Rank: New forum user 
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Hi All,
I have a large amount of sales branches that I need to get up to compliance quickly with all aspects of fire safety.
Currently our H&S manual refers to a fire folder, however it would be far easier both for staff and Head office (for maintenance records) to have an electronic version, and I am being asked if this is possible?
This is a sales environment and its struggle to get staff to embrace anything not sales related, therefore an electronic version would be not only easier for them however also from an auditing perpective for me.
I know that in most cases of a fire a physical folder is ideal to hand to the Fire officer however that folder may also be caught in the fire and the information would be most needed post fire. Note: This is a standard retail/office format with no hazardous storage.
Depsite searching high and low I cannot find any guidance as to whats best practice, can anyone advise what format they use please?
Thanks in advance!
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Rank: Super forum user 
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And if these were Apple documents would you have a charged battery pack available?
Sorry for the sarcastic line but as they say ^technology is great when it works..problem is when it does not^
So for fire documents great have an eCopy all managers can have on their mobile BUT keep it old school with at least one hard copy per location
Don't forget if someone in accounts screws up all your mobile devices may simultaneously loose connectivity.
Well prepared companies now tend to rely on senior management having second mobiles on a different network to that which the business uses.
Or shall I say why I still pay for my home landline - so many issues with mobile network failures and historic recommendation from the emergency services to avoid network congestion Edited by user 30 October 2017 21:13:38(UTC)
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Rank: Super forum user
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And if these were Apple documents would you have a charged battery pack available?
Sorry for the sarcastic line but as they say ^technology is great when it works..problem is when it does not^
So for fire documents great have an eCopy all managers can have on their mobile BUT keep it old school with at least one hard copy per location
Don't forget if someone in accounts screws up all your mobile devices may simultaneously loose connectivity.
Well prepared companies now tend to rely on senior management having second mobiles on a different network to that which the business uses.
Or shall I say why I still pay for my home landline - so many issues with mobile network failures and historic recommendation from the emergency services to avoid network congestion Edited by user 30 October 2017 21:13:38(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
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Rank: Super forum user
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The Fire Safety Order requires in certain circumstances, that the responsible person 'records' the findings of his fire risk assessment (and other details such as an emergency plan). There is no requirement for that record to be in paper form. As long as there are facilities to allow an Inspecting Officer (IO) access to that record at any 'reasonable time', and upon request, supply copies of that record to the IO, that would satisfy the legal duties on the responsible person. My advice would be that the files should be PDF or Word to ensure they can be shared with the enforcement authority if requested with little chance of corruption or difficulty. Of course a PDF version give you some confidence it will not be altered
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Rank: Super forum user 
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It’s 2017 there’s no need for a paper copy of anything. Make the iCloud or google drive your friend.
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 1 user thanked stonecold for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I separated my fire documents into two types.
One type was to do with the risk assessment how we maintained the
system and how we deal with the emergency - escape routes, testing
equipment, fire marshals, training etc etc. All of this can be
electronic. By the time the Fire service arrive, all of this has either
worked, or not. In the aftermath this is the stuff that will be
scrutinised in some detail.
The fire service themselves want information when they arrive to
deal with an incident, such as floor plans, location of hydrants,
location of any hazardous substances, location of the places where you
can cut off gas, electricity, etc. I kept all this lot in paper format
in a folder inside one of those red boxes at Reception. If you get the
type with the lower security key, they already have a key that will open
it.
They greatly appreciate having paper copies of the floor plans,
because it allows them to draw on them if they have to do a real search
of the premises.
Its all very well having the managers have all this in electronic
format on their phones, but are they going to be on hand immediately at
night?
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Rank: Super forum user
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As said the basic fire safety document can be in any form you want as long as the relevant people can access them. The ‘grab bag’ for the fire service for use in a fire there should be a hard copy as described by Jane. I do wonder when you describe your premises as ‘standard office/retail’ and I wonder what happens to all of the packaging (including bubble wrap that you get through) and whether all your fire exits are kept clear at all times, particularly since your workforce are so ‘sales oriented’. And when you have time for fire drills.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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Originally Posted by: Roundtuit 
Rubbish, typical exagagerated non story, google docs has many millions of users im sure they are all fine.
If people want to live in the dark ages and be surrounded by paper documents carry on...I know for sure I wont be one of them.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Originally Posted by: stonecold Originally Posted by: Roundtuit
Rubbish, typical exagagerated non story, google docs has many millions of users im sure they are all fine.
If people want to live in the dark ages and be surrounded by paper documents carry on...I know for sure I wont be one of them.
Of course you could have both: an electronic grab bag available on-line and a physical grab bag (both have to be upto date to reflect reality). Why we want physical one includes: - I left the i-pad with data in the burning building, locked in my desk to keep it safe
- I am not allowed to keep important company data(site plans) on an external drive such the Cloud
- I of course keep this important data backed up on the Cloud. It is encrypted I keep the password on piece of paper locked up in my draw which is now burning with rest of the building
- I have a back-up set of information on a memory stick, which I have lost
- I have a full set of information and drawings but it turns of the format of the CAD drawings that we used for the plans is not compatible with any of the devices used by the fire brigade
I can remember being told 30 years that the paperless office was imminent. I then went around a Barclays data centre and they were using IT to generate more paperwork faster! Personally I like reading paper documents and annotating them etc, by hand. I find staring at an electronic screen for ages uncomfortable-it is a form of dyslexia I have been told. If all of systems worked perfectly as advertised we would end up not needing half of the stuff we do. If systems worked perfectly then we would not have fires in the first place and no need for H&S. But until that glorious day arrives I would do everything in triplicate using as many independent formats as you think necessary and then keep my fingers crossed!
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1 user thanked A Kurdziel for this useful post.
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