Legionella Refresher Training: How Important is It?
If you are involved in the control of Legionella in your workplace or you are a member of a Water Safety Group, Legionella refresher training is vital in keeping your knowledge and skills fresh and up to date. This will give you the confidence to meet your responsibilities safely and effectively, knowing that your training is current and refreshed.
Whether you are the duty holder, responsible person, or someone else involved in the management of Legionella at your place of work, completing regular refresher training in safety critical subjects is important in maintaining your skills and competence to allow you to fulfil your responsibilities effectively.
A version of this article highlighting the importance of Legionella refresher training first appeared in Legionella Control International’s newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.
The importance of Legionella training
It is impossible to underestimate the importance of Legionella training. If you play any role in the control of Legionella in your workplace or you are a member of a Water Safety Group, you should have this training to make sure you fully understand all aspects of water safety and what’s required of you. You can then apply your knowledge to the situations you are faced with to ensure the water systems under your control are always clean and in the best condition, and colleagues and others are safe from the dangers posed by Legionnaires’ disease.
Why do you need Legionella refresher training?
But does the learning journey end there? If everyone in your team or your Water Safety Group has completed their Legionella training, is there ever any need to have more? After all, some of the most important elements of the training programme will never change. For instance, we know that stagnant water creates the ideal conditions for Legionella bacteria to flourish and spread. Keep that water flowing and it becomes much harder for the bacteria to take hold.
Similarly, we know that Legionella bacteria love to grow in temperatures between 20 – 45 degrees Celsius. The bacteria are dormant once the temperature drops below 20 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, they cannot survive if the water temperature goes above 60 degrees Celsius. This knowledge helps those responsible for managing a water system to keep the hot and cold water temperatures at the correct levels. This alone vastly reduces the chances that Legionella bacteria can take hold.
We also know that regular cleaning and maintenance of the water system itself is essential. This removes scale and debris from pipework, hot water tanks, outlets and similar areas. Descaling, regular cleaning, and flushing through infrequently used pipework and outlets can all play a role in maintaining a safe water system.
Furthermore, training will highlight the importance of conducting a Legionella risk assessment, identifying risk factors, and taking the necessary steps to remove or manage those factors.
There is a sense of thinking, well, you’ve had training already and you understand all the above. You may put many aspects of your training into play each day. As such, is there really any need to undergo Legionella refresher training?
Refresher training and the Health and Safety at Work Regulations
These regulations provide a framework for employers to follow when ensuring their premises and procedures are safe, and that all health and safety requirements are followed. The legislation indicates that ‘instruction and training’ is necessary to ensure employees can identify and deal with any potential risks that may arise. While the legislation covers health and safety, Legionella safety does come into this.
The legislation goes further in mentioning that any training should be periodically repeated where appropriate. That’s a catch-all term, but it does point to the importance of making sure refresher training is part of the overall approach to health and safety at work – and yes, this includes Legionella training.
Refresher training ensures continued Legionella competency and knowledge
You can see that while your current efforts may be sufficient to manage Legionella risk in your workplace, continued training still has an important role to play. To begin with, there may potentially be changes in legislation, even if they are minor, that could lead to changes in the way you need to do things.
This point alone is worth considering in more detail if you believe you don’t need any refresher training on Legionella. You may be confident you are following all current regulations, guidance and best practice and that your water safety measures are therefore sufficient. However, if there has been a minor change you are not aware of, your efforts may not be as compliant as they previously were. Even a small edit to the legislation can lead to a change somewhere in your approach to water safety. If you don’t have refresher training, you won’t know what you are doing wrong.
How often should you get Legionella refresher training?
We generally recommend a refresher course is taken every three years, or sooner if there are changes to key legislation and guidance. This refresher training will cover any legislative changes or approaches you should be aware of, while also going over everything you have previously learned. It’s a good way to make sure your current water safety processes and procedures haven’t slipped in any way. It’s easy to relax a little and begin doing things slightly differently, even if you are not fully aware you are doing so. Legionella refresher training can catch such habits and reset the way you approach things.
You can also undertake refresher training from the unique standpoint of knowing how to conduct a Legionella risk assessment, and of knowing what else you ought to be doing. You can therefore think of it as a handy reminder for the various tasks involved in putting together a risk management system for Legionella in your workplace.
Avoid complacency and keeping up to date with water safety compliance
These are the two most important reasons to undergo refresher training every three years. That’s enough time for there to be changes in guidance, and even if there aren’t, you can still relax into your routines in that time. We all find shortcuts for doing things, but Legionella management is not an area that caters to shortcuts.
By attending regular training courses, you can be sure you are doing everything you should be, whenever you appoint specialists to carry out a risk assessment, clean or maintain a water system, or do anything else relating to water safety.
Furthermore, if you are the Legionella responsible person and you are booking such training, you can be sure your staff and Water Safety Group members are up to date and can perform their roles to the best of their abilities and knowledge. This supports your whole business and ensures that everyone plays a part in contributing to a safe water system.
Getting answers to tricky questions
One final point – water safety or Legionella training also allows those in attendance to ask any questions they may not necessarily feel comfortable asking in the workplace. We all know those ‘stupid questions’ we feel we shouldn’t need to ask but do. A refresher training course is the ideal place to ask them, to be sure the individual understands and knows what is required of them regarding Legionella safety.
In short, there are many reasons why regular refresher training is necessary and advantageous – not least the contribution it makes to regulatory and legislative compliance.
World-leading Legionella risk management specialists
Rated highly by our clients, we work closely with organisations, across all sectors throughout the UK and internationally, training people with responsibility for the control of Legionella in the workplace to give them the skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively and so meet their social and legal obligations with confidence.
If you are a landlord, business owner, health and safety manager, property and facilities specialist, the duty holder or responsible person and would like to learn more about our City & Guilds accredited Legionella training courses please contact us today.
Our experts can quickly help you develop practical learning and staff development plans that will help to keep people safe, protect your reputation and demonstrate to safety regulators and other important stakeholders that you are taking appropriate measures to manage the risks in your business.
To speak with one of our training specialists’ call us today on 0330 223 36 86 or contact us here …
