Managing a large property portfolio can feel like spinning plates. Even with a team around them: juggling tenant problems, arranging flat viewings and keeping on top of admin work can leave them with little time to think about anything else.
Completing fire risk assessments on the properties is another headache to add to this list. With different properties due for assessments at different times, managing when to contact the fire risk assessor can become a whole job in itself.
External contractors and fire risk assessors
At Total Fire Group, they recognized that this system was unmanageable for large property companies
Traditionally, property companies managed their fire risk assessments on a spreadsheet. They communicated via phone with their external contractors and fire risk assessors. This constant back and forth, between 3 parties, meant tasks could be forgotten and risk assessment deadlines missed.
At Total Fire Group, they recognized that this system was unmanageable for large property companies. Manually arranging fire risk assessments for 100s of properties can lead to human error that becomes its own fire risk.
better way to manage the fire risk assessments
That’s why they developed their very own fire risk management software called Aurora. They wanted to build a tool that could automate the fire risk assessment process for property owners. The tool automates the fire risk assessment deadlines and allows users to communicate with contractors from within the software. It’s essentially a tool that brings the whole process online and means they never miss a fire assessment deadline.
There are multiple tools on the market to help them automate this process and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. But what are the ‘must-have’ features to look out for if they want to purchase some fire risk assessment software? Below, they’ve listed the things they believe are essential if they want the fire risk management tool to save time and effort.
Keep these in mind when they’re shopping around to know they’re getting a piece of software that’ll revolutionize the fire risk management process.
What are the parts to look for when reviewing assessment software
The cycle starts with an assessor on the property and ends with them having completed
A software that can complete the full fire risk management cycle. The ‘fire risk management cycle’ is a term they use here at Total Fire to describe the whole fire risk assessment process. The cycle starts with an assessor on the property and ends with them having completed and signed off the assessment findings. The cycle requires multiple steps and input from a FRA, a client and external contractors.
A tool that lets them automate a large portion, if not all, of this process will save time and energy, as the tasks required by each party can be assigned and reported on automatically. Most fire risk assessment software on the market doesn’t give them this level of automation. Finding a tool that allows an FRA to communicate recommendations to a client is quite common.
But a tool that lets them (a client or property owner) take these recommendations and assign them to contractors with a full audit trail from start through to completion, meaning the whole organization is working with one version of the truth. Aurora allows this level of control. So if they’d like a tool that lets they complete the fire safety cycle in one place, they can book a free demo here to check it out.
A tool that automatically tells when a fire risk assessment is due
The assigned assessor will be sent the FRA, which can be partly completed onsite on any handheld device
If they manage multiple properties, keeping track of when each one requires a fire safety assessment can be near impossible. Especially if the portfolio is pushing 50+ properties. Most fire risk assessment tools on the market give clients automated reminders when a property needs an assessment. Some will go the extra mile and sync directly with a fire risk assessor and let them know an assessment is due. That way, the assessments will be getting done on autopilot.
The assigned assessor will be sent the FRA, which can be partially completed onsite on any handheld device. With the interactive floorplan feature, the assessor can pinpoint findings/images showing the client the precise location of the FRA findings in real time. Once the FRA passes an internal audit, the BAFE SP 205 certificate is automatically generated, and the completed FRA is emailed directly to the client, saving on admin time.
Finding a tool that gives them an automatic nudge when a property needs a risk assessment is the bare minimum they should expect from any fire management software. But make sure they explore all the options, as some tools come with powerful additional features like the ones mentioned above.
Find a fire safety software built by fire safety experts, not developers
It should go without saying that the best people to build a fire risk management tool are fire risk experts. This guarantees that any software created will solve the actual issues property managers face daily in regard to fire safety management.
When they’re looking for the fire risk management software, make sure it’s been developed by a reputable fire risk assessment company. That way, they’ll know they have taken their years of experience and poured them into a tool that’ll make life a lot easier.
Which do They pick?
Whichever fire risk assessment software they decide to use, make sure it meets the criteria they’ve mentioned above.
That way they can be confident that it’ll reduce the time they’re spending managing the fire risk assessment processes and let they spend more time running the business.
