Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Safety policy
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Introduction to Fire Safety Management
34
section, e.g. if contractors are seen conducting hot 
work operations without a hot work permit this will 
identify either that no such arrangement exists or that the 
arrangements are inadequate.
Specifi 
c elements that may be included in the 
fi re safety arrangements section therefore may be as 
indicated in Table 2.1.
remains valid regular reviews are seen as ‘best practice’ 
in line with each of the previously mentioned standards 
(BS 8800, OHSAS 18001, HSG(65)) and in ‘Health and 
Safety in Annual Reports: Guidance from the Health and 
Safety Commission (HSC)’ available on the HSE’s web-
site at www.hse.gov.uk
Changes in circumstance that may affect the validity 
of a safety policy are numerous and therefore policies 
could be reviewed under the following headings:
➤
People – may include a change in management 
structure, director, or the reporting lines within an 
organisation; may also include change in persons 
employed, or visiting the premise, such as young 
people and those with disabilities
➤
Place – may include changes to the types of 
premises being occupied, or the number of premises 
being operated out of, or operating in shared 
accommodation
➤
Plant – may include changes in the type, numbers, 
or risks attributed to the plant and machinery used 
by the company, such as moving from air powered 
tools to battery operated units
➤
Processes – may include changing the process 
activities of a company relating to the risk level such 
as moving from construction operations into facilities 
management activities, or using less harmful prod-
ucts such as water-based paint instead of solvent-
based paint
➤
Enforcement action – may include reacting to enfor-
cers’ guidance, serving of notices, or prosecution
➤
Legislation and standards – may include changes to 
legislation, approved codes of practice, or guidance 
issued by the DCLG, HSC or HSE; may also include 
changes to British or European Standards
➤
Audit/review results – may include reacting to fi nd-
ings of both internal and external audits which may 
identify areas of weakness
➤
Consultation – following discussions during safety 
committee meetings with representative bodies or 
employees direct
➤
Adverse safety events – may include fi re, false alarms, 
personal injury accidents, ill-health occurrences, 
damage-only incidents or near miss incidents.
These are but a sample of such changes and there may 
well be many more that will affect an organisation’s 
policy validity.