Risk Assessments – Step Five – Review and Update Your Fire Risk Assessment
Workplaces go through changes often. Everything from how many employees work in a given office through to how large a stockpile of certain key materials or resources you keep in a particular room. Especially when more dramatic changes take place, such as new buildings, or new equipment being installed, it’s important to update and redesign your safety procedures accordingly.
You need to set a regular routine of checking and re-checking to see whether enough has changed that a change in fire safety protocols is needed. While there is no legally mandated time window as to how often you need to do this, a maximum gap between assessments of six months is recommended.
- Are improvements necessary or possible?
- Were there limitations to resources available in past assessments that now no longer apply?
- Have newer employees provided different feedback? Have older employees offered new information?
- Have there been any big changes to the tasks or equipment required to be conducted/used on the premises?
- Do the employees require new training? Should training in certain equipment become part of the mandated employee introductions?
While regular risk assessments are vital to deal with incremental or subtle changes that may take place, it’s also highly important to do risk assessments after particular dramatic changes. These may be out of sequence with previously arranged risk assessment calendars, but they will still be vital.
Risk Assessments – Daily / Weekly Risk Assessments
The formal, legally required, large scale risk assessments are not the only things you need to do when assessing the safety of a given work environment. You also need to be proactively monitoring the level of risk present on a weekly, and even daily basis.
Keep a sharp eye out for fire hazards throughout the day, and take specific action to reduce risks if you find any.
Carry out a weekly inspection in equipment like fire alarms and smoke detectors, or other equipment.
