An emergency service
December 1st 2005 People are better informed about their rights than ever before," said Barry Scholes, the Managing Director of Evac+Chair International Ltd. "Employers simply cannot afford to take the risk of not providing the necessary services and assistance to their staff."These comments were made when Scholes was interviewed about the requirement for employers to provide assistance to those with mobility difficulties during an emergency or a building evacuation. The risks to employees of such a failure in the duty of care are evident: in a fire or a power cut, during an evacuation or following an accident or medical incident, employees with limited mobility would be placed in a serious and potentially lifethreatening situation if they have to negotiate stairways.
But what are the risks to the employer of such a failure in their duty of care? "In the worst case scenario, don't rule out corporate manslaughter," warned Scholes. "And we're not just looking at a fine, but at the possibility of someone spending time behind bars." In an incident giving rise to injury or death, the courts will want to know if the situation was foreseeable by a reasonable person, and if any provisions made to tackle such problems cater for the minority interest, such as the disabled.
"The questions the court will ask are these," said Scholes. "Was it foreseeable by a reasonable person that there would be someone with limited mobility in your building when the incident occurred? The answer has to be yes. Was it also foreseeable that that person would have difficulty negotiating stairs and getting out of the building during an emergency? Yes, again."
Who is at risk?
When determining your risk, the first thing to realise is that every organisation and every building will have different requirements and pose different challenges. For example, are particular people in your building at risk? Wheelchair users and the disabled are an obvious source of concern in an emergency situation or when you are planning an evacuation. The Disability Discrimination Act 2004 has had a clear impact on employers, judging by sales of the Evac+Chair since the Act came into force.
Whereas previously sales had predominantly been to the public sector, demand is now higher in the private sector, particularly in retail, as employers have begun to recognise and respond to the requirements placed upon them by health and safety and disability legislation. The number of employees who find stairs a source of difficulty in an emergency may be much higher than you think. Scholes explained, "As many as 10% of the population are at risk and it's not always the people you might imagine. Many people can fin building evacuation a real challenge: those with sports injuries, deafness, blindness, angina, rheumatism, arthritis, asthma. The list goes on and on.
And with the changes in the age discrimination laws expected next year, we will see an increasingly elderly workforce.
There are 25 million people at work in the UK - so 2.5 million are at risk at any one time." Nor is it just employees who need to be accounted for. Visitors, contractors and temporary employees will all expect you to provide a safe method of evacuation. For public buildings, of course, this is an even more pressing and demanding issue: while commercial buildings tend to close at 5pm or shortly thereafter, cinemas, theatres, police stations, hospitals and nursing homes are open 24 hours a day.
Risk assessments
In order to determine exactly what challenges and problems you face - and how these difficulties can be solved - it is essential that you carry out a risk assessment.
While many employers have made provision to allow access to upper floors and toilets, far fewer have considered the implications of fire precautions and buildin evacuation when, for example, lifts may not be accessible.
Instead of simply focusing on employees with mobility difficulties, a good start is to identify the high-risk areas in your building. In essence, any building which has stairs needs to consider the risks and difficulties which employees face in an emergency.
Remember too that any problems you identify do not lie with the individuals who require assistance to make a safe escape, but actually lie with the building.
A scenario which can cause some real conflicts of interest are shared occupancy buildings. All too often, the building manager will claim that the tenant on level 7 has the responsibility for providing health and safety for his employers; while the level 7 tenant makes the same claim of the building manager. Both parties are liable, however, and it is important that they both communicate in order to provide a duty of care to the employees working in their building.
Adding value
The Evac+Chair is designed to allow an adequate means of escape for all visitors and staff during an emergency situation.
Operated by just a single able-bodied individual, the chair enables anyone with restricted movement to be moved down stairs and out of the building in a fast and efficient manner. But the Evac+Chair is not just a safety product which an employer can buy to show compliance. It is both a tool for employees and a service.
"Employers are beginning to realise the value of the service we offer," says Scholes.
"We aren't just manufacturing and supplying a product; we're providing a service to our customers."
One aspect of this service is the annual maintenance contract, known as Servicare, provided by Evac+Chair International, which helps to remove some of the administrative burden from employers. The company will diarise your maintenance requirements and visit your offices once a year to give your chair a complete and thorough service, and currently services over 6,000 chairs a year.
However, the product will only fulfil its potential if employees know how to use the chair correctly and safely, and feel confident in their ability to do so. In order to address this issue, Evac+Chair offers certificated competency training, confirming that individuals are capable of using the chair in an emergency situation. This basic level training qualifies the employee to be known as a 'dedicated escort', and involves two hours of hands-on training in the practicalities of using Evac+Chair.
Employees can be trained and assessed in groups of up to four people (at a cost of £300 for a group of four), and those who successfully complete the course receive a certificate proving their competency with the chairs.
Scholes explained, "In buildings, you already have first aiders and fire marshals for employees to turn to in an emergency.
But if there is an emergency, companies don't want to tie up their first aiders with assisting evacuations, and security guards are often based downstairs so are not available to help on upper floors. We are trying to establish a new role called dedicated escorts, who will help those with mobility problems to use the Evac+Chairs."
Maximising your expertise
Such developments are important to the philosophy of Evac+Chair International. The company is keen to ensure that employers who have purchased their equipment know how to make the best use of it when necessary.
"It's important to train the right people to use this equipment," said Scholes.
"You want people who will take their role seriously and will want to help if a situation arises. This isn't a fun day out for people who just want to play with new equipment."
Evac+Chair also offers a higher level of training for 'Key Trainers'. An employee who has received this training is entitled to train other employees in turn. This can be a useful method of sharing information for larger organisations which are based across several sites - a large high street retail store, for example, put 16 people through this training course so that information could be shared across each of its branches.
Key Trainers are validated for a period of two years, and need to be retrained every two years to ensure their skills and knowledge remain up to date.
Where possible, training is carried out on site, though it can be arranged at a nearby hotel if this is preferred.
However, it makes sense for employees to learn to use the equipment on their own stairs, if this can be arranged. The Evac+Chair is designed to be used on almost any staircase, but the physical environment in offices and workplaces vary substantially.
You may have an unusual corner in your staircase or may need to familiarise yourself with a narrow landing. These issues can be much more easily addressed if you are trained in your own environment.
Are there alternatives?
Legally, you must make adequate provision for staff with disabilities and mobility problems. This doesn't just mean that you have provided the right equipment. It means ensuring that the equipment receives the correct maintenance to ensure that it is in good working condition. It means ensuring that employees have received the correct training so that they can use the equipment if the time comes.
Evac+Chair International offers a comprehensive solution to this problem.
When Scholes was asked what would happen if people don't make the necessary provision, his answer was short and to the point, "Get a good lawyer." More articles from Evac+Chair International Ltd: | 
