Asbestos
It is recommended
that the landlord has a Managment Survey (previously refered to as a Type 2 survey) or a Refurbishment / demolition survey (previously referred to as a Type 3 asbestos survey) carried
out on the premises. The key findings of this assessment must be made available
to tenants and to contractors and should include the location and type of any
asbestos containing materials.
Where asbestos (or
asbestos containing material) is known to be present in a building, there
should be some form of asbestos management plan in place. This may involve
simply monitoring the condition of the asbestos at regular intervals to ensure
that it has not been damaged. At the other extreme, it may involve a planned
removal of the asbestos by a competent organisation.
Control of contractors
Control of
contractors working on site on behalf of the landlord can be a difficult area
to manage. Many landlords (and facilities managers) introduce some form of
contractor approval system to ensure that certain minimum standards are met.
These systems usually ensure that the contractors have adequate insurance, that
they have a health and safety policy and that they have appropriate risk
assessments and method statements in place.
They do not ensure that the contractors are carrying out the work in
accordance with the risk assessments and method statements. It is recommended
that at least some of the works carried out by contractors are observed and
monitored by the landlord (or their representative) to ensure that they are
working in accordance with their agreed standards. Higher risk activities should be monitored
more often and more closely. Certain
contractor tasks will require a higher level of control, such as the use of a
permit to work system.
Contractors will
need to be given appropriate information and instruction relating to hazards
associated with the premises. These may include the presence and location of
asbestos, the location of underground services (such as gas, water and
electrical services), etc.
COSHH and chemicals
Copies of safety
data sheets and of the COSHH assessments should be available on site for any
substances used or stored in the common areas, even if stored and used by
contractors. These may include water treatment chemicals, cleaning materials
and maintenance sprays and lubricants, etc.
Electricity
In most premises,
the tenants will be responsible for their own portable electrical equipment.
The fixed electrical installation may be responsibility of the landlord or the
tenant, depending on the tenancy contract. In many cases, the fixed electrical
installation (in part or in total) will be the responsibility of the landlord.
In this case, it is recommended that the landlord arranges for the fixed
electrical installation to be tested and inspected by a competent person (such
as an NICEIC approved contractor) at regular intervals (usually five yearly inspections
for commercial premises and three yearly inspections for industrial premises).
External areas and
building façade
The external areas of the premises should be inspected
regularly, including checks on the condition of the building façade and all structure
attached to the building, such as lights, aerials, CCTV cameras, flagpoles,
etc. Similarly, checks should be carried out for all external areas, including
car parking areas, roads and footpaths, fencing, lighting, etc. Any defects
should be addressed and made safe.
Fire Safety
Fire safety is
likely to be a shared responsibility, with the landlord being responsible for
the common areas and the tenants being responsible for their demised area. It
is recommended that the landlord carries out a fire risk assessment for the
common parts of the premises and make suitable arrangements for the provision,
maintenance, servicing and testing of:
·
A fire
alarm, including automatic fire detection
·
Emergency
lighting (in the common parts)
·
Fire
fighting equipment (in the common parts)
·
Doors,
fire doors and automatic door release systems
·
Emergency
evacuation routes
·
(Wet or
Dry) risers and sprinkler systems
·
Housekeeping
in common areas
Tenant
responsibilities
The landlord should
make it clear to the tenant what their responsibilities are. While the landlord
may, reasonably, be responsible for the provision, servicing and maintenance of
collective fire safety measures (such as building wide fire alarm and
fire/smoke detection) the tenant is responsible for the safe evacuation of
their own workers and visitors from the premises. The tenant may be responsible
for the provision of fire fighting equipment in their demised area, etc. The
responsibilities need to be considered, identified and ascribed.
Tenants’ fire
risk assessments
Tenants are
generally responsible for their own fire safety arrangements, although some
aspects (such as a building-wide fire alarm) may be shared facilities managed
by the Landlord. It is recommended that the landlord request copies of the tenants’
fire safety risk assessments and that copies of these are filed and, if
requested, made available to the fire authority during the course of an
inspection visit. A tenant should
provide the landlord (and other tenants) with information relating to special
fire risks, such as the storage of LPGs, etc.
Gas supply and services
The landlord should
ensure that the gas supply and services are safe and are maintained in a safe
and serviceable condition. All gas pipe
work should be clearly identified (with suitable labels stating “Gas” or by
colour coding the pipe work (yellow ochre). All gas equipment under the control
of the landlord should be regularly maintained and serviced (by a Gas Safe
registered contractor) and a Landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate should be
obtained for all gas equipment.
Lifts and lift motor rooms
Lift motor rooms
should be clearly identified and should be kept locked and should only be
accessed by competent persons (such as lift engineers). Hydraulic lifts should
be bunded to contain any leakages of hydraulic oil and all lift motor equipment
must be suitably guarded.
Passenger lifts
should be tested and inspected by a competent person at least once every six
months although this frequency may be reduced to once in every twelve months
for goods lifts that are not used to transport people (i.e. if their use is
restricted to goods only), as required under the Lifting Operations Lifting
Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).
Suitable
arrangements should be made for the servicing and maintenance of lifts and for
the rescue of people trapped due to lift failure.
Pressure systems
Any pressurised
systems within the premises should be tested and inspected by a competent
person at the intervals described in the written scheme of examination for the
system. As with other equipment, the
landlord will be responsible for ensuring that it is serviced and maintained in
a safe condition.
Roof areas
Access to roof
areas should be secured to prevent unauthorised access. Consideration must be
given to the protection of workers from falls from height. This will require a
risk assessment to determine the appropriate control measures for the premises.
Typical collective control measures include having suitable edge protection
(such as a balustrade wall or fenced edge protection of at least 1100 mm
height). In certain cases it may be appropriate to consider individual or personal
protective measures such as anchor points for use with harnesses and
lanyards.
Consideration
should be given to the need for roof access. It is common for various pieces of
plant and equipment to be located on flat roof sections, especially air
conditioning units, water storage tanks, lift motor rooms, etc. In such cases,
regular roof access may be required by a range of contractors. If contractors
are required to make use of individual protective measures, then the use of
such equipment must be made clear to the contractor and the landlord should
satisfy themselves that the use of such equipment is covered in the contractors
risk assessments and method statements, etc. In cases where the roof area is
accessed by tenants’ contractors (such as to service tenants’ air-con units or
to fit aerials) then the landlord should ensure that the tenant and the tenant
appointed contractor have considered to the safety issues associated with roof
access.
Other aspects of
roof access safety to be considered include fragile roof sections, glazed
sections and skylights, etc.
Staircases, landings and corridors
Staircases should
be in good condition, ideally with handrails on both sides of the staircase.
The staircases, landings and corridors should be well lit, free from
obstructions and slipping and tripping hazards. These areas should be checked
regularly to ensure that they remain in good condition.
Water supply and cooling towers, etc
The landlord will usually
be responsible for the water supply to the premises, including cold water
storage tanks, water heating arrangements and hot water storage. The landlord
is also likely to be responsible for ensuring that the risks from poor water
hygiene are avoided or controlled. This will usually require a Legionella risk
assessment in line with the requirements of the HSC Approved Code of Practice
& Guidance (L8) "Legionnaires' disease: The control of legionella
bacteria in water systems". Control measures required may include: regular
water temperature monitoring, maintenance of cooling towers, provision and
maintenance of water dosing chemicals and equipment, dip-slide sampling of
cooling tower water, etc. Such work is often contracted out to a water hygiene
specialist.
In premises that
have cooling towers or evaporative condensers, the landlord will be responsible
for ensuring that these have been notified to the local authority (as required
under the Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations
1992). Further to this, the landlord must maintain and service the cooling
tower to ensure that the risks from Legionella are controlled properly. This
will involve a detailed cooling tower (legionella) risk assessment and regular
checking and testing of the water in the tower. Such work is often contracted
out to a specialist water hygiene company.
Window and canopy cleaning
Suitable arrangements much be made for the cleaning of the
building and its windows and canopies, etc. This may well involve working at
height using ladders, scaffolds, cherry pickers, scissor lifts, window cleaning
cradles, abseiling systems, etc. Although such work is generally carried out in
external areas, consideration needs to be given to the cleaning of high level
internal structures, such as atrium glazing, etc. Any access equipment
associated with the premises must be tested and inspected by a competent person
at appropriate intervals. This includes the testing and inspection of eye-bolt
anchor points, access cradles and associated runways, etc.Director
LRB Consulting Limited
www.LRBconsulting.co.uk
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