We are opening our first warehouse – what do we need from occupational safety and fire protection?
8. February 2021.
EU strategic framework for health and safety at work for the next 6 years – a particular focus on one aspect of health
16. February 2022.
We are moving to new premises - what do I need in terms of occupational health and safety law or fire protection law (hereinafter referred to as OHS/FPL) is a question we are very happy to answer. Primarily because a frequent reason for moving is the need for larger and better-quality space, which means that the business entity is developing and growing.
Does everything from OHS/FPL still apply if you change premises? No.
Do you have to do everything again? No.
The truth lies somewhere in between because part of the OHS/FPL obligations are related to employees, and part to premises. When changing premises, you need to consider the OHS/FPL items that relate to the business premises, and these would be as follows:
- Updating risk assessment - in any quality risk assessment, business premises and working conditions in them must be addressed, as well as the allocation of employees to a specific space. Therefore, the assessment must be updated - spaces that are no longer relevant are removed, and new business premises are processed.
- Testing electrical installations - new premises have their electrical installations that should be tested.
- Testing the work environment - as with electricity, the work environment is exclusively related to the space in which work is carried out.
- Evacuation plan creation - if you're not moving to a copy-paste space (which is most often the case), a new evacuation plan is created for the new space.
- Other - here are items that the new space may or may not have; if they exist, they need to be tested; gas installation integrity, all fire protection devices (key switches, panic lighting, hydrants, sprinklers, fire alarm systems, etc.)
- Fire extinguishers and first aid cabinets are, of course, transferred from the old space to the new one.
Some of the things mentioned are sometimes tested at the level of the entire building. For example, if your new business premises are an office on the 7th floor of a commercial building, there is a high probability that the building owner is testing electrical installations, gas, and fire protection devices throughout the building. In this case, you do not have to perform the tests; instead, ask the building owner for copies of the inspection reports. The only thing from the list that is always your responsibility and that the space owner can never do for you is updating the risk assessment and testing the work environment. Also, the evacuation plan, which, according to the law, every company should have in its business premises, regardless of whether there is an evacuation plan on the entire floor. Just because. Reasons.
In any case, congratulations on your move, and feel free to reach out if you need further clarification of the text you've read.
The specialist for this service is
Branimir Milanković
Head of Sales and Marketing Department
with over 15 years of experience
