SEPTEMBER 2021 21
FMJ.CO.UK
THE WORKPLACE COMPLIANCE
CONSULTANT’S VIEW
GREG DAVIES, DIRECTOR OF MARKET
DEVELOPMENT, ASSURITY CONSULTING
Whether before,
during or a¥ er
the SARSCoV2
pandemic, what
good compliance
management looks
like hasn’t changed.
What has changed
and is likely to
endure long a¥ er
COVID19,
are
the expectations
stakeholders
(from building
owners to employees), will have of duty holders on their
workplaces and workplace environments.
Certain aspects of statutory compliance, e.g. Legionella
and asbestos management, have been long established.
Whereas newer topics such as wellbeing, and recent
reforms to building and fire safety have been climbing
the agenda prior to 2020. 2020/2021 has also seen, for
example, air quality/ventilation, workplace strategy (and
wider physical and mental health considerations), and
net zero also increase in their importance.
The visibility this situation aƒ ords workplace,
facilities, estates, and health and safety managers oƒ ers
significant opportunities, but only for those prepared
and ready to take them. This means delivering practical
solutions and providing the organisation with the
information it wants, to support its ongoing activities.
It also means building on your existing work and being
as agile as your employees may be in your future
management and thinking, for example:
Keep your policies and procedures under review –
As we redefine our relationship with our places of work,
wherever they may be, changes in use and utilisation
will need to be reflected in the arrangements for its
management. This spans compliance as much as it does
HR and IT.
Don’t take risks with your risk assessments – Risk
assessments historically have been seen as compliance
activities as opposed to fundamental to delivering
successful compliance management. Perhaps this is the
reason why they feature so highly in enforcement notices
and prosecutions for being unsuitable/insuƒ icient.
The risk assessment process is the cornerstone for
health and safety compliance, so diligent dutyholders
must view them as an investment, not a cost, and act
accordingly. They are proactive business management
tools not tick box exercises, which sit gathering dust on
real or virtual shelves!
Evidence your activities – COVID19
has seen a
significant change in the public’s sentiment towards
public health and this is likely to translate into greater
demands from employees, for information relating
to their workplace health and safety. Make sure the
information you have is both reliable and verifiable,
being backed by relevant levels of certification or
accreditation, so you can proactively demonstrate to
both staƒ and senior management the quality of the
compliance you have in place. Having your process
independently audited can also provide all stakeholders
with additional and welcome reassurance.
Review your training– A more fluid workforce requires
greater attention to the levels of competent support you
have in areas such as first aid, fire evacuation and health
and safety. Additional staƒ to cover these needs may
need to be recruited and trained to cover gaps created
through hybrid working for example. Similarly, refresher
training for others to reflect any further changes in
process and/or procedure must also be considered.
Communicate – Good, eƒ ective communication is
central to any strategy and workplace compliance is no
diƒ erent. However, it may have been a largely invisible
part of an organisation in the past. Use its newfound
visibility to promote what’s being done, and the
quality and safety of the working environment you are
producing for them.
Information we provided to our customers as they
looked to remobilise their buildings a¥ er the initial
government restrictions were introduced, included
49 compliance topic areas, with over 150 compliance
checks. Achieving eƒ ective workplace compliance is
no small accomplishment
but then safe and healthy
working environments don’t happen by accident.
THE CATERING AND FACILITIES
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT’S VIEW
KARL CUNDILL, PARTNER AT LITMUSFM
The Health & Safety
regulators didn’t give
any leeway during
the pandemic in
terms of compliance.
If a building was
occupied by four
people or 400, it
made no diƒ erence.
Failure to meet
compliance is seen
as a Statutory
requirement and
potentially a criminal
oƒ ence and so for many facilities managers, staying on
top of the usual compliance regulations, in addition to
dealing with the extraordinary additional pressures that
the pandemic brought, was overwhelming and became
impossible to manage.
Now we’re emerging out of the pandemic and oƒ ices,
schools, universities and leisure destinations are
reopening, staying on top of asset management can still
easily be overlooked. More pressing urgencies arise,
FM CLINIC
Greg Davies
Karl Cundill
ADVICE & OPINION
link
/www.fsifm.com
