Health and safety planning for commercial property

Map responsibilities across the building

List common areas, tenant premises, service yards and plant rooms against the person who controls access and the person who commissions work. Record any disputed responsibility as an open decision. A contractor working in a tenant unit may still affect a shared corridor or building system, so the job boundary should not stop at the tenant door.

Inspect at a representative time

A quiet building visit may miss delivery movements, cleaning activity or a busy tenant changeover. Include operating hours and planned maintenance in the brief. Ask whether observations should cover more than one period and how inaccessible areas will be recorded. Photographs should identify location and date without unnecessarily exposing occupants or private tenant information.

Illustrative example: a shared loading entrance

Two tenants arrange deliveries separately while a cleaning contractor uses the same entrance. The facilities team can prepare an activity schedule and a marked plan for review. The useful question is who coordinates the overlap and checks the agreed arrangement; a generic instruction to keep the area clear does not explain that responsibility.

Choose a deliverable that the facilities team can use

For a discrete concern, discuss a scoped inspection with an observation register. For a broader review, define the audit criteria, areas sampled and follow-up process. Request a record that identifies each location, accountable party, proposed action and verification decision. Training enquiries should separately identify the roles and shifts that need learning support.

Worked record