FEATURE FOCUS: HEALTH & SAFETY
and experience, while contractors must provide appropriate supervision, instruction, information and a written construction phase plan. For schools which form part of an academy trust, are part of a PFI project or are managed via a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the responsible person must ensure that key stakeholders are identified and on projects where more than one contractor is involved, a principal designer (PD) and a principal contractor (PC) must also be appointed. Each of these roles have specific duties under the regulations.
In my experience, the principal designer should be brought in as soon as your project has moved from the feasibility phase as this is where most value can be achieved.
Legionella
properties are purpose built while others are re- purposed, converted properties.
With such variety of materials used and such a range of construction eras and trends behind us, the inherent potential for an array of health and safety-related defects is inescapable. It is extremely difficult therefore, for a single person within an in-house teaching or support staff to have the specialist knowledge to be truly “competent” in such a complex and diverse property landscape.
Yet, within just two decades, the legislation of asbestos, construction CDM, fire and legionella (to name a few) all falls upon educational and estates staff to constantly manage, record and review.
The cycle of responsibility and building management never stops and we hear constantly from schools’ managers that keeping pace with legislation while managing run-down buildings on very little budget is one of the biggest concerns within the sector.
But there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the pressure while maintaining the safety standards that are not only required but which all schools want to achieve.
Asbestos management
Asbestos management can be a daunting task for a school’s “responsible person”. Although banned over 20 years ago, asbestos is still responsible for more than 5,000 deaths per year in the UK, meaning it still has to be taken seriously and managed carefully.
Managing the risks of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) across single or multi-site estates requires the school’s responsible person to protect those on site from the risks asbestos can pose. Having a record or register of known ACMs, along with regular monitoring of their condition, is a vital part of asbestos management, alongside having an asbestos management and action plan in place, which is regularly reviewed The broad range of building types and ages encountered within the education sector means a ‘one shoe fits all’ approach cannot, in most cases, be adopted. With ever dwindling budgets, duty holders face a challenging task of mitigating the risk posed by ACMs – sometimes without the necessary financial means.}
April 2024
As with all-things compliance, ensuring that competent teams are in place to manage asbestos risk is absolutely essential and where knowledge gaps are evident, consulting with asbestos professionals can be a crucial part of this process.
Through proper management, and robust procedures, duty holders and / or the responsible person plays a key role in helping to protect our current and future generations.
Fire legislation
The Grenfell tragedy has created significant changes across design, construction and management, with educational facilities being central to this shift.
Fire management is following asbestos – particularly ensuring fire “competency” in school staff, consultants and contractors. Regulatory bodies such as NSI (National Security Inspectorate), BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Excellence),IFSE (Institute of Fire and Safety Engineering) and the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) are setting new, professional standards and guidelines for the industry. Meanwhile, the insurance market for fire-related consultancy has narrowed and in the last three years, Professional Indemnity costs have increased significantly, restricting the number of companies willing to offer fire consultancy. A perfect storm of increased regulation, increased costs and decreased protection.
It is therefore essential that those responsible for fire compliance within schools review the accreditation of the individuals – or the companies – who are assigned fire responsibility to ensure they are robust and equipped for this legislation driven landscape.
Projects and maintenance and the Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations
Most school construction projects and some maintenance tasks fall under the classification of ‘construction’, meaning that CDM regulations apply.
The Construction (Design and Management) regulations 2015 apply to any construction project in Great Britain, deeming all must have workers with the right skills, knowledge, training
Legionella is a collective term used to describe a range of bacteria that can develop in water systems when the “right” conditions are present such as if water is stored, standing, recirculated in a system or if the water temperature is optimum for bacteria to develop and multiply. It is usually referred to in the industry as L8 Duties. L8 refers to the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) titled “Legionnaires’ disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems.” This document provides guidance for duty holders, including employers and those responsible for premises, to help them comply with legal duties related to legionella risk management in water systems and as a minimum these duties include: • management responsibilities, including the name of the competent person and a description of your system
• competence and training of key personnel • any identified potential risk sources • any means of preventing the risk or controls in place to control risks
• monitoring, inspection and maintenance procedures
• records of the monitoring results and inspection and checks carried out This is the responsibility of the school and while someone internally may be competent to carry out the assessment independently, it is advisable to seek additional help, clarity and advice from either a qualified individual within your own organisation or from a specialist external consultancy.
This snapshot of three compliance topics demonstrates that the knowledge base needed by the “responsible person” for the educational property estate is substantial and varied. Reliance on a good quality and robust supply chain is obviously key but so is the ability to challenge and hold that supply chain to account. In all areas of property compliance, it is crucial that those commissioning the compliance work understand it thoroughly and are well informed to be able to prioritise their next steps. Where “in-house” expertise isn’t available then schools are reliant on their advisors having the right level of accreditation, experience, references and insurances.
Maintaining compliance is a minefield – whatever standard you are at. Whoever is responsible for managing your school’s health and safety must have the experience, the insights and the expertise to navigate a landscape which is rife with historic defects in construction and quality, while managing buildings which are operating beyond their intended design life.
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