The REAL cost of False Fire Alarms – and How to Prevent Them!
How do we balance ethical business when cost is the overriding factor?
We have been coming up against these issues for years, and in fact hours before the news of the Grenfell tragedy broke, my team and I, facilitated by Dr. Kevin Sludds (ECTi), a professional ethicist discussed our values, how we make them meaningful in our day to day work, what drives us and what approaches we take.
We are by no means perfect, but Life Safety always comes first in our business. We have, in our 13 years taken the decision, where the risk to life is so grave and our sphere of influence exhausted that we must say “no” to business, or when we know in our heart and soul that a job cannot be done properly for the price a competitor is quoting.
We place a great emphasis on “what we do and how we do it” at Guardian and client empowerment is key to this; educating customers so that they will hopefully make a responsible decision when it comes to Fire Safety.
The big questions in the wake of the tower block fire which has so far claimed the lives of 80 people – how could it happen? who will be held accountable and what measures will be taken to ensure a tragedy of this scale will never haven again?
It has been reported that cladding used during the multi-million-euro refurbishment of Grenfell Tower was switched to a cheaper version to save £300,000 in a £8.6m refurbishment scheme. Both the Times in England and the BBC said they had seen official documents which stated aluminium panels were preferred to the non-combustible zinc alternative.
Here at home, Grenfell has been described as a game changer for the Fire & Life safety industry. This comes amid calls for more resources by Irish fire authorities to help them carry out building inspections. But it this enough?
Regulation and inspection is just one element. Fire Safety is a shared responsibility between designers, builders, engineers, manufacturers, suppliers, owners, managers, landlords, responsible persons and even tenants – all of whom have a duty of care for themselves and others.
In my opinion, those of us with greater responsibility need to demonstrate that we conduct our business in a responsible and ethical manner, that we are competent, expert and knowledgeable in our respective disciplines and committed to the safety and wellbeing of others above all else.
It is far too easy for companies to merely reference particular values and beliefs without ever practicing them or without ever providing a culture which enables staff to genuinely share in, and live by them.
I believe there is a real need for all of us to embrace Ireland’s recently launched National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility (2017 – 2020) and lead by example.
“My heart and those of whom I work with are with the survivors and the families of those that perished in the Grenfell Tower tragedy”
Author: Brendan Stamp, Principal Engineer/Managing Director, Guardian Fire & Safety
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