Although not a common occurrence today, fire remains one of the most serious workplace safety hazards. Fire can occur at any place, at any time, irrespective of the industry, bringing business operations to a stop. To avoid such a disaster, proper fire safety practices should be observed.
Fire safety audits involve examining your company premises to establish how the buildings are managed with regards to fire safety. Businesses should, therefore, conduct fire safety audits from time to time. In any case, the process should be done at least annually to help reduce the risk of fire and its physical and financial impact.
Regularity of fire safety audits
Fire safety audits are intended to be dynamic and should take into account change. It is advisable to conduct audits in case of significant changes in the workplace. As such, you should the process should be carried out in the event of the following.
- Changes to the workplace layout or structure of the building.
- An increase in the number of people in the building
- A fire incident or accident
- Hazardous substance storage is introduced or changed
- Changes to equipment and machinery
- An employee with a disability is hired
Fire safety risk assessments should be conducted in all areas of your business premises and all potential hazards should be noted and documented. Appropriate measures should then be taken to reduce the risk of fire and injuries.
Fire can have disastrous consequences to businesses and it may take years for you to recover from such an incident. This makes fire safety audits to be of paramount importance. To ensure the correct fire safety and security measures are taken, it’s advisable to contact a security or fire safety specialist.
Our new online safety software Diligence has over 42 ready-to-go checklists to help make your fire audits a straightforward and paperless process.
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Disclaimer – these articles are provided to supply general safety information to people responsible for OHS in their organisation. They are general in nature and do not substitute for legal and/or professional advice. We always suggest that organisations obtain information specific to their needs. Additional information can be found at https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/