Roll Call / Fire Safety Signing In / Out

[kngc]

Okay, I am interested to get others views on this subject.

This could apply to many working environments but I am specifically interested in places of work that have over 100 people on site at any one time and are situated in densely populated areas / towns etcetera (however feel free to chip in even if that does not apply to you):

Would you have a signing in book for staff, contractors and visitors in relation to fire?

I am asking as the following are my challenges to having such a book / log:
1.) Signing in is fairly easy to manage but signing out is not so simple - people leave the building for a number of reasons and for varying periods, therefore would not necessarily sign out each and every time (no matter how many times they are told / asked to do so)
2.) What happens if the signing book is not accessible in the event of an evacuation?
3.) What happens if it is checked and there are people missing (who arguably could be off site and forgot to sign out)?
4.) Who should manage the process and who should deputise them in case they are caught up in the fire / evacuating the area of concern / incident?
5.) What if you have multiple evacuation assembly points due to dynamic assessment or the way the building is constructed?
6.) What if there are multiple access / egress points to the workplace?
7.) Would the emphasis not be better placed on checking rooms to make sure they are clear and reporting those findings to the incident controller (or whatever you call this person)?
8.) If you do have such a system in place, when have you advised that the roll call should be undertaken?

These are just a few of my challenges but what do you think and what do you have in place in your organisation?

TIA

[Blackstone]

Ok so there is a lot to unpack here

I'm going to take each question one by one...
1.) Signing in is fairly easy to manage but signing out is not so simple - people leave the building for a number of reasons and for varying periods, therefore would not necessarily sign out each and every time (no matter how many times they are told / asked to do so) Every company i've been in, whether they have manual, key fob or other sign in means, this is a problem. you are asking people to do something and they wont always do it!
2.) What happens if the signing book is not accessible in the event of an evacuation? Have an evacuation pack with all persons names near the assembly point. If you cant get to the signing book you have something to check against. Last company, everyone had key fob and on the evacuation route one of the fire marshals would swipe a card that would give a print out of who is on site. If this route was on fire, we would go to the evacuation pack list.
3.) What happens if it is checked and there are people missing (who arguably could be off site and forgot to sign out)? Find out who last seem them and where they might be
4.) Who should manage the process and who should deputise them in case they are caught up in the fire / evacuating the area of concern / incident? We have incident controllers that take charge of the situation. First priority, make sure everyone is present. Then investigate if its a real fire
5.) What if you have multiple evacuation assembly points due to dynamic assessment or the way the building is constructed? Have someone that takes charge of each evacuation point and reports back to one central person
6.) What if there are multiple access / egress points to the workplace? Have different signing in points. Current company is a large site and employees tick in/out on a roll call in their area. Each area has a roll caller that check attendance and reports back to incident controller that all are present/someone missing
7.) Would the emphasis not be better placed on checking rooms to make sure they are clear and reporting those findings to the incident controller (or whatever you call this person)? Depends on the complexity of the site
8.) If you do have such a system in place, when have you advised that the roll call should be undertaken?Roll call undertaken as soon as possible after a fire alarm as the assembly points and reported to incident controller

I've simplified a lot of the answers and the re certainly is a lot more to it and will depend a lot on culture, size and layout of site, shifts, etc ,etc.

I'm by no means a expert but just the experiences i've seen!

[Messy]

We have 4000+ staff in a city centre location and with absolutely no assembly point nearby

We appoint and train fire wardens who 'sweep' (check) predetermined areas of the buildings to ensure the premises are empty
Staff leave and just go shopping or to a pub! There are no assembly points
A senior warden waits at a rendezvous point at the fire wardens report their findings to him/her - the results are passed to security
Key staff - security and building technical staff - stay nearby and meet the fire service
Staff are contacted by phone when all is clear or telephone a pre recorded message

No signing in/out books are used anywhere across our estate as they are so unreliable

[witsd]

The only situation I can see where signing in / out is the way to go would be on a large site with some difficult and / or time-consuming-to-access areas, with a relatively small number of staff.

That way you could prioritise the areas that the visitors' book is telling you should have visitors.

In any other environment, chuck the book out of the window and get staff to sweep.

Although it's worth pointing out that visitors' books do tend to make visitors and contractors behave a little better while on site - removes that feeling of anonymity straight away, and the signing in point is a good opportunity to foist the site rules upon them.