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REVIEW PERIOD : 24 MONTHS
LAST REVIEW: 01/07/09
PAGES: 01 of 14
Responsibility: CFO
ACO: FS&RM
MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE
RISK BASED INSPECTION PROGRAMME
DOCUMENTATION HISTORY
ISSUE and REVISION
ORIGINATOR
DATE
1.0R
P.D Govender
24/07/05
1.01R
P.D Govender
01/06/09
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SECTION ID
DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE
NEW
All
Document Redesign
References
FS Bylaw-promulgated 2008
Necessary
3.03.5
Reference FS bylaw
Necessary
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Management Procedure
RISK BASED INSPECTION
PROGRAMME
BVFD/MPr/FS/ENF/RBI/05.01.01R
DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 01/07/09
NEXT REVIEW DATE: May 2011
AUTHOR: PD GOVENDER
PURPOSE
This Standard Operating Procedure provides an overview of the Breede Valley Fire & Rescue
Services procedure of conducting risk based Inspections that provide overall support to the
Integrated Fire Safety & Risk Management Plan [IFSRMP]
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 2005
REFERENCES:
BVFD: Management Procedure on the Discharge of Fire Safety Duties
Fire Brigade Services Act, Act 99 of 1987
Fire Protection Regulations, SANS 10400:Part T
Breede Valley Municipality Fire Safety By Law
SANS 10090 Standard on Community Protection against Fire
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Section 152(1) (d).
OBJECTIVES:
To ensure that fire safety duties are conducted in a systematic, transparent and auditable
manner that will enable the achievement of Key Performance Objectives
SCOPE OF APPLICATION:
Applicable to all members of staff assigned and delegated to discharge fire safety and fire
prevention duties.
RESPONSIBILITY:
The Assistant Chief: Fire Safety and Risk Management (or Senior Officer so delegated in
this capacity) is responsible ensuring the implementation and quality assurance of this
Procedure.
Fire Safety Officers are responsible for ensuring adherence to the guidelines and (any)
prescriptive conditions of this Procedure.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
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Department policy is to adopt, in the first instance, an advisory role rather than to simply
police the legislation for which the Fire Service is responsible with the mindset that
cooperation is generally more effective than confrontation.
INTRODUCTION
1.02
The development and management of a Risk Based Inspection Programme (RBIP) will
provide important data to assist in the development and evaluation of the Services
Integrated Fire Safety & Risk Management Plan (IFSRMP) and overall Performance
Management System. This will enable Breede Valley Fire and Rescue Service to fulfill its
duty to manage the fire risk in the community.
1.03
The final decision on the level of enforcement to be taken following an inspection and
assessment of risk in any workplace will where appropriate embody the principles,
expectations and methodology as outlined in the Management Procedure on the
Discharge of Fire Safety Duties.
1.04
The use of risk based inspections read together with other Management Procedures and
SOPs on Fire Safety and/or Risk Management will allow the Fire Safety Inspectorate
(FSI) to make consistent and fair enforcement decisions based on clear guidelines,
which will be robust if challenged, and auditable when required.
1.05
There are three principle areas that will enable the fire service to manage the fire risk in
the community. These are:
Fire Prevention
Fire Protection
Fire Intervention
1.06
The integrated approach recognizes that activity in one or more of these areas has the
potential to reduce the risk in the community. However in situations where it may not
always be possible to reduce the risk to an acceptable level using Statutory or
Community Fire Safety initiatives, the information gathered will be used to provide an
appropriate level of fire cover in terms of service response.
The Risk Based Inspection Programme forms part of the Services overall integrated
approach to management by prioritizing the inspection of workplaces. It will initially be
necessary to determine the level of risk in the workplace in question.
1.08
This will be determined by the carrying out of an on-site or remote audit, which will, on
completion necessitate a risk rating.
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1.09
The risk to individual persons will be of concern to Inspectors carrying out the audit;
however it will be the potential for the loss of life or serious injury that will have a major
influence on the level of risk determined.
1.10
Whilst the risk to the employees and other persons that may be present is the prime
influence. An assessment of the risk in the workplace and its inclusion in the inspection
programme can be made for a number of other purposes, such as:
Property/business loss
Loss of heritage
Loss to the community
Environmental damage
Fire fighting operations
1.11
The findings of the audit process and any risk rating applied to a workplace will be
influenced not only by life safety considerations but also the potential loss or risk to the
community.
1.12
When determining the risk presented by a particular workplace the following factors will
be considered. The following list is not exhaustive each must be assessed on an
individual basis using all relevant factors:
Type
Type of structure
Use
Nature of occupants
Furniture, fittings and surface finishes
Processes undertaken/materials stored
Potential sources of fire (accidental or deliberate)
Potential fire spread internal and external
Structural fire protection
Compliance with relevant sections of the fire safety bylaw
Fire precautions provided
Standard of fire safety management
Location
Access
Water supplies
Operational needs
Safety of fire-fighters
Environmental impact of any fire
Note: When an Inspectors competence prevents completion of any area, consultation with Fire Service
Senior Management shall take place.
1.13
When considering these factors it will also be necessary to utilize information from
current firefighting practice. Current fire intelligence and a review of the historical
experience of the premises will be taken into account before a final determination of risk
rating can be made.
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1.14
Professional judgement will be taken into account as part of the overall process.
Examples might include:
A low risk hospital may have a risk rating of 5, the same as a high risk office. In
the case of the hospital, the Inspector needs only to document the inspection.
However in the case of the office, the Inspector when faced with conditions that
present a high risk will need to take immediate enforcement action.
It may not be reasonable to equate the life risk presented by a typical hotel,
guest house or similar, with that of a comparable building providing care
accommodation or used as a hostel or similar. Such important factors as the
management regime in place and the nature of the occupants will need to be
taken into account.
1.15
An initial estimation of the levels of risk, for most occupancy types, can be undertaken
according to variations in the following:
The provision of active and/or passive fire safety systems
The level of fire safety management provided, or
The size of the workplace
1.16
Using the provision of active and/or passive fire safety systems that would normally be
expected in any particular occupancy type as the bench mark then the level of risk
could be varied as follows:
Severe under provision - Very High Risk
Under provision - High Risk
Normal provision - Medium Risk
Over provision - Low Risk
Significant over provision - Very Low Risk
1.17
1.18
It is critical that at every stage the processes by which the levels of risk and the resulting
inspection activity have been determined are reasonable, are recorded, transparent and
auditable.
The risk from fire in the workplace should be assessed by the employer (either as part of
a general review of health and safety risks or as a specific exercise). The following
checks should be included:
That a fire can be detected in a reasonable time and that people can be warned,
That people who may be in the workplace can get out safely,
That reasonable fire-fighting equipment is provided,
That people in the workplace know what to do if there is a fire,
That all fire safety equipment is checked and maintained at the required time
periods, and to a satisfactory standard.
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1.20
The Municipal Fire Safety By Law , Part C; Section 37 states that the Chief Fire Officer
may designate certain premises as those requiring emergency evacuation plans.
1.21
Premises that are deemed to be of high fire or high population risk will usually be
designated as such; and it will be required that such premises are scheduled for regular
inspections as part of the continuous risk assessment of high risk occupancies.
1.22
In cases where premises have been designated to have emergency plans in place; the
FSI is to ensure that such plans are up to date and that such plans are implemented by
the employer.
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The process for carrying out the fire safety inspection of workplaces in Breede Valley is
determined by the level of risk presented by those workplaces regardless of what other
legislation might apply to them. The principle of audit will form the basis of the
inspections.
2.02
Whilst the Table 1: Compliance levels/Risk Rating Matrix give general guidance on
determining the level of risk for a workplace, that level can be varied according to local
circumstances such as:
Historical information on the workplace concerned
A visit to a workplace under sections of the Fire Brigades Services Act or
Municipal Fire Safety By Laws
Reports on fires attended
Local trends or socio-economic factors
Fire risk assessments by or on behalf of employers or other bodies such as
Department of Labour, Environmental Health Services or South African Police
Services (Explosives Act).
THE 3-STEP FIRE SAFETY & RISK AUDIT PROCESS FOR WORKPLACES
2.03
As part of the integrated approach to Fire Safety & Risk Management; Department
strategy is to strengthen the working relationships between internal Divisions and
Sections as well as to ensure that other responsible Municipal Departments and external
agencies also play a meaningful role in this integrated approach.
2.04
On first allocation of a file or upon data collected, the FSI will carry out a remote
audit of the premises and apply an initial risk rating using Table 1: Compliance
Level/Risk Rating Matrix.
d. This initial risk-rating will generally be equivalent to a medium risk (3) for the
relevant purpose group column and will change accordingly once an actual Fire
Safety Audit (Regulatory Inspection) is conducted.
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CL-5
CL-4
CL-3
CL-2
CL-1
Priority
Priority
Priority
Priority
Priority
1
1-2
2-3
4
4
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Nature of risk
Priority Code
Level of Complexity for Company /Platoon to handle.
c. The Company Officer must ensure that the ORV is carried out as per schedule
unless impractical to do so in terms of operational constraints.
d.
Once complete the ORV must be signed and returned to FSRM together with
any recommendations.
2.07 STEP 3 - THE ON-SITE: REGULATORY FIRE SAFETY INSPECTION & AUDIT
a. The regulatory fire safety inspection is a process that is not wholly dependent on
Steps 1 and 2; as it also depends on the Priority Code allocated once a complaint
is registered and may be conducted immediately by the Inspector.
b. However, regardless of whether the audit is done after Steps 1 and 2 or is done
as urgent following a Priority Code allocation; the Inspector will need to consider
fire intelligence data concerning external factors, which may affect the overall risk
profile presented by the premises.
c. This audit of a workplace will be carried out using the
d. The results of the workplace audit will determine the final risk rating. In
determining the final Risk Rating, the Inspector must use Table 3: Enforcement
Expectation.
This table may be used to provide additional guidance to the Inspector to verify
the correct risk rating is allocated during the course of any remote audit,
operational risk visit or regulatory inspection.
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UNACCEPTABLE
RISK
SERIOUS RISKS THAT REQUIRE IMMEDIATE
ATTENTION
RISK
RATING
DESCRIPTION
High level risks
that have NO
control measures
and place life
/property at
immediate risk
from fire outbreak
COMPLIANCE
LEVEL
Compliance
Level 4
Medium risks
that have no
effective control
measures
Prohibition
Notice to
Cease Activity
Compliance
Level 5
Enforcement
Notice- FOTC
[ Final Order to
Comply on First
Inspection]
-OTC may range
from 24 hours to
7 days
ENFORCEMENT
EXPECTATION
DESCRIPTION
Medium level
risks that are not
adequately
controlled
Compliance
Level 3
High level risks
that could be
reduced further
by technology
Enforcement
Notice
[ 1st or 2nd OTC14 days with
possible
extension]
Notification of
Fire Safety
Deficiencies
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Risks are
medium but have
some level of
control
Risks are
medium but
control measures
rely on human
factor
Compliance
Level 2
NO SIGNIFICANT RISKS
Notification of
Fire Safety
Deficiencies
[ 1st OTC 30
days with
possible
extension]
There are no
significant risks
Compliance
Level 1
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Any enforcement action must be detailed enough for the employer to act upon, and it
must make clear the required objective.
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safety issues related to the use of the building and the aims and objectives of the
proposed management system and its methodology.
Fire safety specification for the workplace including plans where appropriate.
Safety management structure.
Continuing control and audit procedures.
Actions to be taken in a fire emergency.
Fire drills.
Housekeeping.
Planned maintenance procedures.
Staff training.
Security.
Record Keeping.
In order to maintain the effectiveness of the fire safety strategy, it will be
essential that regular and effective testing and maintenance procedures are
conducted and evidence of this is documented.
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up in consultation with those employers and the owner(s) or other people who
have any control over any part of the building.
3.03.6 Documentation
a. Any effective management system will be supported by a range of
documentation. The Inspector will inspect available documents to obtain
evidence that effective systems are in place.
b. In addition to the written risk assessment this evidence should include the
emergency plan, service records, staff training records, fire drill records and the
company policies and procedures relating to fire. The inspection of documents
need not be exhaustive; the Inspector should record those documents seen,
including the date of each document. The aim is to establish the current position,
raise management awareness and assist in forming a view about how detailed
the physical inspection of the workplace will need to be.
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taken of records that indicate a higher level of risk in a certain area of the
premises.
f.
Where areas of high fire risk are noted during the risk critical element t the
Inspector may wish to include these in the sample constituent e.g. industrial
kitchen, spray booth, highly flammable store, vulnerable occupants etc.
g. In a multi-storey single occupied premise where the risk profile is uniform, the
recommended approach is to randomly sample enough floors to satisfy the
professional judgement of the Inspector.
h.
i.
j.
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