Click here to read our interview with Oliver Goodyear, Chartered Structural Engineer and find out about the main issues associated with fire escape inspections and how we helped a recent client.
Fire Escape Structural Inspections and Drill Towers
When was the last time that you carried out a structural inspection of your external fire escapes and drill towers? Hopefully it was within the last 3 years.
As a property owner you have a health & safety obligation to maintain drill towers and external fire escapes in a reasonable way so that they do not cause injury to anybody using them.
Why Are Regular maintenance Inspections so Important?
Regular maintenance inspections allows you to;
- head off serious problems, which if left unchecked, can be far more costly
- to identify problems before they become major issues and helps you avoid any unplanned maintenance activity
- Increase the life expectancy of your drill towers and / or external staircases
Why Use A Structural Engineer To Carry Out An Assessments And Not A Surveyor?
Fundamentally drill towers and external staircases are structures.
If you are looking for a relevant competent person it makes sense that a Structural Engineer inspects the structure.
A good Structural Engineer will have knowledge of the actual structure and general building fabric.
Drill towers are loadbearing structures, so it’s all structure and a Structural Engineer would be the most appropriate person to make the assessment.
Generally we are not looking at general building defects, we are talking about defects that affect the structural components – which is usually the basis of safety.
Able To Plan Our Maintenance Programme
“Having worked well with Michael Aubrey Partnership before, they were an obvious choice to undertake structural assessments of external staircases/drill towers.
They surveyed a number of sites across a large geographical area.
Their reports were clear and concise and the “Red, Amber, Green” assessment helped us easily identify sites where remedial work was urgent.
Using this information we were able to plan our maintenance programme in the most efficient way”.
Graeme Major, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service
You Identified A Major Risk
“Michael Aubrey Partnership helped me massively with the assessment of our external fire escapes.
You identified a major risk with the structures of our fire escapes which led to us condemning one of them. This has ensured that swift action could be taken to mitigate the risk to persons using the structure.
Everyone I spoke with was very polite and helpful. The reports were clear and issued within a short timescale.
I would like to thank you, as I know that I added some pressure to complete the report as quickly as possible in view of the seriousness of the findings – thank you.
I would recommend Michael Aubrey Partnership to friends and colleagues”.
Carly Janaway, Boundless by CSMA, Brighton
“Having worked well with Michael Aubrey Partnership before, they were an obvious choice to undertake structural assessments of external staircases/drill towers. They surveyed a number of sites across a large geographical area. Their reports were clear and concise and the “Red, Amber, Green” assessment helped us easily identify sites where remedial work was urgent. Using this information we were able to plan our maintenance programme in the most efficient way”.
Graeme Major, Estate and Facilities Manager,
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service
If Your Structure is Failing – That’s A Safety Issue
Are you responsible for the maintenance of any external staircases or drill towers?
Would you like a Health Check on your External Staircases / Drill Towers?
Talk to us.
Contact Us