New fire safety and risk assessment regulations affecting all non-domestic premises in England and Wales came into force on October 1, 2006. If you are:

• In charge of business premises,
  
• A manager or self-employed person with business premises,
  
• In charge of a section of a residence where that section is exclusively used for business purposes.
  
• A charity or voluntary organisation,
  
• A service provider with a degree of control over any premises,
  

…then you need to act now to make sure that you have an appropriate and adequate risk assessment in place. If you need additional information on how you can ensure you are meeting your obligations under the new fire safety/risk assessment rules please get in touch with your local fire and rescue service.

Risk assessment is perhaps the most essential component of health and safety since it allows you to learn what can cause harm to people in your office or place of work. The simplest type of risk assessment is known as the “Five Steps” system, which is perfectly adequate for use by any workplace.

Look for the Hazards

Hazards are those things in and around the workplace that can cause harm to staff, volunteers, visitors and other members of the public. They can range from objects that can cause someone to trip or fall, things that get hot that can burn, electrical dangers and hazards from equipment such as display screens. Look around the building to find those things you consider a significant hazard.

It is easy to ignore some hazards because they are familiar. In order to avoid this, use a floor plan of the building and mark on it where each hazard is. It is also useful to ask people that use the premises if they know of anything that they consider being a significant hazard.

Decide Who Might be Harmed

Consider the people that use the building and how the hazard might affect them. Keep in mind the needs of disabled people, children and the elderly. Customers and service personnel must be thought of as members of the public, even if they use your premises every day. It is also important to consider how the hazard might cause an injury.

Evaluate the Risk

Risk is the chance that someone could be harmed. As you evaluate the risk, think about those things that are already in place to reduce it. As a guide, “low” risks do not need significant attention. “Medium” risks need some attention to bring them to a “low” level. Of course, “high” risks should be dealt with immediately.

Record Findings

Risks assessments must be done in writing if you have five or more employees, and this includes volunteers. The assessments must be dated and preferably signed, and filed in a safe place for future reference.

Review and Revise

Risk assessments should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain valid. It is a good idea to review them about every six months, as you are more likely to spot hazards and make a judgement about the risk, especially if you have never done an assessment before. The assessment might need to be reviewed if there are major changes, and this should be seen as part of the planning process of any new project or change.

The checklist above can help you with the fire risk assessment but you may need added information, particularly if you have large or intricate premises. A responsible person, with some degree of formal training or experience, should be able to do a fire risk assessment. More complex premises will probably need to be assessed by a person who has comprehensive training or experience in fire risk assessment.