We are often asked if evacuation equipment needs to be serviced and maintained generally because there is no specific industry standards or British Standard Code of Practice. Unfortunately, many believe simply purchasing and installing equipment demonstrates compliance.
However, in additional to various Health and Safety requirements, Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that the responsible person must ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices provided in respect of the premises under this Order are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, often abbreviated to PUWER, place duties on people and companies who own, operate or have control over work equipment. PUWER also places responsibilities on businesses and organisations whose employees use work equipment, whether owned by them or not.
So, the answer is yes, evacuation chairs do need to be serviced and maintained by a competent person at regularly intervals.
We recommend regular internal checks as with other fire safety equipment that can be done by a suitably trained member of staff internally and a minimum of an annual service carried out by a specialist company, similar to how fire extinguishers are maintained.
For further information including details of our compliance packages for complete peace of mind please do not hesitate to contact us info@globexevacuation.com
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