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.