Requirements for recording employees present in building?

[Tony1963]

Hi all,

Does anyone here know what the legal requirements are for a company to know which employees and visitors are present in a building at any time?

Where I've worked in the past, swiping in and out of buildings recorded you in or out, so that in the event of a fire alarm, a print out was automatically generated and used as a register for the fire marshals. Where I work now, there's no such system in place. We just rely on people having seen each other at the start of the day....

I'm quite happy to accept that my previous employers may have gone above and beyond the legal requirements, but find our current system deeply flawed.

Thanks in advance

[Chuffedmonkey]

No idea about legal requirement but i would have thought other then a Fire policy and muster point outside the building that would be it.

My current place is swipe in only due to security but no swipe out.

[Heartworm]

I would have thought at minimum a registry of people to sign in and out that the fire Marshall will compare at the muster point.

[crofty1984]

At my place the fire wardens each have an area to check is clear. When you're outside of someone's missing they may be on lunch or seeing a supplier but they're not in the building, which is the main thing.

[21TonyK]

Wherever I have worked (or managed) a "fire register" was either non-existent or completely flawed. Think about hotels and public buildings do you sign in and out?

The last time I spoke to the fire service about it was getting on for 10-15 years ago and they said having a register of people in a building was all very well but they swept the complete building if there was any question of someone being in there.

We have a register at work (school) and for the kids its going to be accurate but half the staff don't sign in or out as they should.

[55palfers]

What does your Fire Risk Assessment say about it? Is it a particularly high-hazard / high consequence operation or just offices?

Visitors really need to sign in and out as they may not be familiar with the building, know what the alarm sounds like, etc.

Usually, a properly trained Fire Marshall will sweep the floor to make sure all have left the building. Good idea to do roll-call at muster point

[4x4Tyke]

I did fire marshal training a while back, our main purpose was to ensure the building was cleared room by room, my duty including checking the toilets were unoccupied. Registers are an aid, not the be all and end all solution. The worse people were those, '... buts its only a drill and I have work to do.'

Edited by 4x4Tyke on Tuesday 5th June 08:40

[Starfighter]

I had a few try that a few years ago. I took names and they were all invited to a stand up meeting without biscuits in HR and a verbal warning.

[Tony1963]

So there's no real legal standard, by the looks of things.

The facility is an aircraft maintence hangar with workshops, offices, warehouse and, crucially, other hangars that people might visit without being registered as out of the building.

There are a few scenarios that I can think up that would mean the fire crew might have to enter the building looking for someone who isn't there, or be told the building is empty when it isn't.

Not a great set up, but money's tight!

[Twig62]

Roughly how many personnel are there on site ? Just wondering if IN/OUT boards would work. This is what we use but there are only around 25 of us.

[Tony1963]

Over two hundred people, multiple entry points.

[anonymous-user]

In the 80's in the North Sea, there was a huge project in the Ekofisk field around 26 platforms being raised 6 meters, People were transferring between platforms by boat, something that is not normal and going down one leg and up another as there was scaffolding access between the legs. A very complicated and expensive swipe card system was bought to monitor who was where on the decks below the drilling deck, so that people could access up and down different legs. It never worked and they only way to ensure that they knew ho was 'below decks' was to introduce a dog tag system as used by miners etc, you hung your dog tag on a peg when you went down ad came out the same way and removed it.
It is nearly impossible to know who is where even in a controlled dangerous environment like that, to do it in a office block would be very onerous on the employees for little practical reyrn

[Tony1963]

Well, all I can say is that the system we used at Stansted nearly twenty years ago worked. We could swipe in or out at any entry point. Without swiping you couldn't enter or leave, it was prevented physically. As soon as the alarm sounded, a print-out was produced, handed to fire marshals, and everyone on that list HAD to be accounted for. Simple,

[sausage76]

There is no specific legal requirement to sign in and out of a building.

It can be how some people control fire evacuation etc but not required. I work at a large foot print site and have about 1000 on site over three shifts. We operate a clock in and out system but this is solely for payroll.

In event of evacuation we have a fire sweepers who walk specific areas (factory broken down into 7 areas) they ensure no one is present in those areas and report to the incident controller on shift in the car park. All other staff are required to go to their muster points. We do operate a visitor book, this is so we know who is on site and they get a nice badge to wear, but again not a must have due to our sweep process.