Almondsbury-based air and water treatment services company, Airmec, has called for firms to look for realistic risk assessments of air and water risks. By taking the time and trouble to create an accurate asset register, cleaning and inspection regimes can be tailored to match the real risks, improving safety in higher risk areas and cutting out unnecessary costs in others.
Andrew Steel, Airmec's MD, said: “Too often firms just want to ensure they have ticked all the compliance boxes, when they could be using the process to add value to their business. Exhaust vents, for instance, are often just cleaned every six months regardless, yet by identifying frequently used kitchens with faster grease build up, it is possible to ensure that those areas are cleaned more often to boost both safety and energy efficiency. Meanwhile, infrequently used installations can perhaps be visited and inspected less often without compromising on safety, and so potentially reducing costs. This is an approach Airmec is taking in South Wales where it manages inspection and cleaning of kitchen canopies and associated fans and ductwork facilities at 120 schools and social and care centres across the Vale of Glamorgan and Swansea. Airmec looked beyond a simple replication of the service levels delivered by past providers, enabling managers to predict, plan and budget for maintenance and remedial work more accurately.”
Steel continued: “In Avon, Airmec's approach has won a three year contract to monitor the quality of water for domestic use at 25 sites for Avon Fire & Rescue. Inspection and regular flushing of taps and outlets is essential, but with so many stations unmanned and presenting a higher Legionella risk, it is particularly important to plan flushing and inspection and to maintain logs and audit trials of all activity undertaken on site.”
Avon Fire & Rescue supplies and procurement officer, Alison Phillips, said: “With 900 staff and 25 sites to manage, we liked the structured approach that Airmec proposed. It gave us confidence that we would have comprehensive records of our facilities, up to date and fully compliant risk assessments and an inspection and monitoring regime that we could trust unreservedly.”
www.airmec.co.uk