| HEALTHY BUILDINGS INTERNATIONAL : FIRE ALERT! NEW GOVERNMENT LEGISLATIONParliament has just approved the biggest shake up of fire legislation in 30 years, with the aim of simplifying legislation for thousands of businesses and placing greater emphasis on fire prevention. The new Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2006 in England and Wales, plus the Fire (Scotland) Act 2006, comes into effect next April, amalgamating over a 100 pieces of existing fire legislation. Healthy Buildings International can advise on the impact of these changes for our clients.
The key requirement is to carry out a risk assessment to remove or reduce the risk of fire. This applies to anyone who has responsibility for non-domestic premises and buildings with public access, including all employers, the self employed, landlords, managing agents and voluntary organisations. However, carrying out fire risk assessments has been a legal duty for some time now under existing fire and health and safety legislation, and the fire safety principles remain the same, so people who have been diligently carrying out fire risk assessments may only need to make minor adjustments.
At the same time, Healthy Buildings International can advise that the new risk assessment includes some additional issues such as the spread of fire and fire fighter access and safety;plus certain environmental issues. It also considers the protection of all building users,and not just employees. Each organisation must now appoint responsible persons for fire safety issues, which may be a combination of individual tenants and the landlord, depending upon the occupancy lease.
With the repeal of the Fire Act 1971, businesses will no longer need a Fire Certificate, although the fire and rescue authorities will continue to inspect premises to ensure that adequate fire precautions are in place. Whilst this is good news in terms of reducing red tape, the Fire Certificate was an excellent means of management control when it came to fire safety, and organisations will need to continue to operate a similar system in order to ensure fire detection and safe means of escape. HBI has recently developed just such a system and one that dovetails smoothly into www.RecordsForBuildings.com,the unique Healthy Buildings International web-based record keeping and safety control procedures. HEALTHY BUILDINGS INTERNATIONAL OPENS SCOTTISH OFFICEWith existing offices in Reading, Leeds, Dublin, Cork and Belfast, Healthy Buildings International is pleased to announce the opening of its 6th office in Glasgow. Scottish Sales Manager Lynne Wallace is very excited. "Not only does it increase Healthy Buildings International coverage throughout the UK and Ireland, but enables us to provide an even more focused service to clients within Scotland". Further good news is that we have had to relocate the Healthy Buildings International Dublin office to larger premises, due to increased staff and business demand. HEALTHY BUILDINGS INTERNATIONAL AT WINCHESTER COLLEGEThe University of Winchester has proved to be one of the forerunners in Health & Safety compliance in its sector. An enthusiastic property management team first comissioned Healthy Buildings International to do a massive water monitoring and legionella risk assessment on the entire site in Winchester. This we carried out, paying particular attention to showers in changing areas and student accomodation. Healthy Buildings International recommendations were duly made and carried out by site maintenance to ensure a system of control to protect staff and students. Secondly,keen to comply with current asbestos legislation, the University (then King Alfred's College) instructed Healthy Buildings International to carry out a series of asbestos surveys on all of the fifty plus (often ancient) buildings comprising the Winchester campus.
For further information visit about Healthy Buildings International client: http://www.winchester.ac.uk HEALTHY BUILDINGS INTERNATIONAL ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS.“What is the difference between Type 2 and Type 3 asbestos surveys, can Healthy Buildings International advise whether we have to evacuate the building beforehand?”
Type 2 surveys are used to identify the location of asbestos and to assess the risk of exposure. Samples are randomly taken from which strong presumptions can be made about the location of asbestos containing materials. Type 2 surveys are generally non-intrusive, and whilst areas may be isolated during sampling, the risk of exposure is minimal. Type 3 surveys on the other hand are used prior to demolition or major refurbishment. They are also known as ‘destructive’ surveys, as they often involve knocking holes in walls and doors to obtain samples. As such, the premises in question will be vacated before commencement of the survey. Answer from Healthy Buildings International.
“Dear Healthy Buildings International, we have received regular comments that our plant room is too noisy. What can we do to protect our staff?”
Not only do you need to protect your staff, but any other people who use your premises including contractors. Firstly, you need to ascertain whether the noise levels within the plantroom exceed actions levels. These are levels measured in decibels highlighted by the Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which, if exceeded, could cause hearing damage. A noise meter can provide this information. If the action levels are exceeded, then a noise risk assessment must be performed and subsequent control measures implemented.
This could include; sound proofing equipment to reduce noise output, displaying appropriate signage and providing hearing protection. Answer from Healthy Buildings International.
“Dear Healthy Buildings International, what is included in a Health and Safety Compliance Audit?”
Basically a compliance audit consists of a review of an organisation or site procedures against the main pieces of safety legislation. This includes reviewing the health and safety policy, ensuring specific risk assessments are conducted properly and are up to date, plus a review of certain maintenance procedures eg. Inspection and testing of fire detection and warning systems. The compliance audit is often conducted at the same time as a general risk assessment or it can be conducted as a stand-alone exercise across multiple sites. Answer from Healthy Buildings International.
For the answers to any other questions you may have, please contact Healthy Buildings International at any of our offices as shown below.
Healthy Buildings International Ltd
(UK Head Office)
229 Hyde End Road
Spencers Wood
Berkshire RG7 1BU
United Kingdom
Tel: (0118) 988 9999
Fax: (0118) 988 5599
email: info@hbi.co.uk
directions: download
map: multimap
| Healthy Buildings International
(UK North)
Monckton Road
Wakefield
Yorkshire WF2 7AS
United Kingdom
Tel: (01924) 888 166
Fax: (01924) 332 334
email: info@hbi.co.uk directions: download
map: multimap | Healthy Buildings International Ireland
(Belfast)
Unit 16
Laganside Studios
Ravenhill Road
Belfast BT6 8AW
Tel: (028)90 738777
Fax: (028)90 732777
email: info@hbi.ie
www: http://www.hbi.ie
| Healthy Buildings International
(Scotland)
Suite 220
Claymore House
145 Kilmarnock Road
Glasgow G41 3JA
United Kingdom
Tel: (0141) 571 2967
Fax: (0141) 6327726
email: info@hbi.co.uk | Healthy Buildings International
USA Headquarters
9401 Mathy Drive
Fairfax, Virginia 22031-5311
Tel: (703) 323 4400
Fax: (703) 323 4440
email: hbi@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com | Healthy Buildings International
USA Western Region
25 Mauchly, Suite 314
Irvine, CA 92618
Tel: (949) 450 1111
Fax: (949) 450 1120
email: hbiwest@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com
| Healthy Buildings International
USA Mid Atlantic Region
1055 Parsippany Boulevard,
Suite 102
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Tel: (973) 394 1330
Fax: (973) 394 1331
email: hbiatlantic@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com | Healthy Buildings International
USA New England Region
3 Baldwin Green Common
Suite 201
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801
Tel: (781) 932 6800
Fax: (781) 932 5995
email: dtyler@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com
| Healthy Buildings International
Australia
7/33 Ryde Road
Pymble NSW 2073
Australia
Tel: (02) 9880 2744
Fax: (02) 9880 2766
email: hbi@hbi.com.au
www: http://www.hbi.com.au | Healthy Buildings International
Dublin
Unit 10/11 Santry Hall Industrial Estate
Dublin 9
Ireland
Tel: 00353 1 8623794
Fax: 00353 1 8621680
email: info@hbi.ie
www: http://www.hbi.ie
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