Mssy
We have exactly the same situation as you describe. Our building is dived into blocks and we have a 2 phase evacuation procedure. Only the block where a fire has been detected is evacuated the rest of the site going onto a standby mode. Like your system, it consists of a recorded message either tell staff they are on standby or telling staff to evacuate.
We have always tested the system at weekends when most of the staff are out.
Unfortunately some genius in Whitehall has decided that there should be a “weekly test of the alarms during the week so that staff are familiar with what they sound like.”
What we will have to do is first broadcast a message telling people that the next set of messages are a test and to ignore them (telling people to ignore an alarm is in my opinion not a good idea). Then each block in turn will have its alarms tested and then reset. This will take at least 45 minutes for the whole site, during which time we will in effect a non-functioning alarm system.
Then we will broadcast a message telling everybody that the test is over and from now on until the next test to respond to the alarm appropriately.
Good luck

Hi,

I'm not fully read up on the specific regs so just a passing thought really. What do the Regs actually say? If they say you "SHALL" do the test during the week etc then it's game over. Any other wording and there's room to wriggle and with a bit of effort to write a safty case and justification, you can run the test anytime you deem appropriate. You just need to be able to explain why and how, with perhaps an annual "this is what it sounds like" during the working day as part of the safety case,

Jim

mssy - Your reasons for out of hours testing of the voice alarm system for the building you describe seem eminently sensible to me.

Some people seem to mistakenly regard British Standards as law even though they simply comprise what some experts regard as good practice for a known range of circumstances. However, if BS5839 for fire alarms has not been updated to take account of voice alarm type systems, then why should organisations be constrained by it? I don't have the time or resources to check what the situation is regarding this British Standard, so am happy for better-informed forum users to comment on it. Perhaps it is currently undergoing review so that a revised version will be available soon.

A Kurdziel - If you haven't already done so, I hope you are thinking of politely challenging the alleged genius in Whitehall about his/her stipulation and what effect it has/will have for your site. If necessary, get support from your site's most senior manager. A suitable worded message (with drafting input from you) from him/her might have more influence on the 'genius' or his/her boss/es than one from you. Also, if there are other sites which are similar to yours and facing the same problem, perhaps your OS&H counterparts plus the senior managers of those sites have also contacted the 'genius' or are thinking of doing so soon. If the 'genius' and his/her boss/es receive similar reasoned challenges from different sites, there's surely a greater chance of getting the stipulation/edict amended.

On a wider note, if anyone working in or involved with OS&H encounters advice or requirements which appear to be daft, it's surely appropriate to discuss them with others, e.g. via this forum and elsewhere. If you can identify one or more reasons why someone's advice or requirements are daft/inappropriate (including ones which the person might not have identified) then consider politely challenging the person. This applies equally to enforcement officials as well as persons within organisations. Obviously tact and diplomacy is required because officials and managers generally tend not to welcome having their advice or edicts questioned. However, from experience over the years I've found that politely challenging fire officers, HSE inspectors and OFSTED inspectors about 'over-the-top' requirements proved to be both successful and satisfying!

Since I don’t have £210.00 ( plus VAT) to spend, give us clue what does the standard say- remembering it’s just a standard not the legal requirements.