Not Everyone Can Drive Formula 1

In charge of the health and safety in your building? Then you ought to read this. In this article, I’m going to tell you the questions you need to ask your fire and security provider before you let them service your fire alarm. Need not should. This comes from years as an expert in the field having seen so many businesses fall victim to poor service and engineering. Taking a moment to consider who’s working on your life safety system will save you bucket loads in time, money and headaches down the line, I promise you.

First, Let’s Talk Address The Elephant In The Room – The Wannabe Lewis Hamiltons

Every year, we take on staggeringly ill-equipped 'engineers', that have been working on your fire alarm systems for other fire and security companies.

Why?

Firstly, I have to point out that our recruitment is focused on attitude and aptitude. We prefer to train great people with go-getting attitudes and a ton of ambition to be the best in their field at what they do. These are hardworking people that want to learn, do a stellar job and have the support of a first-class team behind them.

We put them through our bespoke engineering training – both in-house and with certified courses from the Fire Industry Association (FIA) – and gradually introduce or reintroduce them to work on your life safety and security systems.

Now, to me, this makes total sense and should be the protocol for every fire and security company.

Why would you want to take the risk of having untrained and unsupported people work on a system that’s designed to save your life and the lives of the people who trust you to make sure that their workplace is safe?

Our latest trainee explained to us how he was sent to work on a Gent addressable system after just six months in the industry, which is like putting someone who’s just mastered the go-cart into a Formula 1 car.

Shocking, isn’t it? This effectively means the onus is all on you: it’s “buyer beware” within an industry that is supposed to be helping you stay safe.

And of course, as the customer, you won’t always know to ask for credentials, training or the experience level of the engineer attending your building – you’ll assume they’re there, working on your alarm system because they are equipped and capable.

If that’s not shocking enough, it’s important that you understand that our industry is not regulated, (deep breath…..) and accreditation is not insisted upon by insurers; meaning that there is nothing to stop you using companies that send people in branded t-shirts to your site to work on your life safety system leaving you absolutely none-the-wiser.

So, to help you identify the professionals from the cowboys, I've put a list together to guide you through choosing a reliable and trustworthy fire alarm maintenance provider for your commercial premises…

10 Questions To Ask a Fire & Security Company Before You Sign Your Life Over to Them:

1.    Are you BAFE SP203 accredited for the maintenance of fire alarm systems?

BAFE stands for the British Approvals for Fire Equipment, and every trusted maintenance service provider or installer should have this to their company name before they even touch a fire alarm. Ask to see their certificate to demonstrate this.

2.    Do you have sufficient insurance for the work you’ll be doing for us?

This isn’t just public liability, but it needs to be ￡10m of cover for the specific work that they are doing for you i.e. testing and working on fire detection and alarm systems.

3.    Do you have trained and supported staff, and how are they trained?

Your fire and security team are there to be the health and safety backbone to your business; the very essence of “still waters run deep” that keep things kicking beneath the surface to keep you safe and legally compliant. What happens when that team doesn’t have its own sufficient backbone to keep it strong and reliable for you? You don’t really want to find out.

4.    Are your staff security & CRB checked?

You need to know who you’re letting into your building. We work for a range of sectors, including schools, care homes and health centres, so it’s absolutely essential you’re sending people in you can trust to work on anything in your building. 

5.    Do you have a 24/7 support call number?

Fire alarm maintenance is only required every six months; some other fire and security systems and products require more or less frequent service, such as fire extinguishers and emergency lighting which only needs it once per year, or sprinklers which can sometimes need it every three months depending on the system and premises. The point being – you won’t be seeing your fire and security engineers every week or every month…but you need to know that you can count on them between visits if an emergency should arise.

Imagine your fire alarm starts sounding and you can’t stop it. The whole building is pulsating and radiating with this deafening sound, and you’re left on hold to your fire alarm company…

You need a direct line to support when you need it – 24/7, 365 days a year. No being left on hold, no inboxes that are monitored every 72 hours and you’ll just have to wait your turn for a response, and no being passed from pillar to post.

We’ve got, for instance, on-call engineers that can actually talk you through issues over the phone because they know you system so well that the majority of call-outs are resolved without having to attend. Problem solved and you’ve saved a few bob. (That’s the other problem, you don’t want a company who’s too keen to come out so they can charge you for it – it’s striking the balance of helping and guiding you, and then jumping in the van when you need us to come down.)

6.    Can you easily get spares for my system?

There are lots of different systems on the market and some are more specialist that others, so you need reassurance that they can support your brand of system. Ask them to confirm this in writing, otherwise you could find yourself forking out a lot of money down the line or having to leave a contract mid-way to find someone who can do this for you.

7.    How do you prove that you have tested my system?

Have they numbered or labelled the items tested? Will you receive a certificate/report following the visit? Ask for proof, otherwise you are liable in the event a fire-related incident occurs and are investigated for it, not them.

8.    How organised are you? Is the maintenance visit controlled by a manned office or do the engineers turn up when they want?

This may sound unimportant but having a professional process-driven administration team, will save you time and money; organising the visit to suit you, pre-empting your questions and queries and making the time on your site efficient and productive.

9.    Do you offer any money-saving solutions and extra guidance to help me make the most of my life safety system?

Fire alarms have a lifespan of about 10-15 years with good maintenance and upkeep. Some companies (like us) offer you tailored maintenance package which includes training on the use of your system to help you feel comfortable operating it and testing it, so you’re more equipped to deal with scenarios as mentioned above when it starts sounding. No one wants to be flapping about in those situations not knowing what to do or who to call.

Some companies (like us, again) also offer ways to help you budget better, for example by paying monthly instead of upfront, offering you inclusive warranties with services and consolidating multiple fire and security services so you’re being rewarded for using your chosen company, not penalised.

10. What reviews or references from other customers can you share with me to demonstrate your ability, professionalism and level of service?

If you Google the company and there’s no reviews then there’s a reason to be worried and question it. Ask for references from other customers and do your research online, including Social Media. Think of how many purchases you make in life and how many of them you rely on the reviews for before you buy…the same ethic should be applied to your fire and security servicing and maintenance.

I know that I said 10, but here are a couple of bonus items, because it’s about over-delivery if you are all about offering real service.

11. Are you getting false alarms?

If your current system is false alarming and your maintenance provider can’t sort this out, then the alarm bells should be ringing (pardon the pun). Any false alarm can be solved, 100%.

12. Can you test your system safely and has your existing company taught you how to do this?

A poorly installed fire alarm can be tricky to reset, but the good news is that this is easy to fix. Really, REALLY easy – when you know what you are doing.

If you’re answering negatively to either of these last two points, then it’s time to start the search for a new fire alarm maintenance provider…

But even if you’re not dissatisfied with your current provider, go back to them and ask questions 1-10. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your company in check.

Either you’ll find that they’re not who they say they are, or you can rest assured that you’ve done a top-notch job in choosing the right kind of company to look after you and yours.

Yours in Help,

Paul