Updating and reviewing your assessment
Once your Fire Risk Assessment is completed, it is important that it is regularly reviewed and updated if and where necessary.
By regular monitoring your premises against your fire risk assessment, you can check how effectively the risk of fire is being controlled.
If you feel for any reason that your assessment might no longer be valid - this could be for example, because there has been a change in your premises that affects your fire precautions - it's important to review and if necessary revise your assessment.
Reasons for reviewing your Assessment
Reasons for reviewing your Assessment may include:
- alterations have been made to your building, including the internal layout
- there have been changes to the furnishings or fixings in your premises
- your fire precautions such as your fire-detection or alarm systems, sprinklers or ventilation systems have failed
- your business has started storing, or increased the amount of storage, of hazardous substances
- your work processes or how you organise them has changed
- there have been changes to stock that you store or display
- the number of people at your premises has increased significantly
- people in your premises have some form of disability
Amending your assessment
When amending your assessment, it is not necessary to include every small or trivial change. However, if a change introduces new hazards which you consider significant, it is important you take action to keep any risks they may present under control.
If a 'near miss' happens
Carry out a re-assessment to ensure that your assessment is still adequate. Remember to identify the cause of such a 'near miss' or incident and review and where necessary revise and amend your fire risk assessment accordingly.
Remember it is not necessary to include every small or trivial change. However, if a change introduces new hazards which you consider significant, it is important you take action to keep any risks they may present under control and where necessary review and update your assessment to reflect this.