Article 15 of the Working Conditions Act: What Does This Mean for Your FAFS?
Article 15 of the Working Conditions Act requires employers to properly organize their emergency response teams. Findwhere makes that responsibility much easier. The platform keeps your FAFS organization well-organized and provides continuous insight into attendance, staffing, and skills. You can also manage alerts, protocols, and reports from a single location. This reduces the manual work involved in FAFS and makes it easy to maintain control over your organization, even as staffing changes.
What does Article 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act say?
Article 15 deals with expert assistance in the area of workplace emergency response. The employer must be assisted by one or more employees who have been designated as workplace emergency responders.
The law specifies three core duties for these company emergency responders:
Providing first aid in the event of an accident.To prevent and fight fires and minimize the consequences of accidents.In the event of an emergency, alert and evacuate employees and other people on the premises.In addition, Article 15 sets forth requirements for the structure of the FAFS organization. FAFS team members must be adequately trained and equipped. There must also be a sufficient number of FAFS team members, and the FAFS organization must be structured in such a way that they can properly carry out their legal duties.
Exactly how this is organized therefore varies from one organization to another. The Dutch Labor Inspectorate cites the RI&E as an important starting point for setting up the FAFS organization.
Simply appointing FAFS team members is not enough
You’ve designated FAFS team members, and they’ve completed training. But that’s not the end of it.
The organization behind the FAFS must be able to function in real-world situations—even on a busy Monday, during vacations, or on a day when many colleagues are working from home.
That means, for example, that you want to understand:
Which FAFS team members are present and available.What skills are available at a given location.How to quickly reach the right people in the event of an incident.That’s exactly what makes things complicated when an organization has multiple locations, rotating shifts, or hybrid work arrangements.
From a Legal Requirement to a Functioning FAFS Organization
Article 15 does not specify which software you must use. The key point is that the FAFS organization is properly structured and able to carry out its duties effectively.
Findwhere helps organizations put that into practice.
In the platform, you assign FAFS team members and other first responders to locations, skills, and protocols. This provides an up-to-date overview of the organization. In the event of an emergency, you then activate the appropriate protocol, and the relevant first responders are alerted in a targeted manner.
Here’s how to turn written agreements into a FAFS organization that’s effective in real-world situations.
How Findwhere Helps with Article 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
During a mass shooting, an organization must shift from normal operations to a crisis response within a very short period of time. An effective response involves more than just sending out an alert. It requires a well-prepared process in which everyone involved knows what is expected of them.
1. Understanding Your FAFS Staffing Levels
Who is here today? And does that person have the right skills?
Findwhere provides insight into staffing levels by location and skill. This allows you to see where shortages are occurring and where action is needed. This helps you ensure you have sufficient emergency response personnel.
Findwhere provides insight into staffing levels by location and skill. This allows you to see where shortages are occurring and where action is needed. This helps you ensure you have sufficient emergency response personnel.
2. Alert the appropriate emergency responders immediately
In an emergency, every second counts. That’s why you don’t want to have to manually check which FAFS responder is available first.
With Findwhere, you can link skills to protocols. In the event of an emergency, this allows you to call in the right team in a targeted manner.
With Findwhere, you can link skills to protocols. In the event of an emergency, this allows you to call in the right team in a targeted manner.
3. Clear protocols for emergencies
During an incident, a FAFS member must know quickly what needs to be done. With Findwhere, you can digitize your existing procedures and protocols.
You tailor this to your company’s emergency plan, RI&E, locations, and risks. When the system is activated, emergency responders receive the information and tasks related to the incident.
You tailor this to your company’s emergency plan, RI&E, locations, and risks. When the system is activated, emergency responders receive the information and tasks related to the incident.
4. Alerting, Communicating, and Escalating
Article 15 explicitly lists alerting and evacuating employees and other people on site as a duty of the company emergency response team.
Findwhere supports the operational aspects of this. Emergency responders can be alerted in a targeted manner and communicate with each other during the incident. The protocol can also provide for scaling up when there is an insufficient response.
Findwhere supports the operational aspects of this. Emergency responders can be alerted in a targeted manner and communicate with each other during the incident. The protocol can also provide for scaling up when there is an insufficient response.
5. Reports for Insight and Evaluation
Een goede BHV-organisatie vraagt om aandacht, evaluatie en verbetering.
Findwhere registreert informatie rondom meldingen en uitgevoerde protocollen.
Reports provide insights by location and skill. This gives you specific information you can use to evaluate and improve your FAFS organization.
Findwhere registreert informatie rondom meldingen en uitgevoerde protocollen.
Reports provide insights by location and skill. This gives you specific information you can use to evaluate and improve your FAFS organization.
From Article 15 to Everyday Practice
The law provides the framework. Your organization determines how the FAFS is organized within that framework.
After all, an office with hybrid employees faces different risks and has a different workforce than a factory, logistics center, or healthcare organization. That is why there is no single FAFS plan that works for every organization.
Findwhere can be flexibly configured to accommodate your locations, people, skills, and protocols. As a result, the platform adapts as your organization, staffing levels, or safety policies change.
The goal remains the same: to ensure that the right help is available when it matters most.
One platform for your entire FAFS organization
Ultimately, Article 15 isn’t about paperwork. It’s about having help that’s available and well-organized when something happens.
Findwhere brings together key components of the FAFS organization:
Attendance and skills
Gain insight into available care providers per location.
Gain insight into available care providers per location.
Alarm
Reach the right people in a targeted manner during an incident.
Reach the right people in a targeted manner during an incident.
Protocols
Digitize procedures and align them with your own risks.
Digitize procedures and align them with your own risks.
Communication
Keep emergency responders connected during an incident.
Keep emergency responders connected during an incident.
Reports
Gain insight into staffing, incidents, and the execution of protocols.
Gain insight into staffing, incidents, and the execution of protocols.
In this way, Findwhere helps you systematically ensure the organizational aspects of your emergency response plan.
Why organizations choose Findwhere
More and more organizations are choosing Findwhere because security requires a reliable and forward-looking approach.
With Findwhere, you’ll enjoy:
An advanced and user-friendly platformFlexible setup for any organizationFast and Secure ImplementationScalability from a single location to multiple locationsSeamless integrations with existing systemsContinuous innovation and further developmentVeelgestelde vragen
Article 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
What does Article 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act say?
Article 15 stipulates that an employer must be assisted by one or more designated employees in providing on-site FAFS. Among other things, these FAFS team members provide first aid, contain and extinguish fires, and assist with raising the alarm and evacuating during emergencies.
Is a FAFS organization required by law?
Article 15 stipulates that the employer must be assisted by one or more employees who have been designated as FAFS members. The exact structure of the FAFS depends on the organization and the risks involved.
How many FAFS members should an organization have?
Article 15 does not specify a fixed minimum number that applies to every organization. The law states that the number of FAFS members and the way they are organized must be such that they can perform their duties properly. The structure must therefore be tailored to the organization’s specific situation and risks.
What are the duties of a FAFS member under Article 15?
The law specifies three core duties: providing first aid in the event of accidents; containing and extinguishing fires and minimizing the consequences of accidents; and, in emergency situations, alerting and evacuating employees and other people on the premises.
Does Findwhere help ensure compliance with Article 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act?
Findwhere supports organizations in the practical management of their FAFS teams. Among other things, the platform provides insight into staffing levels and skills and supports protocols, alert systems, communication, and reporting. In this way, Findwhere helps organize and ensure the effectiveness of the elements that are essential to a well-functioning FAFS team.
Findwhere does not, in and of itself, guarantee legal compliance. The employer remains responsible for ensuring that the FAFS is properly organized.
Is Findwhere a substitute for FAFS training?
No. Findwhere is software designed to organize and support workplace emergency response. It does not replace the required training for workplace emergency responders.
Where can I find the official text of Article 15?
The official Working Conditions Act can be found at wetten.overheid.nl. For legal decisions, always use the current official text of the law.
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