Then surely if you offer guidance and advice when and if requested and so make recommendations or offer alternative solutions in relation to any particular recommendations made within the FRA or even an enforcement notice then you are specifying a particular solution are you not?
If the RP took and implimented your good advice, which he would justifiably assume to be a means of resolving an issue, you would hardly return in a few months and find it inadequate.
I have to disagree with your comment about your duty to a company if you think that the recommendations in a FRA are too onerous. It is not up to the enforcement authority to decide if measures are over onerous or not. It is up to the enforcement authority to audit the FRA to ascertain if it is suitable and sufficient. If you are asked for an opinion then you may offer it but not until then I would suggest.
I agree that there are RArs out there who, without a working Fire Safety reference, can be over the top and for many reasons. This can be because of a lack of or indeed an over abundance, of knowledge. But I always maintain that generally there is no better RAr than a gamekeeper turned poacher who knows what the F&R Service are looking for to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements of the Order. But remember that FRAs can also be carried out because the company wants to ensure a very high standard of protection above and beyond the minimum required to comply with the Order.
There’s a lot in you response so I’ll try to answer it in turn.
1. Yes. By offering advice we are specifying a solution and there is nothing wrong with this, as I said before they don't have to take our suggestions on board. What we are not allowed to, and what we are not doing is being prescriptive, i.e. you will do what we tell you.
2. That’s kind of the point, if they take on our best practice advice, and when we return to re-inspect they have taken our advice, then of course they would of complied.
3. In relation to our duties exclusively under the RRO you would be correct, however, not if you look at our duties under all the legislation we are bound by, in particular the Fire Services Act. So we audit in relation to the RRO, our advice and guidance is given under the FSA.
4. i do not believe it's appropriate to just wait to be asked. That is not in the spirit of the legislation or the FSA.
If for example a RP installed bells and whistles because his RA'r recommended it, and, we had audited it before the installation but said nothing. Then, the RP finds out he's just spent £££sands unnecessarily, I would not blame him if he wanted to know WHY we didn't say anything to him
5. As I said previously our advice is just that, advice. They do not have to listen to our recommendations, if they want a higher standard we are not going to object.
I would like to add there is also the point of insurance companies wanting more and I advise the RP’s of this. I point out to them, that they may be satisfying the requirements with minimum standards but it may affect their insurance premiums. And I always advise them to see if adopting a higher standard would reduce their premiums. They may find that the initial higher expenditure will save them money in the long run, and that they may also find it difficult to get insured without meeting certain criteria.
