Hi Leadbelly, We try and schedule ours for times of quietest trading. The other key thing is to make sure you thank the customers for their perseverance and understanding during the drill.

As I understand it the Trafford Centre which can have footfalls of over 50,000 on a good day (double that come Xmas) carry theirs out on those "normal days" so I dont see how when such a large organisation can manage it why cant a medium sized garden centre? I carried out training for a large float glass manufacturer and, when discussing fire drills in general, they stated that they hadnt had one since the site had opened (approx 7 years at the time) as production was continuous and the production machinery couldnt be shut down. When discussed further it was established that there were ways to manage the situation and effectively carry out fire drills as per guidance a couple of times a year without having to disrupt production. Its all about the thought process and managing the situation.

Why not do them when the shop is closed - ie first thing in the morning? The drill is supposed to be a part of staff training, in order to practice what they have learned in training sessions or during e-learning, but this time in real time and within their work environment. So if staff sweep their areas, pretend to usher customers from the shop and then report to their assembly point (or whatever their evacuation procedure is), this would be sufficient for all but huge dept stores and shopping centres. As for keeping business disruption to a minimum, there are 1000s of premises where a 100% involvement in an evacuation drill is not possible. I have organised drills in Hospitals with casualty units & operating theatres which will not stop - and once, a hedge fund office in Mayfair where even a 30 minute shutdown would cost £millions. My current role includes a very large building with thousands of staff which cannot completely close down. A minimal number of key staff are exempted via requests to senior managers to keep the business running. Exemption is granted using a strict procedure and defined criteria. They are issued with a certificate to be shown if challenged on the day. The rule is: No certificate = No exclusion (even if they have lost it) Fire drills should not be disproportionately disruptive or expensive . Surely its all about preparedness and about training, and not bankrupting the business :)

Thanks, Chas Can you tell me more about 'knowledge knockout' events as a quick search did not turn up anything relevant? LB

leadbelly, It would appear that the 'knowledge knockout' event referred to in the H&S at Work article is something staff complete on-line about what they should do in the event of a fire. It demonstrates they know what to do I suppose(?). Interestingly the bank referred to in the article is also doing away with most of its fire extinguishers in its main Central London Office. They are only having two per floor, both water extinguishers, one at each storey exit, (it doesn't say whether there are sprinklers or not). I wonder how long it will be before the servicing company suggests they are under resourced and have to have many, many more! :)

I personally think it's resonable for a garden centre to practice Fire Drills- I worked at a University and we were required to check and evacuate hundreds of bedrooms- one of them being during freshers week when most of them are suffering from the night before (HAHA- evil cackle from an ex student) with regards to hospitals- it makes Sense they don't and as long as staff are trained accordingly then good on them.

i would if i could but i get this Sorry, only subscribers can view the full article