A Class Act
Ian Williams ended 2009
by announcing the roll out of a new educational compliance
service.
Following our joint research with the
University of the West of England, which highlighted concerns by
education staff that they don’t know how to maintain their
school buildings, we are set to launch a new product designed to
help head teachers meet safety legislation. Following a successful
pilot scheme, the new product will work by identifying and then
completing essential inspections, to enable schools to gain the
necessary certifications needed to prove their premises are legally
safe, and also highlight where additional works are needed. Schools
which sign-up to the service are provided with a tailored timetable
of the inspections they need to complete during the academic year
to ensure current legislation is complied with. Ian Williams
operatives then complete these tests, providing the certification
where an appropriate pass is gained. To build on this success, we
have recruited two sales team members to offer the compliance
service.
Mike Turner, development director at Ian
Williams, said: “As we work in more than 1,000 schools, understand
the school timetable and have fully-trained staff who understand
changing legislation and are CRB checked, we are expecting a strong
take-up. “The new product also benefits our work in other sectors
as we learn new approaches to managing buildings, and gain ever
increasing experience of working in occupied premises with varying
needs.”
Testing, testing
Schools which sign up to the service are
provided with a tailored testing timetable based on their
building’s features. An annual charge is agreed for the completion
of all timetabled checks and a folder provided to ensure all the
certificates are co-ordinated and on hand when required. Typical
compliance checks include:
- Water hygiene risk assessment and
testing
- Electrical wiring installation testing
- Emergency lighting inspections
- Heating services checks
- Fire alarm testing and checking.