If you’re responsible for managing a block of flats, one of the key aspects of your role is to manage and maintain the facilities within the block, for example: lifts, emergency lighting, and automated gates.
As such, you are responsible for ensuring that these facilities are compliant and safe for residents, employees and any visitors. In this article we will look a bit closer at some of these areas and discuss your responsibilities when it comes to safety, as well as discussing the requirements for risk assessments and surveys.
Risk Assessments & Asbestos Management
It goes without saying, that you will need to ensure the communal areas of the block have sufficient and up-to-date risk assessments; including health & safety and fire. However, it is important to note that this also includes external communal areas (such as gardens), lift motor rooms & plant rooms.
If the block has a communal water system, you will also need to manage the risk of Legionella with a Water Hygiene Risk Assessment and provision of a log book and schematic drawings.
Furthermore, if you manage a block that was built prior to the year 2000 then you will need to manage any potential Asbestos Containing Materials. The building should be presumed to contain asbestos unless otherwise confirmed by way of an Asbestos Management Survey which will identify any potential ACMs and provide a management plan to manage the possible risks.
Most of the time, it is not necessary to remove the Asbestos Containing Materials, and instead a management plan should be put in place; which will usually include yearly re-inspections. Managing Asbestos is particularly important when you have contractors working on the block, to protect both the contractors and the public. Contractors should be asking to see the building’s asbestos register before commencing any works.
Lift Safety
In addition to all of this, you will also need to ensure that the facilities within the building are safe and maintained. As previously mentioned, this will include lifts if present. As you can imagine, lifts can be extremely dangerous if they’re not maintained. In fact, there are many horror stories on just this!
This is why they require regular servicing, with lifts carrying people needing to be serviced every 6 months. The dutyholder for the block will need to instruct a competent person to service the lifts. The competent person here may be from an external organisation as companies may not have the competency in-house. Relevant documentation and records for servicing these lifts should be kept up to date and be readily available, preferably on site.
In many cases, if you are having an Asbestos Survey carried out in a block that has a lift, the Surveyor will need to assess the lift shaft for potential Asbestos Containing Materials. Access to the lift shaft should be provided by a competent person, without this it will often be marked as ‘presumed’ on the report due to having no access to these areas , which is something to be avoided where possible.
Emergency Lighting
When it comes to evacuating a building, such as in the case of a fire, lighting is extremely important for ensuring that people can make a safe exit. Natural or ‘borrowed’ lighting is not always sufficient, this is where Emergency Lighting comes in. For those who are unaware, Emergency Lighting is a battery-backed lighting system that automatically switches on in the event of a power outage that leaves the usual mains lighting compromised.
If Emergency Lighting is not present in your communal area, then your Risk Assessment will review this to see if the lack of Emergency Lighting creates a significant risk. If there is a need for it to be installed, then that same Risk Assessment should then make a recommendation accordingly.
You should note that it is not always required, and occasionally ‘borrowed lighting’ from outside street lamps may be deemed sufficient for consistently illuminating the areas, especially in city centre locations.
Of course, if your building does have emergency lighting it will need to be maintained. Those responsible should ensure that the activation test is completed monthly, visual tests are completed regularly, and that it is serviced annually by a competent contractor.
External Communal Areas
We have established that Health and Safety Risk Assessments are required within the communal areas of your block and that this also extends to any external communal areas that you are responsible for.
Some of these areas may include:
- Communal gardens
- Car parks
- Bin stores
In some cases, an Asbestos Survey may be required externally, for instance within a communal carpark or garages built pre-2000, where Asbestos Containing Materials may be present.
It is important that you do not overlook these areas as they can pose risks just as your internal communal areas can and if a health and safety incident were to occur, you may be held just as responsible.
If you would like any further advice or guidance on anything discussed here, please don’t hesitate to contact the team.
