Has anyone any experience of introducing a management system to control the numbers of staff excused from participating in a fire drill?
In certain establishments, its clear critical staff would need to be excused to keep plant and building services running, secure the premises and perhaps man telephones etc if a critical service is provided.
I am dealing with a site where a system is in place where managers authorise key staff to stay in post. They are issued with a coloured ID card lanyard which excuses staff when confronted by fire wardens or senior managers.
Currently the system is abused as it is local line managers who are giving authorisation, often for non key staff to complete work to meet deadlines, or for meetings that have been 'difficult or expensive to arrange' etc. Currently just over 5% of staff are excused - a figure that I feel is far too high and not exactly how the plan was envisaged when introduced
I have suggested principle managers or a small panel of managers independent from the team requesting to be excused make the decision - or senior staff identify staff to be excused as a permanent part of the process. Both ideas have been rejected.
Without some control, fire wardens get demotivated and 'resign', and staff see others 'getting away with it' and claim they have been excused on the next drill leading to drill anarchy !!
Any ideas?
