- Managing Risk in Retail Premises
We realise when you’re looking to insure your retail premises these can range from small high street shops, to out-of-town shopping centres, to supermarkets, to a single shop in a shopping centre, to the shopping centre itself.
Your business premises are open to all members of the public, including children, the elderly and the disabled, usually with no restriction over access. Contents and stock vary greatly too – from metal goods to plastic toys, to clothing and upholstered furniture. All of which could present a fire risk, liability insurance risk, or a theft of your contents and stock.
Large open plan premises allow the unchecked spread of fire and smoke. In turn, this can damage stock throughout a building. Multi-storey shopping centres, supermarkets and department stores need to protect the health and safety of shoppers and have an effective evacuation plan and suitable employee training. Shopping Centres can be particularly susceptible to slips, trips and falls insurance claims if there’s no cleaning plan in place – especially during poor or severe weather.
Installing a CCTV system if the business can afford one, can help defend against false insurance claims of slips, trips and falls, as well as theft. It is little wonder then that good and effective management and employee training, including fast detection of fires, by fire alarm or employee detection, is key to fast and safe evacuation of retail premises and notification to the fire service.
As a commercial insurance broker in north wales, weather its Shop Insurance or Liability Insurance you are looking for then we believe we will have the insurance policy for your needs and requirements.
- What the law says about Managing Risk
Most of us know we need to comply with fire safety regulations in the workplace.
The main two are:
- The Building Regulations – covers design and construction of buildings at new build and at refurbishment stage.
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – covers management of fire safety in occupied buildings. Fire safety legislation affects the design and construction of buildings and work practices.
The Building Regulations are typically implemented by adhering to guidance provided in Approved Document B to the Building Regulations in England and Wales. They apply to new build, extensions to an existing building, or material change of use. They also control the layout, design, construction materials and separation of buildings by using fire-resisting compartments to limit fire spreading, and ensure people in the building know if there is a fire and can escape to safety. Once the building is occupied, the responsibility passes from local authorities to the local fire and rescue authority. Fire certificates aren’t needed anymore, and instead the emphasis is on fire prevention and reducing the risk of fire. Responsibilities under the Order now affect the employer, employees, contractors, visitors and volunteers. You’ll need a ‘competent person’ to carry out an effective fire risk assessment and implement the fire prevention and protection measures identified in the risk assessment. The owner or manager can nominate themselves as the competent person. In short, the competent person has a large responsibility and must have a broad knowledge of fire and fire processes and the premises layout to carry out a fire risk assessment.
They need to know about:
- Combustibility of typical materials
- Inception hazards
- What’s needed to sustain a fire
- How fires spread
- How to contain fires
- How to supress fire
- Fire detection and warning systems
- Means of escape
- Presence of dangerous substances
- Things to look out for when managing risk
There sometimes can be obvious fire risks in your store, such as racks of clothing, fabrics, soft furnishings, rolls of carpet, and items in cardboard and plastic packaging.
Also remember not to overlook smaller items such as aerosols, which may be flammable and can explode if exposed to high temperatures or fire.
Hardware and DIY stores can hold paints and thinners and other solvents close to combustible stocks (e.g. timber). Poor housekeeping is a major factor. Cardboard and combustible packaging stored untidily in the premises, or overstuffed wheelie bins close to the building outside make it easier for fires – whether started by arson, electrical fault or discarded smoking materials.
Professionally installing, maintaining and regularly inspecting electrical equipment is imperative in older buildings.
- Ignition Sources
- Arson: this can be caused by throwing lit objects through letterboxes or via acts of vandalism. An example would include setting fire to wheelie bins or packaging waste against an external building wall.
- Electrical: these fires can be caused by overloaded circuit boards, damaged leads, multiple adaptors and extension leads being plugged into one power source, unchecked or unmaintained wiring, equipment and portable appliances. Portable heating appliances can also be ignition sources so make sure when left unattended the portable heaters are switched off.
- Lighting: traditional incandescent bulbs located too close to combustible materials. Bulbs may shatter, so don’t store goods in a way that hinders ventilation and cooling of air circulating around light fittings. Position display lighting over goods so it won’t lead to overheating – especially if a building is ever left unoccupied.
- Smoking: watch out for your employees and customers’ surreptitious smoking and smoking around waste bins are obvious hazards. Try to have a designated smoking area for staff and customers in an area that wouldn’t be deemed hazardous, have a disposable fire proof bin in the smoking area so cigarette ends can be disposed of easily.
- Cooking: If you have customer cafes, staff canteens, kitchens and cooking facilities then these all present fire hazards, unless there are strict maintenance and cleaning regimes, especially for extract ducting and deep fat fryers.
- Risk Control Advice
You can try and eliminate hazards by:
- Not allowing portable heaters
- Not allowing personal electric devices and charges unless their part of a PAT testing regime
- Place fire stopping and fire prevention material in the walls and floors throughout your store
- Install automatic fire and smoke dampers
- Make sure any fire doors are still in good condition and fitted with the correct smoke seals and intumescent strips
- Ensure windows and doors are locked when premises are left unoccupied
You can try and minimize the hazard risk by:
- Making sure waste bins/skips are located at least 10 meters away from your property
- Ensure no smoking takes place close to waste bins or roller shutters where cigarette ends could blow back into your store.
- Secure your windows and doors at the end of each day to prevent theft or arson attempts.
- Ensure Stop Valves for your gas supply are not blocked with stock and easy to turn off in the event of any emergency.
- Keep your store tidy and avoiding storing stock close to lighting
- Remove or Tidy away internal and external waste regularly
- Implement a staff cleaning and reporting regime, so any spills are cleaned quickly to prevent any slips/trips or falls
What you need to provide:
- A suitable and sufficient fire evacuation plan
- Fire alarms, preferably with automatic fire detection
- Sprinklers for larger open plan area’s
- Appropriate number of fire extinguishers
- High housekeeping standards
- Suitable employee training
- Health and Safety Checklist
- Constantly review your work areas and action any tasks – e.g. maintenance and cleaning to identify potential risks.
- Check the condition of flooring and where any damage is noticed, repair as quickly as possible.
- Check for any leaks or spillage of water or oils.
- Clear any cluttered aisle ways, walkways, narrow access routes, cables or areas where customers have access to.
- Ensure lighting in the store is appropriate and adequate.
- Fire exit routes are clear and not blocked
If you have any further questions in relation to risk management and business insurance, fill out the form below or click here.