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Fire safety is a hot topic for any industry, but none more so than the hospitality sector. Hotels, bars and restaurants need to place fire safety at the top of the agenda. Because not only are they responsible for their own employees, but they’re also responsible for their guests. Keeping safety standards high is paramount, but in the midst of a hectic working day, ensuring all employees are keeping on top of the regulations is no simple task. It only takes one small slip for things to go wrong.
The secret to success lies in accurate and consistent record-keeping. When were the fire alarms last tested? Have the fire extinguishers been inspected? When was the last fire walk? Has every employee been trained? Who’s maintaining the risk assessments? You need a robust system in place that tracks all these elements, and more, and keeps them instantly available at all times. In short, you need to make your record-keeping digital.
Let’s take a look at the four key elements that make up fire safety record keeping. Because when it comes to fire safety records, you need to know that every box is ticked. Without fail.
#1 Demonstrating Compliance
Demonstrate full compliance with all safety regulations
From systems and equipment to exits, evacuation plans and drills, fire safety in the hospitality industry is a complex business. The industry is subject to a range of safety regulations and codes in order to maintain compliance. And to demonstrate this compliance, businesses need to keep detailed records at every step. Without thorough records in place, you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of the law and subject to penalties or even legal consequences.
So how can you keep on top of all the legal requirements without losing hours of staff time to logging reports and maintaining records? And how can you ensure that employees keep fire and safety regulations as a top priority, alongside all the other requirements of their role? In the course of a busy day, making sure nothing falls through the cracks is no easy task.
Hospitality Fire Safety Tip: Let the software do the hard work
That’s where hospitality risk management software comes into play. Alkimii carries the load for you. No matter how busy it gets, Alkimii Property checklists, handovers and reports make sure that every last detail is accounted for. From incident reporting to checklists, maintenance and visitor logs, it takes care of all the details to ensure full compliance, at all times.
#2 Data Accuracy
Ensure every record is 100% correct
Not only do you need to keep detailed records of every fire safety measure, you also need to ensure they’re 100% accurate. Careless or slapdash reporting will lead to mistakes, accidents and even legal issues. You need precise and exact records that you can rely on to provide solid evidence that all the necessary precautions are in place. And, should there be a fire incident, accurate records are critical for post-incident analysis and investigations. Unless your records are completely trustworthy, they’re not worth having.
Let’s be honest; people are fallible. It’s not unheard of for a busy employee to tick a box to say they’ve checked a fire door or an alarm system without properly attending to the task. And managers can’t be everywhere at once, making sure that every single staff member is fulfilling their role correctly at all times. So what’s the solution?
Hospitality Fire Safety Tip: NFC tags ensure the job is done
NFC tags for hospitality are big news at the moment, and Alkimii is leading the way with its latest developments. They are a shift away from paper reporting to digital tracking. And, reassuringly, they’re 100% accurate. This digital solution allows staff to scan a tag using their mobile device to prove their attendance. So you have solid, digital proof that the employee has completed their task, and you have the exact location, time and date it occurred. Alkimii’s NFC tags = peace of mind.
#3 Tasks and Tracking
Keep your inspections and maintenance on schedule
For your equipment and systems to remain in good working order, it’s vital to maintain a regular schedule of inspections and maintenance. Not only is a regular schedule at the heart of compliance, it allows you to take a proactive approach to maintenance. Instead of waiting for problems to occur, you can actively manage and maintain your systems and keep them running safely.
While it’s easy enough to draw up a schedule in Excel, it’s not quite so easy to ensure that the schedule is acted upon. This is where digital record-keeping comes to the rescue. But it needs to be intuitive and easy to use while on the go.
Hospitality Fire Safety Tip: Act instantly with digital reporting
Alkimii’s digital tasks ensure things are done on time, keeping your guests safe and maintaining the quality they expect. As well as allowing you to manage your systems proactively, it also lets you react to issues more promptly. Instant reporting helps you to ensure the unexpected doesn’t escalate. Tracking and progress reports allow you to oversee and analyse issues and progress at a glance. Fire extinguisher needs replacing? Emergency exit blocked? Fire escape sign missing? Alkimii Property alerts you to every issue and ensures it is dealt with promptly.
#4 Checklists
Make sure every task is completed
Checklists are essential to successful hospitality fire safety management. They offer a structured and systematic approach to assessing the measures in place. By completing a checklist, you can ensure that every single fire safety element has been properly addressed and monitored. It also allows you to identify any gaps in the fire safety protocols, equipment, or training, and take prompt corrective action. You’re literally ticking all the boxes.
Checklists are great for staff training purposes too. If you have new members on the team, or you’re implementing new procedures, a checklist will familiarise everyone with protocols. It also creates a sense of accountability; the checklist becomes part of the daily routine. And, crucially, you’ll have a record of completion. You’ll know exactly who did what, and when they did it.
Hospitality Fire Safety Tip: Stay in control with NFC checklists
Take it one step further with Alkimii’s NFC checklists. These calendar-centric checklists can be configured to cover all your fire, health and safety tasks, as well as covering operational and maintenance requirements. The Alkimii platform can be configured to ensure your checklists meet the exact requirements of your property. With NFC tags, employees simply scan a tag to log their completion of the checklist task. Plus, it’s easy to log any issues needing further attention.
Why Alkimii Property?
When it comes to an issue as critical as health and safety, you don’t want to take any shortcuts. Alkimii will ensure no task is left undone, no system left unchecked, no procedure forgotten. Hospitality is a busy world, and it carries many risks. Alkimii Property gives you everything you need to manage risk, be compliant and create a safe environment for your guests and your team.
About Alkimii Property
Alkimii Property gives your team all the information they need, integrated into a single app. Checklists, handovers and reports have you covered at all times, and preventative maintenance is a cinch with hotel and group-level overviews. Plus, you can manage staff and guest incidents as they happen with seamless communication and full oversight. Find out more at https://www.alkimii.com/alkimii-property
