Risk Assessment

If you are the landlord of a block of residential flats, you are usually responsible for fire safety compliance in communal areas. As these are likely to also be the exit routes for the residents, they are vital to any evacuation plan. There are plenty of nuances when it comes to the law in this area. To ensure that you are compliant, you need to carry out a formal fire risk assessment. Residential flats are one of the types of property that we have experience working with at Bison Assist. We can help you create an action plan to bring your building up to standard and create a timetable for future checks and maintenance.

When you work with Bison Assist, we help you cover all the bases when it comes to fire safety. When we perform your warehouse fire risk assessment, you will get a report that guides you through all the measures you need to put in place to be legally compliant, as well as protect your employees, visitors and your property.

South West Water, KFC, Iceland, Wilko, Howden Joinery, the list goes on. In just a single year, all of these big name companies fell foul of UK health and safety law. The fines levied against them were at least £1 million each, not to mention the human cost in terms of both injuries and fatalities.

You know the ins and outs of every aspect of your organisation, how it works, the staff you’ve hired, its weaknesses and strengths. But understanding the hazards present in the workplace is a different matter. All it takes is overlooking one seemingly insignificant hazard and you’ll be in breach of health and safety legislation. A health and safety risk assessment is really the only way to make sure you’ve identified and managed each of the hazards employees in your organisation face day-to-day.

In 1974 working in the UK became a whole lot safer as then Secretary of State Michael Foot introduced the Health and Safety Act 1974. Although today the Health and Safety Act is an integral part of any reputable business, this Bill only got passed on its third attempt through Parliament. The difference it has made since then is substantial to say the least.

Legionella hasn’t made big headlines since the 1970’s when it was first identified after infecting 234 people at a conference and killing 34 of them. The reason it isn’t in the news so much today, is because the UK’s Health and Safety Executive realise just how deadly Legionnaires’ disease can be and have enforced a barrage of legislation to make sure organisations take action to prevent outbreaks of this lung infection. The first step to ensuring your organisation stays compliant – getting a Legionella risk assessment.

Every year there are around 500 cases in the UK. Even modern medicine can’t save them all. Those responsible face millions of pounds in fines. We are of course talking about Legionnaires disease, a potentially fatal lung infection, which can be avoided if an effective Legionella risk assessment is carried out and taken action on.

60°C, that is how hot water needs to get to kill off Legionella, the culprit behind the potentially fatal lung infection Legionnaires’ disease. Any cooler than 60°C and Legionella not only survives, but thrives, only going dormant once the temperature cools below 20°C. Knowing this, are you certain that the water in the taps, toilets, air conditioning and water systems on your business premises is safe? The fact is unless you invest in Legionella water testing, you won’t know.

Even the relatively safe environment of an office can hide potential risks to employees. Trips and electrical equipment can all contribute to the dangers which is why a risk assessment is key to meeting the standards set out by the Health and Safety Executive.