Common sense
To optimise the safety of visitors or users in the event of emergencies you must maintain emergency lighting. Emergency lighting systems suffer from ageing, which – by definition – means that they need to be maintained. The same applies for example to your central heating system, for which maintenance is a fundamental requirement for optimum performance.
Statutory obligation
The presence of an emergency lighting system is also a statutory obligation. As the owner or manager of a building it is simply insufficient to just erect some kind of emergency lighting. This is also stipulated under law and in standards:
- Civil code: an employer’s duty of care is geared towards safety at work. Within this context, an employer must implement measures that are reasonably necessary to prevent an employee suffering injuries at work. An employer can avoid any liability for damages if they are able to demonstrate that they have met their duty of care or if the damage is the result of wilful recklessness or an intentional act on the part of the employee.
- Building Decree 2012: specifies the duty of care in Article 1.16 specifically for systems that are present. This covers the functioning and proper management, maintenance and inspection of systems in such a way that no unsafe situations can arise.
- NEN-EN 50172: provides further details on inspection, maintenance and the logbook
- ISSO publication 79 for the inspection and maintenance of lighting systems: this publication describes how, in a uniform manner, the functionality of the emergency lighting systems can be guaranteed by inspection and maintenance.