Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Introduction to Fire Safety Management
26
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health 
(IOSH) and the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) produce 
monthly journals, as does the British Safety Council, all of 
which provide a valuable insight into specifi c safety areas.
In relation to fi 
re the Passive Fire Protection 
Federation (PFPF) and the Fire Protection Association 
(FPA) also produce a range of industry information and 
guidance on both practical and managerial aspects of 
fi re safety.
1.7
The basis of a system for managing 
 safety
Over a number of years a variety of management sys-
tems have been produced, any of which can be utilised 
to assist in establishing a safety management system.
Many organisations are familiar with BSEN ISO 9001, 
a quality management system which can be accred-
ited by an external organisation. The same can be said 
for BSEN ISO 14001, the environmental management 
system.
The production of an integrated management 
system such as OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and 
Safety Assessment Series) has enabled mapping to be 
achieved between the systems mentioned above and a 
health and safety management system.
While OHSAS 18001 has not been designated as 
a British Standard it has been produced by the British 
Standards Institution (BSI) to enable external validation 
of an organisation’s safety management system to be 
achieved.
Originally when fi rst published in 1994 the British 
Standard BS 8800, which is a guide to Occupational 
Health and Safety Management Systems, only concen-
trated on a choice between HSG65 and ISO 14001. In 
Figure 1.27
The provision of fi re safety information
Continual improvement
Management
review
OH&S policy
Checking and
corrective action
Planning
Implementation
and operation
Figure 1.28
OHSAS 
18001
its review and update in 2004 it also shares common 
management system principles with ISO 9000 series, 
ISO 14000 series and is consistent with ILO-OSH 2001 
(International Labour Organisation – Occupational Safety 
and Health) and OHSAS 18001.
A schematic view of each of the available systems 
has been included for reference within this book, 
although the system known as HSG65 produced by the 
HSE will be discussed in more depth.
The basic elements of each of the above systems 
include, in one defi nition or other, the same phases 
which are:
➤
Planning
➤
Performance
➤
Performance 
assessment
➤
Performance 
improvement.
The HSE’s guidance simplifi es these phases into ‘Plan, 
Do, Check, Act’ as detailed below:
Plan
– this involves the setting of standards for safety 
management that refl ect legal requirements and the 
risks (risk assessment fi ndings) to an organisation.