Legionella Management Training

Legionella management training is a fundamental requirement for anyone who has, by virtue of their job role or function, responsibility for overseeing the management of building water systems and services. Lack of appropriate training is also one of the main contributory factors in outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Whether termed responsible person training, water hygiene training or water management training the focus should be the same.

For your Legionella control to remain effective, as well as awareness training for all persons involved in assessing risk, managing systems and applying precautions, those managing need to be able to demonstrate they are competent, trained and aware of their duties too. Bearing in mind it is those responsible for creating the risk (in this case managing and/or operating water systems and service) who are ultimately responsible for managing it. How do you know if the controls you have in place are relevant, realistic and effective, if you don’t know what success looks like?

At Assurity Consulting our training is designed with this in mind - those people with the responsibility for the management control process. With the emphasis on education rather than instruction, in order to understand the “why” as well as what is expected, our courses are tailored a typically run inhouse to reflect what you are doing in your building.

It also supports your duties under the Approved Code of Practice & Guidance (L8): “Legionnaires’ disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems”, that the training and competence of those with responsibilities for implementing precautionary measures to control the risk of Legionella in buildings’ water systems need to be provided and fully documented. Training is also a requirement of both the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations (Section 12) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (Section 13).

Whether you are the duty holder, responsible person, appointed competent person or part of the team implementing the controls, you not only need to know what your responsibilities are but how they fit into the broader management and context of the risks associated with Legionella.

Your training sessions will provide a practical picture of Legionella for all attendees, raise your management understanding of the risks posed by Legionella in building water systems and so attendees gain the knowledge to help you demonstrate compliance with the Approved Code of Practice & Guidance (L8):  “Legionnaires’ disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems”. It will cover areas such as:

• Legionella – background and current situation;
• Legislation and key responsibilities;
• Outbreaks and case studies – lessons learned;
• Managing Legionella in water systems:
  • Risk assessments
  • Written schemes
  • System controls
  • Water treatment
• Essential documentation;
• Management auditing; and
• Attendee participation in specific tasks dealing with Legionella incidents.

CPD certificates are issued to all participants on completion of the training and competency checks and tests can also be provided. Effective training is one of the steps to demonstrating your competence, what does yours look like?