Businesses can have their fire-risk practices tested against the latest best practice in fire risk thanks to a new healthcheck from SGS.
The leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company will test against ‘PAS 7 Fire risk management systems: Specification’.
Developed by the British Standards Institute in conjunction with fire engineering consultancy BB7, PAS 7 helps responsible persons under the Fire Safety Order 2005 comply with fire-safety legislation. SGS offers audits, certification and training for the new system – which was only published in 2013 – but will now offer companies a healthcheck.
The new healthcheck will examine training, legislation, performance, maintenance, testing, operations and leadership in fire-risk management. The SGS Academy is also running a series of PAS 7 introduction and awareness courses.
Management failings are often at the root of fire-related fatalities, according to recent comments from the London Fire Brigade, which urged businesses to review fire-risk management practices.
“Fire management systems are new to the fire sector and PAS 7 has been designed to demonstrate that an organisation takes all fire risks seriously and can deal with them,” says SGS PAS 7 Product manager Paul Stock.
“One of the major issues in fire management is not the way the buildings react in the event of a fire, but rather the way the people involved in the incident handle the procedures. PAS 7 has been designed in conjunction with industry experts, and SGS will provide the audits necessary to gain the certification.
“Over the coming months PAS 7 will change to a British Standard number but will retain its importance and, more importantly, its relevance to fire safety management.
“Fire and its safety concerns have never been more relevant. Take just one year – 2011 to 2012 – when fire services in the UK attended more than 585,000 fires or false alarms and 380 people died in fire-related incidents.
“It is vital that the human element in fire prevention is strengthened and PAS 7 is the standard designed to achieve reductions in those figures. SGS is now offering a fire risk management healthcheck to help companies prepare for fire risk and its management.”
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