment. And be used where that activity may be carried out across different areas of the workplace or different sites.

A generic risk assessment will often be used for similar activities or equipment across different sites, departments or companies. It can act as a risk assessment template, covering the types of hazards and risks usually present for the activity.

It's important to remember that while the risks from an activity may be common across different sites, changes in the environment can affect risk levels, and even introduce new hazards. It's probably best to use generic risk assessments as a starting point for a site-specific risk assessment.

What is a Task Based Risk Assessment?   

A task based risk assessment is a formal process of identifying the hazards associated with each individual task to be performed, assessing the risk, and providing the safety controls to manage the risk. This type of risk assessment is very often used on one off type activities in a workplace, where the activity to be performed is not included within a companies normal day to day risk management portfolio.

What is a Site Specific Risk Assessment?   

Site-specific risk assessments are risk assessments that have been adapted to a specific site and contain the relevant information for that particular project. Site-specific risk assessments take into account the actual site conditions and type of project and address only the relevant hazards.

What is a Health and Safety policy and who needs to have one? 

A health and safety policy is a document that formalises an companies commitment to workplace safety and outlines the arrangements in place to manage risks.

Under UK law, organisations with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy that is shared with all staff. . A well-structured policy ensures compliance with health and safety laws, improves workplace culture, and reduces the likelihood of accidents.

We can help you compile a full H&S Policy with supporting processes and arrangements tailored to your business and your business needs.

What is COSHH?

The law requires you to adequately control exposure to materials in the workplace that cause ill health. This is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH).

What is a COSHH Assessment?

COSHH Risk Assessment is a systematic process designed to identify hazards, assess the associated risks, and determine suitable control measures to mitigate these risks. It forms a crucial part of any health and safety strategy within an organization, helping to protect employees and others who may be exposed to hazardous substances.

The benefits of conducting COSHH Risk Assessments are manifold. It helps prevent work-related illness and injury, reduces absences and sick leave, increases staff morale, and enhances productivity. Moreover, it aids in ensuring that the organization complies with the law and avoids hefty fines and potential reputational damage.

Who is legally responsible for ensuring COSHH Assessments are carried out?

Under the UK’s Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a legal duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their employees and others who may be affected by their work activities. This duty extends to the management of hazardous substances in the workplace. Employers are responsible for the following:

• Identifying hazardous substances present in their workplace.
• Assessing the risks associated with these substances.
• Implementing control measures to prevent or minimize exposure.
• Providing information, instruction, and training to employees.
• Monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of control measures.
• Keeping records of risk assessments and control measures.

What are the consequencies of not carrying out COSHH Assessments?

Non-compliance with COSHH regulations can have serious consequences. Penalties for failing to meet the legal requirements can include fines, imprisonment, or both. The severity of the penalties depends on the nature and extent of the breach, as well as any harm caused or potential harm that could have resulted from the non-compliance.

Employers must understand and adhere to COSHH regulations to fulfil their legal obligations and ensure the health and safety of their employees. Compliance not only avoids legal repercussions but also creates a safer work environment and promotes the well-being of workers.

What is a Health & Safety Audit?

A Health & Safety Audit is basically an inspection of an organisation's health and safety practices and procedures. Legislation requires all employers to have a health and safety policy in place. The purpose of a health and safety audit is to ensure that an organisation's health and safety policy is fit for its purpose, assess its working practices against the relevant legislation and identify any areas where it could make improvements.

What does a Health & Safety Audit involve?

On a day of your choosing, one of our qualified assessors will come to your place of work. The Assessor will methodically review any health and safety documents you currently have in place I.e. policies, risk assessments and ultimately rate your overall legislative compliance using the HSE's expectation of a safety mangement system and the aspects of health and safety that a Company of your size and  business model should have in place.

The result of the audit will be a formal report detailing:

A list of the current legislation that is associated with your company and business activities and that you need to be aware of and comply with.

Your companys legal requirements and reponsibilities within the legislation that should be in place.

Where you have gaps or defficiencies in your heath and safety arrangements - the report will also explain what has to be done to fill the gaps or how to improve your present arrangements so they meet the standard required to be compliant.

The recommendations from the report will be prioritised by the Assessor to help you decide what you want to do next and where we can help you.

You can also request a H&S Compliance Projection where we can advise on the Health & Safety compliance implications if you wanted to take on more staff, move to a bigger premises, diversify into other areas of business etc.................Just call us on 07522340816 and we'll help you in any which way we can..........

A Review Service For Existing Assessments:

If you already have risk assessments and you need them amended to include changes in you business circumstance or to your commercial building we are happy to review, update and re-endorse them.

If a previous owner has passed risk assessments onto you as part of a sale or change of tenancy, we can have the assessments fully reviewed and re-endorsed with you identified on the assessment as the new “responsible person”.