Regular inspections, testing, planned maintenance and certification are all essential elements of compliance.
Consider electrical system compliance and immediately many people think of Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)…and that’s about it. There is, however, much more to it than that.
We live and work in a world in which the health, safety and wellbeing of ourselves and colleagues is paramount. We are all therefore required to ensure the electrical systems we are responsible for, and procedures put in place to meet stringent health and safety regulations, are adhered to at all times.
Most of the time we look at compliance as something we must do, but do we really take the time to think why?
For insurances, licences and even to fulfil contract stipulations, we need to ensure we are compliant. In the unfortunate circumstance that an accident or issue occurs at our business premises, we need to prove we are responsible and doing everything we can to ensure the continued safety of our staff, customers and members of the public.
How can we do that? By ensuring tests and associated certification are up to date and we have regular maintenance procedures in place. In a word – compliance.
It’s not only for health and safety reasons though. Equipment which is regularly inspected and tested is more reliable and efficient. Maintaining compliant systems subsequently saves money, so why in some cases is it still getting overlooked?
Fire safety compliance is generally well known and widely carried out, but there are even elements of this which are being omitted and disregarded, as they are deemed specialist and have their own associated standards.
Examples include Public Address/Voice Alarm (PAVA) and Disabled Refuge. They fall within BS5839 (British Standard fire regulations), yet can often get omitted from fire alarm testing due to their specialist nature. They each have their own regulations and certification and form an essential part of the fire evacuation procedure.
Maybe you should take another look into the electrotechnical systems your business has. Identify those that may not be currently compliant, before they become apparent for all the wrong reasons.
Should you wish to discuss ensuring your AV systems are fully compliant, or for any other service, maintenance or testing requirements you may have, please contact us on 01554 740500 or email info@vaughansound.co.uk.