LANDSCAPE AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE AND A PLAN t. The impact on employees and the public alike could be detrimental, says GRITIT.
procedures, training and equipment are in place to effectively anticipate and clear snow and ice. Of the organisations that do have a plan of this type, 26% fail to review the plan annually to ensure that it’s fit for purpose.
At other points on the calendar, a lack of effective planning and risk assessment in grounds maintenance can expose an organisation to other environmental dangers. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), falling trees or branches kill between five and six people a year. While this is a relatively rare occurrence, the HSE notes that “the low level of overall risk may not be perceived in this way by the public, particularly following an incident”, and recommends that management of trees on sites has to be demonstrably proportionate to the level of risk in that location.
Risks and liabilities in outdoor spaces can be effectively mitigated, but success is really a matter of having the right plans and processes in place. Indeed, whether it’s a robust winter maintenance plan or a schedule for inspecting car parks for potholes, organisations need to take care to develop systems that can be embedded into their health and safety policies and procedures. In the event of an accident, the existence – or non-existence of such systems for identifying, reporting and managing risks will be a key focus of any investigations. Conversely, the ability to evidence the steps taken to reasonably mitigate risks can be the key to avoiding the worst legal consequences.
Bringing in specialist help Professionalising outdoor FM is ultimately the key to ensuring that an organisation is able to meet its duty of care responsibilities, manage risk, and meet the
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expectations of its insurers. However, doing so can involve a degree of upfront investment in processes and skills that, as public sector budgets face ever-greater pressure, is often difficult to meet. As a result, engaging with specialist contractors can prove a cost effective way of delivering a high standard of maintenance.
Yet the private sector doesn’t automatically deliver silver bullet solutions: service providers can offer a broad spectrum of capabilities and indeed, professional standards. For example, in areas such as grounds maintenance, many smaller contractors and subcontractors are still offering a very traditional landscaping service that’s rich in horticultural skill but lacking the level of risk management knowledge or policy guidance that’s on hand from more forward-looking businesses.
Additionally, just like in every other walk of life, technology is starting to have a real impact in outdoor facilities management and in winter maintenance by making service provision more efficient, effective and accountable. There are immense advantages in mobile technology in particular as it allows teams on the ground to able to immediately access customer instructions and site plans to help ensure delivery against KPIs. Mobile devices also let teams record their activity in real time in order to record risks and document action taken. These leaps in technology are changing the nature of what constitutes best practice and while it is possible to implement some of these practices in house, tapping into this level of infrastructure is a compelling reason to engage with third party specialists.
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