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School Building Compliance Without Compromise Article: Education Today
We're so excited to see our very own David Loxam's article 'School Building Compliance Without Compromise', published in this month's edition of the Education Today Magazine.
Congratulations David.
You can see the online version here and we've also added his article in full, below, as it's a little easier to access and read.
Enjoy ..... and please do leave your comments at the end.
School Building Compliance Without Compromise
DAVID LOXAM, Head of School Property Management at Casserly Property Management, takes a look at what schools need to bear in mind when it comes to building compliance.
Any type of regulation can be a headache, and statutory compliance is no different.
As a school, you need to ensure that your buildings systems and installations are safe and compliant with a plethora of regulations. The basis of which is the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HWSA) which sets out the standards for managing health and safety regulation in the workplace. This works in tandem with other applicable regulations such as:
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The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO)
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Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)
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The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
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Managements of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR)
Ensuring statutory compliance can be a complex task with various disciplines to cover. These include to name but a few:
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Fire Alarm Testing/Servicing
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Emergency Light Testing
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Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
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Boiler Servicing / Gas Safety
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Lightning Protection System Test/Inspection
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Water Hygiene Management (Legionella)
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Asbestos Management
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Fire Extinguishers Servicing
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PE Equipment Inspections
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Roller Shutter Servicing
From experience, this responsibility is often delegated to the School Business Manager with assistance from the Site Manager and Caretakers. However, it can become a major struggle as
despite it being a regulatory requirement, it can quite easily get pushed down the pecking order as the day-to-day responsibilities become more prominent.
The Problem
First-hand experience has taught us that the “burden” of managing statutory compliance is real problem. Quite frequently, the following examples have arisen from schools looking for advice and/or assistance:
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Schools concerned that they weren’t covering all the requirement
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Administrative burden involving difficulty obtaining certificates, record keeping and diarising when each inspection was next due
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Little evidence to demonstrate compliance
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Testing/Inspection works weren’t getting completed on time
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Unreliable service from suppliers
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Increasing costs
Equally, there have been situations where:
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The Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) was last undertaken 20 years ago
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No asbestos management survey on site
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Fire extinguishers were last serviced in 2006
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Minimal legionella management in place
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Gas safety certificate 2 years out of date
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Roller shutters had never been serviced
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Site Manager and/or the School Business Manager had left on long term sick leave and/or retired. There was no cover in place and no one at school understood the requirements leaving a huge gap
The above examples can be the cause of a whole range of issues, such as:
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Lack of understanding from the responsible person at the school.
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Lack of training.
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Poor management.
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Poor service from suppliers.
Ultimately there is no excuse when it comes to legislation. The HWSA places a general duty of employers to “ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees”.
Regulation 5 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 also states:
“5.—(1) The workplace and the equipment, devices and systems to which this regulation applies shall be maintained (including cleaned as appropriate) in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
(2) Where appropriate, the equipment, devices and systems to which this regulation applies shall be subject to a suitable system of maintenance”.
In addition to these regulations, there are also Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs), Health and Safety Executive guidance (HSE) and British Standards to consider. Whereas these are not regulations in themselves, failure to observe an ACOP/British Standard can be used in evidence should an incident occur. Furthermore, and if there was an unfortunate incident, one of the first things an inspector would ask for is the inspection/service records.
The Solution
Whereas the task at hand shouldn’t be underestimated and there are complexities, managing school building compliance is a relatively straightforward task considering the following components:
Time Management
Unless building compliance manager is your job title, statutory compliance forms a little piece of a varied and diverse job for a school business manager. So much so, it can get forgotten about as alluded to earlier. Consequently, it is extremely important not to let other day to day tasks overshadow the importance of building compliance.
Record-Keeping
Have a system in place. Whether that’s your own internal filing system or an online premises management software. The system should record when services were last completed and next due with the report being readily available. Health & safety audits are a regular occurrence so it’s imperative that all information is at hand. These systems are crucial for an efficient and effective solution when managing compliance in a school building.
Remedial Works
The actual service/testing visit is the first step towards compliance. Following the service work, it’s quite common for remedial works to be highlighted. It’s extremely important to assess these remedial works to maintain compliance. Some remedial works are of a proactive nature and to prolong the condition of a certain piece of equipment or asset. These are good practice and for when the budget allows. However, some remedials can be classed as more pressing i.e. presents a health and safety issue. If so, the contractor should communicate this to the school during the visit and are required to be undertaken to remain compliant.
A key example being the ‘Electrical Installation Condition Report’. Following the testing, the electrical installation will be either rated ‘satisfactory’ or ‘unsatisfactory’. If rated as unsatisfactory, it will be seen as non-compliant and repairs required to bring the installation up to satisfactory standard.
Again, reports should be retained to demonstrate that issues have been remedied.
Contractors
Schools must ensure that any appointed contractor is competent and qualified to complete the required works. For example, Gas Safety Register or NICEIC for work in connection with gas and electrical installations respectively. The contractor should also have relevant Insurance and be able to provide risk assessments and method statements prior to their visit. It would be highly advised for a School to prepare their own ‘Pre-Qualification Questionnaire’ (PQQ) for a contractor to complete prior to commencing any works at the school. The PQQ would request evidence confirming their insurance status, level of competency, qualifications etc…
On-Site Checks
Usually delegated to the site manager and/or caretaker. There are a whole host of daily, weekly, monthly and termly checks to be completed. This can range from daily playground checks, weekly fire alarm checks to monthly fire extinguisher checks. The key being that each check is recorded.
Understanding
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) employers need to appoint one or more competent persons to assist in undertaking the tasks necessary for compliance. A person is deemed to be competent if they have an adequate combination of training and experience or knowledge. Whereas health and safety in a school is wide ranging and diverse.
To assist with statutory compliance, please download our Free Compliance Checklist here.
Well Done David
Once again, I'd just like to congratulate David on getting his article published. What a great achievement - and wonderful recognition from leaders within the industry.
I'd also like to thank David for everything he - as Head of School Property Management - and his team do for all our school clients here at Casserly Property Management. It's very much appreciated by all of them ..... and by me.
Best wishes,
Paul
Paul Casserly
Casserly Property Management
P.S. If you've found this article interesting, informative or useful in any way, please share it using the following links. And I'd love to hear your thoughts, as well. Just leave your comments below. Thank you.
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