If you’re a facilities manager, statutory compliance probably sits in the back of your mind all the time. There’s always something that needs checking, logging or chasing. Fire alarm tests, contractor paperwork, remedial actions, and inspection dates - the list never really stops.
And while statutory compliance in facilities management is part and parcel of the job, the reality is that keeping everything organised across your sites can quickly get very complicated. According to the latest State of FM report, 77% of facilities management professionals see compliance as “a moderate challenge, reflecting the ongoing issue of meeting complex regulatory requirements”.
It’s no surprise then that the customers we speak to often talk about how difficult it can be to stay on top of the never-ending paper trails. Funnily enough, a lot of facilities managers aren’t necessarily worried about whether fire alarm checks are taking place or if EICRs are being carried out, but whether they could prove compliance quickly if someone asked.
What statutory compliance in facilities management covers
Compliance in facilities management typically covers areas such as:
- Fire safety
- Electrical safety
- Water hygiene and Legionella control
- Gas safety
- Asbestos management
- Machinery and equipment safety
- Health and safety
But that’s just the start of it - within each of those categories there are numerous rules, checks, inspections and asset documentation that needs to take place on a rolling basis. And FM compliance rarely sits in one place. It spans multiple systems and safety procedures that all need to be completed on schedule and properly documented.
Facilities teams are under increasing pressure as new legislation like the Building Safety Act 2022 requires even stricter accountability, and a clear “golden thread” of building information. This means that accurate safety, maintenance and compliance records must be accessible and kept up to date. Compliance is a huge area to cover, which is why it so often becomes a difficult task to keep on top of every single regulation that applies to your facilities team.
When your FM compliance records start to get messy
The challenge with statutory compliance in facilities management is keeping everything recorded and visible across your team, even when jobs increase and operations get busy.
Some of these scenarios might sound familiar:
- Fire alarm tests are logged in one spreadsheet while maintenance records live elsewhere
- Engineers are completing works on one site but you don’t see the documentation in the office until weeks later
- When documents do come in it’s in dribs and drabs via email and WhatsApp messages, often missing attachments with key information
- Someone’s asking for evidence of a check from 6 months ago and you’re struggling to track it down
At best, when your records are stored manually or spread across systems, emails and folders, producing clear evidence during an audit or inspection can take much longer than it should. At worst, it can lead to damaging fines and legal action.
Compliance questions you should be able to answer
One of the simplest ways to assess your facilities management team compliance-readiness is to ask a few key questions. If you were asked the following today, could you provide clear evidence? And how quickly could you find it?
- When was your last fire risk assessment reviewed?
- Can you show your last 12 months of fire alarm testing records?
- Are your Legionella temperature monitoring logs up to date?
- Have the remedial actions from the last inspection been completed and documented?
- Can you prove the contractor you used was appropriately certified when the work was carried out?
- Can contractors access the asbestos register before starting work?
If any of these questions are difficult to answer in good time it may indicate some gaps in your compliance processes and your document management.
Sense check your compliance processes
With so many moving parts involved with FM compliance it can be useful to take a step back and review how clearly everything is being tracked.
That’s why we created a facilities management compliance checklist - a practical self-assessment tool designed to help you review key compliance areas in one place. It also includes review frequencies making it easier to spot where something may have been missed or where follow-ups with documentation need to be made. Use this checklist as a starting point to assessing your current processes and document management so you can work towards a quicker, smoother way of managing your compliance responsibilities.
Download our free compliance checklist here.
