Risk Management for Sport Organizations and Facilities

Water storage tanks are a breeding ground for Legionella bacteria and must be inspected and cleaned regularly, as required by ACoP L8.

Legionnaires’ Disease can be fatal in approximately 12% of cases. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, requires employers to control the risk of micro-organisms which may cause infection or otherwise create a hazard to human health. The Health & Safety Commission publish an Approved Code of Practice, known as “L8 Legionnaires’ disease; the control of Legionella bacteria in water systems”. This gives practical advice on controlling this risk.

A fire risk assessment should document where kitchen extract systems are present and what should be done to control the risk as per Articles 8, 9 and 11 of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Order requires measures to reduce the risk of fire and the spread of fire on the premises. The BESA specification TR19® Grease gives industry guidance on suitable measures to assist in the control of these fire risks by effective management, monitoring and regular review of both grease levels and associated cleaning frequencies.

Poor indoor air quality is a relatively common occurrence and exposure to contaminants at significant levels can have wide-ranging short and long-term impacts on health and performance levels.

There is a legal requirement to conduct appropriate air testing if your risk assessments carried out under The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations have identified that there are substances or activities occurring on site which pose specific health risks related to air quality.

There is currently no specific legal requirement for routine monitoring of indoor air quality to be conducted in typical workplace environments (i.e. offices, schools, public buildings), however, The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations require under regulation 6, that building owners and managers ensure that enclosed workplaces are ventilated with fresh and purified air.

Regular fire/smoke damper testing (known as drop testing) as well as fire/smoke damper cleaning and maintenance is both a legal requirement and a critical part of building fire safety management.

In accordance with BS 9999:2017, all fire dampers should be drop-tested, cleaned and maintained at least every year.

Regulation 6 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires every enclosed workspace to be ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air. Regulation 5 of the same regulations requires mechanical ventilation systems to be subject to a suitable system of maintenance and cleaned as appropriate.

The BESA specification TR19® Air gives detailed guidance on a suitable system of maintenance for ventilation systems.