Why You Need Emergency Lighting Maintenance
Does your business premises have emergency lighting?
Emergency Lighting Maintenance: If it does, then you have a responsibility to keep it well-maintained and functioning correctly so that it will work during a fire emergency.
As it is a legal requirement for a business owner to have emergency lighting installed on their premises, you must keep your system well maintained, checked and tested on a regular basis by a professional electrical company so that your business remains in compliance with the current UK fire safety regulations.
However, recent news reports are quite disturbing where private landlords and small business have failed to install and maintain emergency lighting, with news that some have been fined up to a record £400,000 over their lack of emergency lighting.
While that is an eye-watering amount to pay in fines, the particular building in question with the highest fine did fail on a number of mandatory health and safety requirements, such as:
- Broken lights
- No emergency lighting in communal areas
- Risks of electrocution due to poor lighting
This was one of the largest financial penalties ever handed down to a commercial landlord in Britain, but it has now set a precedent for further prosecutions where business owners fail to meet their health and safety obligations.
Reducing health and injury risks
Commercial emergency lighting isn’t only essential for when your property suffers from a fire emergency, but also for any other emergency situation where the mains power to your building may be cut. For example, during a storm, from flood damage, or when your local area suffers a major power outage for whatever reason.
Making sure your emergency lighting ins compliant with current health and safety regulations is the best way to prevent any risks of injury or threats to the life of your employees and anyone else on your premises during an emergency.
If you have moved into a building that already has emergency lighting installed, but you are unsure how old the equipment is or how long ago it was installed, then it is well worth having the system inspected by a professional electrical company, such as TF Installations, to make sure that your emergency lighting is up to scratch.
Why emergency lighting is so important
For new business owners that are just moving into their first commercial premises, it can be an exciting time where you are eager to get your business off the ground and get some money rolling in. However, with so much to do it can often mean you forget about the essential health and safety aspects of taking over a building.
It doesn’t matter whether you are setting up your first office, retail shop, workshop, factory, garage, restaurant, cafe or any other type of commercial building, you will need to ensure that your building meets with all current health and safety and fire safety regulations.
You should make sure that the property is installed with a good quality, functional fire alarm and suppression system as well as working emergency lighting that is visible and clearly lights up all the fire exits within your building.
Meeting current emergency lighting standards
A major problem is that a lot of businesses move into new premises and inherit the old fire and emergency lighting systems from the previous occupier. Firstly, you may not have any clear idea of how old these protection systems are, or if they are going to be effective or meet the needs of your particular business.
It is a mandatory requirement that you install emergency lighting in your commercial premises according to British Standard 5266-1. These are the guidelines issued for all UK hospitals, schools, offices, shops and multi-story buildings and provide the recommended minimum standard of emergency lighting needed to meet your compliance.
However, you also need to make sure that your emergency lighting system is well maintained – this means checking and testing the system to make sure there are no broken light fixtures or fittings, the wiring is intact, attached and in good condition and that you have adequate lighting around your building to help your building occupants to escape quickly and safely during an emergency event.
How emergency lighting works
Emergency lighting helps to keep everyone in the building safe when the power in the building fails for whatever reason. This could be due to a fire breakout, power cut or other emergency events.
The emergency lighting system kicks in when the power is cut and illuminates emergency exits and provides a safe passage out of the building for its occupants, such as your employees, customers and any other visitors inside your building. Your emergency lighting should function without the need for mains power, so you need to make sure that this happens through regular testing and maintenance.
Not only will your emergency exit doorways be illuminated but your lighting will help to light up safe walkways within your building that can be used as a route to an emergency exit. All these measures combined will help to guide occupants in the right direction to the quickest exit to reach safety.
Do you need emergency lights installed or maintained?
You can count on TF Installations to both install and maintain your emergency lighting and keep your business in full compliance with current health and safety requirements. We follow the clear guidelines set by BS5266-1:2016 to ensure all systems comply with your premises and you have the highest safety system in place.
Even if you didn’t get your emergency lighting system installed by TF Installations, we can maintain your existing emergency lighting system and make recommendations for replacements and upgrades when repairs are needed.
Do not hesitate to contact our friendly team to discuss your needs. We will be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
