Negotiating the complex and litigious world of property
safety management and compliance can be a difficult and at times a
frightening prospect.
Capita Symonds Health and Safety team has
a wealth of experience in the provision of property safety
management services and we provides our clients with a
comprehensive range of solutions to ensure their compliance with
relevant health and safety legislation and the Occupiers Liability
Acts.
As part of our service we frequently take on
the day-to-day responsibility for ensuring that those people
working within their properties are not put in danger as part of
their daily activities. Through a programme of statutory risk
assessments, best practice inspections, staff training and the
management of carefully selected and managed contractors we
endeavour to reduce health and safety risks to an absolute
minimum.
Our team is able to provide a complete health
and safety solution for its clients with regards property and
facilities management health and safety compliance. This
enables us to offer the ‘one stop shop’ option or a more tailored
compliance solution for all property management sectors covering
commercial, industrial, retail and residential.
Our property safety management service
offerings include the following:
- Asbestos management
(including the procurement and management of surveys and
remediation work)
- Audits and inspections
- Competent supply chain
management
- Construction safety/ CDM
co-ordinator services
- Corporate safety management
(including policies and procedures)
- Disability access
consultancy
- Due diligence assessments
(pre-purchase)
- Emergency procedures
planning
- Environmental compliance
(legionella, air quality)
- Fire safety (including fire
risk assessments and training)
- Health and safety risk
assessment (various)
- Major incident management
(including planning and training)
- SHE risk management
solutions
- Workplace health and
safety
Health and Safety Risk Assessments
Health and safety risk assessments are
required by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
(MHSWR) for all properties. Annual reviews of the risk
assessments are also required in order to monitor progress and
demonstrate that an effective H&S management regime is
established and functioning. The following highlights some of
the specific types of risk assessment we provide our clients in
relation to property safety management:
- Fire risk
assessments.
- Legionella risk
assessments.
·
- Work at height risk
assessments. As required by the Work at Height
Regulations (for high risk operations including window cleaning,
abseiling and mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs)) we support
our clients with activity specific risk assessments to enable
activities to be planned and managed safely. We have developed a
tailored programme of work at height risk management across
differing property types and risks which contributed to the health
and safety team winning the SIAC Working at Height Consultancy
Award in 2007.
- Glazing risk
assessment. As required by the Workplace (Health,
Safety and Welfare) Regulations, surveys are instructed and risk
assessments carried out to ensure that where there is ‘risk’
glazing within our clients’ properties it is constructed from an
appropriate material, is in good condition, is marked accordingly
or incorporates safety features to minimise the risk.
- Pedestrian/ vehicle
risk assessment. As required by the Workplace
(Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, we can provide our
clients with the appropriate surveys and risk assessments for sites
where there are pedestrian and vehicular interfaces e.g. service
yards, car parks. These risk assessments and surveys also take
into account the recommendations of HSG136 Workplace Transport
Safety: An Employers Guide.
- Pre-occupancy
inspection/ risk assessment. When we are involved in
the management of properties during the construction or fit out
phase there is real value in carrying out pre occupancy inspections
in line with H&S and fire compliance requirements. This
will improve compliance levels at practical completion, making the
property more inherently safe on occupation and will result in less
remedial measures being picked up during the first round of
operational statutory inspections.
- Employee activity risk
assessment. There are various pieces of legislation
which relate to the health, safety and welfare of employees.
Capita Symonds Health and Safety is able to support its clients by
undertaking these risk assessments as required, including but not
restricted to; display screen equipment (DSE), control of
substances hazardous to health (COSHH), pregnant workers, personal
protective equipment (PPE) and manual handling.
Emergency Procedures Planning
The Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations requires an Employer to manage the risk of serious
and imminent danger. In order to support our clients, we have
developed an Emergency Procedures Plan that can be tailored to an
individual site.
These plans give a combination of guidance and
advice for the full range of potential incidents (e.g. fire, flood,
gas leak, fabric damage) as well as property specific information
to assist in an event such as local A&E, utility provider
contact details, emergency numbers etc. See also Major
Incident Management.