Brunel University expand their use of ZetaSafe to manage emergency lighting compliance

Providing a safe environment for staff and students to flourish is of paramount importance to Brunel University – and with a campus comprising over 4000 rooms and 36 halls of residence this is not an easy task.

In order to have total control and visibility of their water safety compliance, Brunel University took the decision in 2012 to engage with ZetaSafe and following its successful implementation expanded its use to cover emergency lighting in 2015.

Estates Assurance Manager, Richard Lyon says “I was fortunate enough to hear about ZetaSafe from my colleague Bobbie Osborn, Chief Engineer at Brunel University, who had successfully used ZetaSafe for legionella and water hygiene management for over 13 years. I was aware that the water hygiene database was already successfully reducing administration time and human error, as well as enforcing accountability to the contractor and in-house estates team, so the next logical step was to evaluate if the software could be expanded to manage one of the primary areas of compliance I am responsible for, emergency lighting.”

Prior to the implementation of ZetaSafe for emergency lighting compliance management, Richard was relying on paper based log books and lever arch files and was faced with a number of challenges:

  • Simply completing the scheduled monthly work to test the emergency lighting fittings in every hall and building on campus was a huge task for the maintenance team and porters in each hall – creating a lengthy and time consuming job to manage remedial tasks on top of the existing work schedule.
  • Lack of real time analysis as all job sheets, results and reports were on paper, making it difficult to gain visibility of the compliance of the whole estate.
  • As results were recorded on paper and lever arch files it was extremely time consuming to analyse the data, spot consecutive failures and identify trends.
  • No electronic audit trail to prove that fixes of failed fittings had been made meant that audits were difficult and time consuming.
  • As each hall of residence used different procedures with no centralised system, tracking was extremely difficult.

All of these challenges not only made the management of emergency lighting a time consuming and laborious process, but the lack of visibility and potential delay in remedial tasks and fixes left Brunel wanting to have more assurance that they were keeping residents, staff, students and visitors safe.

A compliance scheme and workflow to suit exact requirements

Richard continues, “On speaking with ZetaSafe, I quickly discovered that the software could be applied to manage any compliance area such as, fire, gas and electrical, LOLER inspections, and was indeed regularly applied to manage emergency lighting.

That’s not to say the implementation was all plain sailing. Our in-house maintenance team was initially quite resistant to change and were concerned that their work would take longer to complete with the new system. Their fears were allayed however, when ZetaSafe consulted with them and converted their existing forms and checklists into electronic versions, meaning ZetaSafe reflected the work being undertaken, resulting in a seamless continuation of service.”

Why did Brunel select ZetaSafe for emergency lighting compliance?

  • Proven & trusted – ZetaSafe was an existing partner with a proven record of implementation and delivery through the water hygiene database
  • Flexible & scalable – Being available on multiple devices and operating systems, such as Apple iOS, Android, Windows 10 Mobile and Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 meant easy user adoption for new staff, contractors or buildings who had to use the system.
  • Fully functional compliance software – Ability to track trends, visibility of work completed, integrity that the data entered is accurate and action alerts & escalations.
  • Ease of implementation – Brunel University wanted to get started quickly and was impressed with the professional services on offer. ZetaSafe personnel attended site with an electrician and ensured the quality of asset tagging to get them up and running quickly.
  • End to end solution – ZetaSafe not only develop the software, but also provide implementation, development and ongoing support and maintenance where required.

Richard continues, The implementation was phased over several months to allow time to barcode all areas and to ensure all teams and staff members were fully trained and confident in their use of ZetaSafe. We have a mixture of users per database and all work in harmony. We own the database and grant access to contractors and service providers to deliver work on site, which gives them independence. Implementing ZetaSafe has streamlined everyday activities; given me total visibility and peace of mind.”

Key benefits

  • Total visibility – Through easily customisable dashboards, senior management are able to see and share compliance of the whole estate with one click and one login.
  • Peace of mind – Total visibility and assurance that remedial works and repairs have been completed and within the specified timeframe.
  • External audits – Robust audit trail demonstrates that risk is being managed effectively and issues are being identified and rectified.
  • Saving money – Easy identification of consecutive failures and the ability to determine the specific make or model of equipment which has failed, means the most appropriate equipment can be purchased in future.
  • Independence & accountability – Ability to hold contractors and team members to account on work completed and the follow up actions. Increased sense of ownership encourages proactive working.

Andrew Lewis, ZetaSafe Commercial Manager comments, “We were delighted when Brunel University decided to expand their use of ZetaSafe from water hygiene to cover emergency lighting. It has been rewarding to witness the efficiencies gained from the implementation of ZetaSafe and we look forward to providing them with ongoing support to ensure continued compliance.”

About Brunel University

Brunel University London is a highly regarded London university and a great place to study. Founded in 1966, it offers a multitude of courses that combine excellence in teaching and research.

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