Evacuation Chair Training Needs Assessment: How Many
Staff Should Be Trained?
Telephone: O330 3775372 Email: [email protected]
One of the questions we're asked most frequently is:
"How many members of staff should we train to use our evacuation chair?"
Unfortunately, there isn't a simple answer.
Every building is different. A small two-storey office may only need a handful of trained operators, while a large care home or hospital may require many more.
The purpose of a training needs assessment is to ensure that enough suitably trained staff are available whenever the evacuation chair might be needed—not just on paper, but in real life.
If you can't find the answer you're looking for, please get in touch. We'll be happy to help.
Telephone on O330 377 5372 or Email [email protected]
"How many members of staff should we train to use our evacuation chair?"
Unfortunately, there isn't a simple answer.
Every building is different. A small two-storey office may only need a handful of trained operators, while a large care home or hospital may require many more.
The purpose of a training needs assessment is to ensure that enough suitably trained staff are available whenever the evacuation chair might be needed—not just on paper, but in real life.
If you can't find the answer you're looking for, please get in touch. We'll be happy to help.
Telephone on O330 377 5372 or Email [email protected]
Start with Your Fire Risk Assessment
Your fire risk assessment should help you identify whether people who may require assistance to evacuate are likely to be present in the building.
This might include:
Consider Your Building
The building itself has a major influence on training requirements.
Ask yourself:
Think About Staffing Levels, Not Headcount
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is counting how many people have certificates.
What really matters is how many trained people are actually on duty when an emergency occurs.
Consider:
Who Makes Good Operators?
Not every member of staff needs evacuation chair training.
Suitable operators are usually people who:
Think About the Passenger
The physical demands placed on the operator will depend largely on who may need to be evacuated.
Helping a lightweight office visitor is very different from evacuating a larger resident from the third floor of a care home.
Where heavier passengers may need assistance, it may be appropriate to train additional operators so that help is available if required.
Don't Forget Staff Turnover
Training isn't something you do once and then forget.
People retire.
People change jobs.
New staff join the organisation.
An effective training needs assessment should include a plan for training new operators and arranging refresher training so that skills remain current.
Review Your Arrangements Regularly
Your training requirements should be reviewed whenever:
Our Recommendation
As experienced evacuation chair trainers, we'd generally rather see an organisation train a few extra operators than discover during an emergency that the only trained person is on annual leave.
Training additional staff provides resilience, improves confidence and helps ensure that suitable operators are available across different shifts and departments.
Need Advice?
Every workplace is different, and there's no universal formula for deciding how many operators should be trained.
If you're unsure how many staff should attend an evacuation chair course, we're always happy to discuss your building, staffing levels and evacuation arrangements before making a recommendation.
Our advice is completely obligation-free, and we'll only recommend the level of training we genuinely believe your organisation needs.
Telephone on 0330 377 5372 or Email [email protected]
Your fire risk assessment should help you identify whether people who may require assistance to evacuate are likely to be present in the building.
This might include:
- wheelchair users;
- people with temporary injuries;
- residents with reduced mobility;
- visitors;
- pregnant employees; and
- anyone who would struggle to use the stairs during an emergency.
Consider Your Building
The building itself has a major influence on training requirements.
Ask yourself:
- How many staircases are there?
- How many evacuation chairs are installed?
- How many floors need to be evacuated?
- Could more than one evacuation be taking place at the same time?
- How long would it take trained operators to reach the equipment?
Think About Staffing Levels, Not Headcount
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is counting how many people have certificates.
What really matters is how many trained people are actually on duty when an emergency occurs.
Consider:
- annual leave;
- sickness;
- shift patterns;
- night shifts;
- part-time staff;
- lunch breaks;
- staff working off-site.
Who Makes Good Operators?
Not every member of staff needs evacuation chair training.
Suitable operators are usually people who:
- remain calm under pressure;
- are comfortable carrying out practical manual handling;
- are physically capable of operating the chair safely;
- understand the building's emergency procedures; and
- are likely to be present when the chair may be needed.
Think About the Passenger
The physical demands placed on the operator will depend largely on who may need to be evacuated.
Helping a lightweight office visitor is very different from evacuating a larger resident from the third floor of a care home.
Where heavier passengers may need assistance, it may be appropriate to train additional operators so that help is available if required.
Don't Forget Staff Turnover
Training isn't something you do once and then forget.
People retire.
People change jobs.
New staff join the organisation.
An effective training needs assessment should include a plan for training new operators and arranging refresher training so that skills remain current.
Review Your Arrangements Regularly
Your training requirements should be reviewed whenever:
- the building changes;
- staffing levels change;
- evacuation routes are altered;
- new evacuation equipment is introduced;
- a new group of people requiring assistance occupies the building; or
- your fire risk assessment identifies new risks.
Our Recommendation
As experienced evacuation chair trainers, we'd generally rather see an organisation train a few extra operators than discover during an emergency that the only trained person is on annual leave.
Training additional staff provides resilience, improves confidence and helps ensure that suitable operators are available across different shifts and departments.
Need Advice?
Every workplace is different, and there's no universal formula for deciding how many operators should be trained.
If you're unsure how many staff should attend an evacuation chair course, we're always happy to discuss your building, staffing levels and evacuation arrangements before making a recommendation.
Our advice is completely obligation-free, and we'll only recommend the level of training we genuinely believe your organisation needs.
Telephone on 0330 377 5372 or Email [email protected]
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