| A Chubb fire trainer delivered four fiull-day fire safety training courses to 150 Uniq employees |
Chubb Fire & Security UK is providing employees at Uniq, the major British chilled foods manufacturer, with essential knowledge to counter and minimise the potential threat of fire. Chubb, a leading provider of electronic security and fire safety solutions for business and industry, is part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
Uniq PLC produces chilled convenience foods, including prepared sandwiches, salads and dairy products, at a number of sites across the UK. According to Dave Mitchell, Learning & Development Manager, Uniq, fire training is particularly important in the food preparation industry:
“We have a large number of shop floor employees, and it is vital that our managers fully understand their responsibilities and the actions that they must take to keep our people safe in the event of an emergency evacuation,” he says. “Furthermore, our engineers must be properly trained to carry out fire investigations.”
A Chubb fire trainer delivered four full-day fire safety training courses to 150 Uniq employees at its Shrewsbury site this year; two Fire Marshal courses to managers and two Fire Warden courses to engineers. Dave says that he received very positive feedback following the training:
“Staff who underwent the Chubb training said that it was both informative and had a big impact on their confidence and understanding of fire procedures,” he says. “We use Chubb because its industry experience enables the company to provide the in-depth knowledge and expertise to meet our training requirements, and I would certainly recommend the service to other people and organisations.”
Eddie Hill, Director, Fire Consultancy Division, Chubb, says that companies should invest in fire safety training for their employees:
“According to a survey conducted by the Fire Industry Association (FIA), almost a fifth of companies in the UK have cut back on fire safety in the current economic climate, despite the fact that an equal proportion of managers admitted having had a fire in their workplace.
“Nearly 30 percent of staff surveyed said they wouldn’t know what to do in the event of a fire at work, almost a quarter don’t know where the fire exits are in their office, and nearly 40 percent wouldn’t know where to find a fire extinguisher. These statistics remain deeply concerning,” he adds, “and there can be no excuse for a company to take risks with its staff’s safety.”
Chubb is dedicated to helping businesses meet their legal obligation by providing a comprehensive and complete range of fire safety training solutions for organisations both large and small, from the inexperienced office worker through to the experienced fire safety professional.
“The best preventative measure against fire is effective staff training and safe working practices,” Hill says.
Chubb has also provided fire extinguisher servicing for Uniq; with a nationwide team of over 400 qualified fire extinguisher service engineers, Chubb has the ability to service and maintain all types and makes of extinguishers.