Legionella training - what you need to know
If not properly managed, Legionella bacteria can seriously impair people’s health. Legionnaires’ illness is a potentially lethal form of pneumonia that can be brought on by Legionella growing and then spraying in water.
Every employer or person in charge of a building with a man-made water system is therefore required to take action to make sure that the system is kept in good condition and that any potentially dangerous bacteria are managed.
Any programme to maintain water cleanliness and Legionella control management must include Legionella training.
WHO NEEDS TO BE TRAINED?
Anyone involved in the programme of risk management needs to be trained to show they can demonstrate their competence.
Duty Holder
The dutyholder is either: (a) the employer, where the risk from their undertaking is to their employees or others; or (b) a self-employed person, where there is a risk from their undertaking to themselves or others; or (c) the person who is in control of premises or systems in connection with work, where there is a risk from systems in the building, eg where a building is let to tenants, but the landlord keeps responsibility for its maintenance.
Responsible person
The dutyholder should specifically appoint a competent person or persons to take day-to-day responsibility for controlling any identified risk from legionella bacteria, known as the ‘responsible person
All other employees involved in the risk management programme
The dutyholder should also ensure that all employees involved in work that may expose an employee or other person to legionella are given suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training.
OPTIONS
Depending on your organisation’s requirements there are various options for making sure you have the legionella training you need in place.
Many specialist water treatment/legionella control companies offer open courses to attend typically for 1 day. Sometimes these are accredited by a recognised training organisation such as City & Guilds or Highfield
Many companies also offer on-site training which may be more suitable if you have a larger number of staff needing to be trained. This is usually at a higher cost but can be tailored to the specific technical requirements of the site.
There are also many options for on-line training. This option allows for the training to be carried out at a convenient time for the individual delegate but is usually at a lower level of detail and cannot be tailored to each site’s situation.
Find out more about our training services here
