Rank: New forum user
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The office that I work in is looking at hot desking i.e 8 desks to 10 employees.
For Fire Wardens and First aiders we currently have notice boards located on each floor that lets staff know where they can be located.
When hot desking comes in these Fire Wardens / First Aiders may be located on a different floor / level each day which may create issues around checking the building i.e prior to an evacuation or summoning a First Aider in an emergency.
Do any other members have any guidance on how to best implement a new system when this comes into affect ?
Thanks
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Rank: Super forum user
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Our mobile first-aiders have a little flag based on the white cross-green background sign that they take with them and stick on top of whichever desk they are sitting. I am not sure why you need to identify fire wardens. In our place, their job is just to make sure that all the offices are clear if there is a fire alarm. They wear appropriate bibs and shout at people and staff usually work out who they are after that.
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Rank: Forum user
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In a previous life, we had photo i.d. displayed on the first aid and fire info posters - these were also shown to visitors/contractors.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Interesting and important issue Craig. Most multi-storey and complex buildings will have designated people to conduct floor and area sweeps. If the flexible arrangements mean these people are now not guaranteed a seat on that floor/area, then the employer certainly has a problem. A somewaht inescapable problem for the employer to resolve then! I can't see a solution other designating specific seats (as non-hot seats) for specific duty holders.
I am generally anti- this whole hot-desk thing. The whole thing seems counter-productive and stressful -unless you have a very mobile workforce constantly going in and out (in which case you've even more problems with fire wardens!). The hours wasted logging in to PC workstations (which have to go through a tedious process of configuration every time you log on) must cost a fortune.
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Rank: Forum user
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Somewhere (I'm not sure where, probably in a magazine or in the depths of the internet) I've seen a workplace that had cards in holders (one side green, the other red) on the entrance to each floor, once a fire warden had done a sweep they turned the card over to show the floor had been checked. I'm not too sure if this would work in your workplace, but it could be worth considering.
After typing this (but I've typed so I may as well press post!) one problem I can see is that someone would have to check the cards, and this comes back to the original problem!
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Rank: Super forum user
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Craig, do your hot desking fire wardens and first aiders keep their phone numbers when they move about ?
We have a hot desking policy and those of us who do not have a fixed location have phone numbers that need to be looged on where ever you are, it takes a bit of getting used to but does work well and it means that no matter where the fiirst aiders rea they can be contacted. Not sure if this would be an ideal solution for Fire Wardens though.
Some of our workstation are fixed for a single individual due to Physical or IT needs/requirements, could you not designate a couple of desks as Fire Warden/First aider posts?
Not very well expressed I know but it is Friday and has been a long week, hot desking does take it out of you (I have a poor sense of direction)
Nic
Nic
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Rank: New forum user
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Thanks for everyones answers on this. nic168 yes we do have extension numbers for Fire Wardens and First Aiders. Ron until I have seen light of management recommendations I will not be able to see if there is a purpose fit for the solution.
I was hoping some other business / company already "hot desking" methods.
Thanks
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Rank: Guest
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Hot desking a money saving idea but in reality could cost an organisation a whole lot more in pay outs in the future. But a good tool for the union to use against the employer if industrial action is required instead of striking have a "come to work day" and watch the chaos ensue!
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Rank: Super forum user
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I suppose I will have to make a defence of hot-desking. At our place we have about 50 labs, where the majority of our staff work. While they do not need a desk all of the time they do need to get acess to a computer for emails, other forms of communication and to write up reports. Those that on average spend less than a couple of hours a day on the PC ‘hot desk’ ie do not have desk permanently assigned to them. First aiders is not a problem. They will have little signs/flags that they take with them so that staff can keep track of them. If a First aider cannot be found locally in lab block staff contact the security desk and they use the Public address system to summon a first aider. ‘Call them and they will come’. As to fire wardens, I am not sure what the issue is. When a block is evacuated for a fire alarm everybody leaves and the fire wardens go through the block they have been assigned to look after and make sure everybody has come out and then they go to the assembly point and wait until they are told by radio that the fire alert is a false alarm and they let everybody back into the block.
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Rank: Forum user
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You could have a bank of fire wardens and if the alarm was to go all the ones on one floor would meet and then 1/2 would go ahead witht he duites. This might mean they are all on the one floor right enough so would have to designate a desk for Fire Warden to make sure at least one (or your minimum number) are on each floor.
Our fire wardens have non-emergency duties e.g. regular walk checks to make sure passageways are clear - though this could be done from any floor.
The issue I have with hot desking is infection control. Before using any desk you would need to clean everything in case person before you is the one who coughs and sneezes over everything. I've laso had dirty mugs and drink rings left on my desk - which is only occasionally used rather than hot desking! Lilian
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Rank: Super forum user
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"if the alarm was to go all the ones on one floor would meet "
Are you joking"? Just teach/train everyone to leave when they hear the alarm- drill it into them.
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Rank: Super forum user
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A few here seem to be missing the main issue with fire wardens sweeping the building. The idea in an "all out" evacuation plan is that the wardens "sweep" on their way out - we can't have people running up,down and across ways within the workplace -the progress of all concerned has to be (as near as damn it) directly towards a final exit.
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Rank: Forum user
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ron hunter wrote:A few here seem to be missing the main issue with fire wardens sweeping the building. The idea in an "all out" evacuation plan is that the wardens "sweep" on their way out - we can't have people running up,down and across ways within the workplace -the progress of all concerned has to be (as near as damn it) directly towards a final exit. Yep, the idea is fire wardens will : Ensure the effected areas are cleared, they can do this by ensuring they are the last ones out Provide any/such assistance that any vulnerable staff may need to ensure a safe and timely exit Ensure that the i/c or whatever you call the gadgy has the information to pass to the approriate emergency services.
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Rank: Super forum user
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What system do you have in place at present to make sure you always have enough first aiders and fire wardens present at any time; and how do you cover their absence? Can this simply be extended to make sure that you not only have enough, but that they are in the right place?
If you can't exclude fire wardens and first aiders from hot desking, could you allocate a small number of desks at strategic locations that can only be used by people in that role? It would not always be the same person, but people would always know where to go.
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Rank: Forum user
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Or you could, if practical, have a bleep system in place, it works for us with regard to 1st Aiders anyway. Fire Wardens not so much, they should be alerted by any fire alarm that you have in place.
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