Londons Safety Plan and the Governments Guidelines - Case Study Example

Name: Institution: Title: London’s Safety Plan and the Government’s Guidelines Tutor: Course: Date: Table of contents Table of contents …………………………………………………………………2 1.0 Executive summary…………………………………………………………..3 2.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...3 3.0 Discussion……………………………………………………………………..3 3.1 Ways through which the London Fire Safety Plan conforms to government guidelines ………………………………………………..3 3.2 Non-conformation of the London Fire Safety Plan and government guidelines…………………………………………………….6 3.3 Future action plans…………………………………………………….8 4.0 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..9 5.0 References …………………………………………………………………….10 Executive summary The London Fire Safety Plan was developed so as to reduce fire risks as well as cut down on losses in the occurrence of fire. This plan was established to cover a three year period during which the London Fire Brigade would have attained the objectives set by the government on fire safety. This report aims at analyzing the various strategies employed by London Fire Safety Plan which conform to government guidelines as well as measures which deviate from the guidelines. The report also outlines the future action plans of the London Fire Safety Plan in a bid to cater for safety in the communities. Introduction The National Framework of 2008-11 is composed of guidelines developed by the government to enable fire fighting companies ensure safety and reduce risks emanating from fire hazardous. One of the key objectives of the National Framework is to ensure that resilience is attained by all stakeholders in fire safety. Consequently, the London Fire Safety which was developed as one of the fire safety organizations in the country to reduce losses resulting from fire outbreaks. According to the government guidelines, fire safety companies must meet all the requirements and objectives. The London Fire Safety Plan meets some of the guidelines although in other areas there is no conformity. Discussion Ways through which the London Fire Safety Plan conforms to government guidelines The London Fire Safety Plan has met one of the government guidelines which call for all fire safety authorities to develop an integrated risk management plan which must be availed to the public. This integrated risk management plan should depict the organizations objectives which include effort to minimize occurrence as well as severity of fires. The London Fire Safety Plan has not only conformed to this objective and guideline but rather also demonstrated their willingness to reduce road accidents especially where fires may breakout (London Fire Brigade, 2010). This integrated risk management plan supports incorporation of community members towards safety maximization. The London Fire Safety Plan has partnered with stakeholders such as a number of London citizens as well as business owners so as to increase the degree of communication between the fire safety services and clients (Klaene, 2007). This is a safety precaution measure which is advantageous as members of the London Fire Safety Plan acquire information on fire outbreaks before the fire causes more damage (London Fire Brigade, 2010). Liaising with local communities is fundamental towards meeting the government guidelines as the needs of community members must be met by the fire rescue service provider. It is from the needs of the said community that the London Fire Safety organization will realize which areas needs assistance as well as prioritizing risk areas in the community. London Fire Safety has developed a strategy through which they collect views from clients on their needs as well as performance hence their services are determined by customer needs (London Fire Brigade, 2010). The London Fire Safety Plan has also conformed to the guideline which states that the fire and rescue services offered should lower the economic and social effect on recipients. This implies that the services should be availed promptly and that they should be of high quality. This has been seen in the mayor’s priorities where fire services should at all times assist people living in London so that they do not suffer from financial losses hence enable economic recovery (London Fire Brigade, 2010). The London Fire Safety Plan also meets the government guidelines by ensuring that fires do not arise in the first place. This is exhibited by the guideline which states that fire rescue companies should at all times safeguard the natural and built environment. This is achieved by protecting infrastructure from incidents that are likely to bring about fires. Consequently, this protection measures are attained by providing community members with adequate information on ways through they can reduce occurrence of fire in the premises or residential areas (Amernic, 2008). In addition to information, the fire rescue company must have relevant resources and facilities to prevent fires from spreading once they occur (Communities and Local Government, 2008). The other area that London Fire Safety Plan has met the government guidelines is on the diversification of employees working at fire rescue organizations. This has been attained through recruitment processes where employees are selected based on cultural diversity. Diversity among employees ensures that all community members are equally represented hence resilience in the entire service delivery system (Communities and Local Government, 2008). London Fire Safety Authority has fully conformed to this guideline by recording high staff retention rates based on their diversity. However, despite the huge emphasis to employ diverse staff, the government guidelines single out the skills and competence of all fire rescue employees. Similarly, the employer, in this case London Fire Safety organization should always give room for employees to progress their careers. This is in line with their profession so that London Fire Safety has to support advanced employee training to enhance their performance (London Fire Brigade, 2010). The facilities present at the London Fire Safety organization have been developed in a way that employees from diverse backgrounds can comfortably utilize them to meet the set objectives. Consequently, over the years, London Fire Safety has purchased advanced and high quality equipment as well as availed up to date training for an employee who has enabled the organization to abide to the government guidelines (Communities and Local Government, 2008). Consequently, the government guidelines state that fire safety and rescue organizations should work closely with local authorities especially in attainment of fire prevention services. The other item which is enhanced by the local authority is based on performance analysis of the fire safety and rescue service providers. The local authorities play a critical role in classifying the degree of resilience demonstrated by any fire rescue firm (Amernic, 2008). The London Fire Safety organization has proven that they have fully incorporated the local authorities in their plan as the seen in the ‘mayor’s priorities’ where key issues which the local authority wants implemented have been outlined (London Fire Brigade, 2010). Non-conformation of the London Fire Safety Plan and government guidelines Among the few strategies which have not been met by the London Fire Safety Plan as indicated in the government guidelines is lack of frequent up dating and editing of information in the public 3-year plan. Consequently, from the plan, some of the information that has been placed there is not current. For instance, the analysis on performance illustrated in the plan shows events up to September 2010 while London Fire Safety’s events which took place in 2011 are nowhere to be seen (London Fire Brigade, 2010). The government guidelines lay much emphasis on the results after implementation of the integrated risk management plan and pay no attention to procedures involved but rather the end product. However, the London Fire Safety plan lays more emphasis on procedures that will be put in place during the 3-year plan so as to meet the guidelines. Consequently, the London Fire Safety fails to provide sufficient information on subsequent performance at the firm as most of the safety plan is composed of procedures involved when executing most of the fire rescue activities (London Fire Brigade, 2010). The other area of the London Fire Safety Plan that does not conform to government guidelines is concerned with terrorist attacks in England. The government guidelines states that all fire safety and rescue service providers must work hard to ensure that any form of terrorist attack be it biological or chemical should be handled by such service providers. London Fire Safety Plan on the other hand does not refer to terrorist attacks in any way and there is no section which shows preparedness in reference to counterterrorist activities. Hence the London Safety Plan has failed to implement strategies such as protection against terrorist fire incidents which are usually tragic as compared to industrial fires (Communities and Local Government, 2008). The other area emphasized by the government guidelines which does not appear in the London Fire Safety Plan is gender equality among employees where women are allocated 15% of the entire job positions at any fire safety and rescue organization. The government guidelines points out that diversity in gender terms should be upheld so as to strengthen the workforce during service delivery. The London Fire Safety Plan does not refer to its policy on women employees or gender ratios during recruitment (Communities and Local Government, 2008). Future action plans Future action plans at London Fire Safety include working towards a collaborative future where fire equipment suppliers, clients at a high risk, local authorities and the community will work together towards reducing risk associated with fires. Such collaborations will also entail educating community members on ways of preventing fire and other emergencies (Maclean, 2007). This will go a long way into preparedness as well as prompt response in the occurrence of a fire hence reducing possible losses. Consequently, future plans include incorporating more women into the London Fire Safety workforce hence enhancing diversity among employees (Communities and Local Government, 2008). The other future action plan is aimed at making London Fire Safety organization a model in fire safety and rescue by ensuring that the working area as well as employees is protected from fires. Employee safety is vital as it instills confidence during work hence the overall productivity of employees is elevated. Teamwork among workmates allows them to learn from each other hence increasing competence levels (Delmar, 2004). Consequently, teamwork will enable the London Fire Safety to maximally utilize available resources as well as ensuring that public money is efficiently utilized to deliver quality fire safety and rescue services. The future action plan also entails not only preparing but also planning for fire occurrences so as to ensure a resilience response to mitigate such incidences (London Fire Brigade, 2010). Conclusion In conclusion, the London Fire Safety Plan has conformed to a considerable number of guidelines set out by the government in the National Framework of 2008-11. However, there are a number of guidelines which have not being included in the future action plans where potential risks have been critically analyzed. Consequently, the London Fire Safety Plan will go a long way into preventing fire risks in London as it has employed adequate measures to achieve this objective. References Amernic, Jerry, 2008, “Fire Safety Disaster.” Canadian Healthcare Facilities Volume 28 Issue 3, ed Amie Silverwood. Spring Communities and Local Government, 2008, Fire and Rescue Service National Framework 2008-11. retrieved on December 10, 2011 from: file:///C:/DOCUME~1/user/LOCALS~1/Temp/nationalframework200811.pdf Delmar T., 2004), Learning. The Firefighter's Handbook: Essentials of Fire Fighting and Emergency Response. Second Edition. Delmar Publishers Klaene, B., 2007, Structural Firefighting: Strategies and Tactics. Jones and Bartlett Publishers London Fire Brigade, 2010, London Safety Plan 2010/2013. retrieved on December 10, 2011 from: www.londonsafetyplan2010.pdf. Maclean. S., 2007, Canadian firm generates digital fire safety plans.” Building Strategies Read More