Flat Living WEBSITEGUIDE Health & safety LEASE MANAGE YOURBLOCK SERVICE
CHARGES& ACCOUNTS
MAINTENANCE HEALTH &SAFETY CASELAWDISPUTES ENERGY EFFICIENCY INSURANCE bluerisk T: 0800 083 3472
Ensure you are conforming with current legislation! Health & Safety, Fire Risk Assessments Asbestos Surveys, Legionella Testing/Surveys
M A N A G E M E N T U K L T D E:
info@blueriskmanagemnetuk.com
asarequirement of theManagementof Health&Safety atWork Regulations 1999, all blocks of flatsmust have ariskassessment carried out on the health and safety of any common areas. Theseinclude gardens, grounds, plant rooms,meter cupboards and
liftmotorrooms.The risk assessment should be reviewed annually to reassess thesituation and ensure no changes are required. To help flatownersunderstandthe regulationsthat
Commercial Risk Management W:
www.blueriskmanagementuk.com
Residential and
applytoblocksofflatsandunderstandwhatis required of them, the Flat Livingwebsite carries acomprehensivesection lookingatall aspects of health&safety. This is splitintoanumberof
easy-to-navigate sections including: nHealth&Safety law nFire Regulations nAsbestos nLegionnnaires disease nAir conditioning Regulations
nEmployingcontractors nLift inspections nNosmoking Regulations nGas nDisability nHealth&Safety signs nHealth&Safety news.
Toreadmoreonany of thesetopicsgoto:http://
www.flat-living.co.uk/advice/22-health- safety-
RiskyBusiness: is yourRMCrisk-aware? BlueRiskhighlights theimportanceofhealthandsafetyandexplainswhy riskmanagement of yourbuildingisanessentialpart of theroleofthe propertymanager, director orRMC
Whenmanaging aresidential block, thereisatendencytofall into the‘it won’thappentous’ syndrome.However,assessing anddealing with potentialrisks is avital part of keeping residents andtheir visitors comfortable andsafeintheir homes. As this
articlewillmakeclear,itisvital tomanage risk effectively andto be awareofthe propertymanager orRMC’slegal/regulatory obligations. A health and safety risk
assessment is averyimportant tool forprotectingemployees,
Fire safety: don’t take the risk
the regulatory reform (FireSafety) Order2005cameinto effectinOctober 2006 andreplacedmorethan70pieces of fire safety law. Thelegislation appliestoall residentialproperties whichhavecommunalparts includingblocksofapartments, houses converted into self contained flats andHouses inMultiple Occupation. The Order requires a fire risk assessment to be carried out on all communal areas of a building. It also requires there to be afire policy in placefor each individual blockofapartments. The fire authority has the power to issue three types of notices to premisesnot complying.However, if thecaseisreferredtothe CrownCourt,the penaltycould be both anunlimitedfine and imprisonment for up to two years.
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residents, visitors or any membersofthe public that visit your
property.The aim of such an assessment is to enable you to focusonany risksthathavethe potential to cause harm. Thereareanumberofcases
whereRMCdirectorsand managers/agentshavebeen personally prosecuted for failing to deal with serious health and safety riskswhichhave resulted in accident or injury to other persons.
Make a staRt Themost important thing is to have tackled the problem andhaveriskassessments put in place by a competent person or company. There is alot of free advice available on DIYriskassessments to help you. To ensure premises’ risks aremanaged effectively, theresponsible person or risk assessormust first identify the hazardsthatcould result in significant injury toemployees,
residents, visitors ormembers of thepublicand then generate a clear comprehensive report of their findings.
WhatdoIdonext? All recommendationsmade by thepersoncarryingout the assessmentmust be acted on and a good risk assessor will clearly identify the importance of each risk itemon any assessment document and will clearly state whether or not there is an urgent risk that requires immediate attention. Theriskassessor should then set clearguidelines and timescales for any work to be carried out. Notactingonitems identifiedonariskassessment couldbeseentobeworse than not doing one at all!
hoWMuCh
WIll It Cost? Although we appreciate there is a cost benefit to DIY
Issue 15 Flat Living
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