Water Hygiene Risk Assessment
The legal duty for employers and persons who manage or operate buildings is to assess and control the risks of exposure to Legionella. This requirement stems from the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1989 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 that require employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks from any work liable to expose employees to any substance hazardous to health. The legislation also applies to landlords of both business and domestic premises. All water systems require an assessment of the risk.
We will work with you to ensure your building has a comprehensive report in place that will satisfy the requirements under the ACoP L8, HSG 274 and BS8580:01. Our reports include a prioritised, easy-to-understand action plan that eliminates jargon and unnecessary recommendations by introducing a pragmatic and relevant approach to the management of Legionella risk at your premises.
Legionella risk assessments identify the risks associated with water systems and the likelihood of these risks being realised.
Frequently Asked Questions
We've answered the common questions we get asked about this service
Can I carry out a Water Hygiene Risk Assessment myself?
Yes, you can perform your own water hygiene risk assessment, however the law states the assessment must be ‘suitable and sufficient’. This means it must be carried out by a competent person i.e. somebody with sufficient training, qualifications and experience. The advantages to using external consultants are numerous:
- Knowledge of the latest water regulations and legislation
- Competent person
- Saving time and money
- Reduce risk of prosecution if something is missed by doing it yourself
- Guaranteed provision of a suitable and sufficient assessment
- Responsibility for the provision of a compliant assessment lies with the external consultancy
Which areas do you cover?
We are based in the West Midlands, but our assessors work nationwide. The majority of our work is in London, however we look after our clients’ properties all over the UK, including the Channel Islands and Ireland.
How much does a Water Hygiene Risk Assessment cost?
Dependent on the size and location of the building, our Legionella risk assessments can start from just £300, and there are no hidden costs in our pricing. We also provide an after-care service to all of our clients offering ongoing advice and meetings where necessary.
How often should I review my Water Hygiene Risk Assessment?
You need to review the assessment regularly, and specifically when there is reason to believe that the original risk assessment may no longer be valid. You should also review management and communication procedures as appropriate.
An indication of when to review the assessment and what to consider should be recorded. This may result from:
- Changes to the water system or its use
- Changes to the use of the building in which the water system is installed
- The availability of new information about risks or control measures
- The results of checks indicating that control measures are no longer effective
- Changes to key personnel
- A case of Legionnaires’ disease/Legionellosis associated with the system
The majority of our clients’ properties are assessed once every two years.
If you have any further questions then please contact us today.
We will provide
A Water Hygiene Risk Assessment
A PDF and Web report with recommendations
Free access to BLOCK7.
Water Hygiene Management Software to assist in ongoing risk management
One Hour’s Free Consultancy
Support for each and every risk assessment
Our Process
Assess
To assist in your understanding of health and safety requirements, we will identify hazards on site and, for each one, we will determine how well we believe you are currently complying with health and safety standards through observation, evaluation of documentation and discussion.
Validate
For quality assurance, RM has a two stage validation process for each and every audit that is published. First the report is verified by the assessor that carried out the assessment, and secondly the respective Department Head reviews and validates the report before publishing to the client.
Report
To help you to actively manage your risks, RM publishes all of its assessment reports to BLOCK7 where, amongst other things, you will be able to view and download static and dynamic PDF reports. In addition, you can view and search risks according to the categorisation of Intolerable, Substantial and Moderate, or Monitor & Review with Traffic Light methodology.
