Independent Water Hygiene Support for FM Providers
Facilities management teams are often responsible for water hygiene across a diverse portfolio of buildings, each with different water systems, occupancy patterns, contractual arrangements and operational requirements.
Managing Legionella compliance across multiple sites requires more than completing individual risk assessments. FM teams also need clear responsibilities, consistent reporting, practical actions and reliable information that can be incorporated into planned maintenance and compliance programmes.
Source Water Compliance provides independent Legionella risk assessments and water hygiene consultancy for facilities management companies, managing agents and organisations responsible for multi-site estates.
We can work directly with FM teams or alongside their clients to provide clear, practical and consistent water hygiene support.
Supporting Facilities Management Teams
FM providers can be responsible for anything from a single commercial building to hundreds of properties across multiple sectors.
Those sites may include:
- Commercial offices
- Healthcare premises
- Schools and education estates
- Hotels and hospitality
- Industrial and manufacturing sites
- Residential and mixed-use properties
- Warehouses and distribution centres
- Public buildings
- Retail premises
- Leisure facilities
- Multi-tenant properties
- Large multi-building estates
Each property can present very different Legionella risks.
Our role is to help FM teams understand those risks and provide consistent, usable information across the portfolio.
Clear Responsibilities Matter
Facilities management arrangements can involve several organisations.
The building owner, occupier, landlord, tenant, managing agent, FM provider and specialist contractors may each have responsibility for different parts of the water system or control programme.
HSG274 Part 2 recognises that there can be several dutyholders within one building and states that, where a managing agent is used, the management contract should clearly establish responsibility for maintenance and safety checks, including Legionella management.
Our assessments can help establish:
Who owns the system → who manages it → who monitors it → who maintains it → who responds when something goes wrong.
Where responsibilities are unclear, this can be highlighted within the assessment so the FM team and client can address the issue.
Legionella Risk Assessments for FM Portfolios
Our assessments involve a detailed inspection of the water systems and review of the existing Legionella management arrangements.
Depending on the property, this may include:
Incoming Water Supplies
Identification of incoming mains supplies and how water is distributed throughout the premises.
Cold Water Storage
Inspection of cold water storage tanks including condition, temperatures, turnover, configuration and associated pipework.
Hot Water Systems
Assessment of calorifiers, hot water circulation systems, water heaters and associated distribution.
Outlets and Building Usage
Review of representative outlets together with consideration of how different areas of the building are actually occupied and used.
Low-Use Areas
Identification of outlets and areas where stagnation may occur due to reduced use, vacancy or changes in occupancy.
Water Temperatures
Representative temperature measurements to assess whether the existing temperature control strategy is operating effectively.
System Configuration
Identification of potential issues including:
- Dead legs
- Dead ends
- Redundant pipework
- Poor circulation
- Excessive pipe runs
- Heat gain into cold water systems
- Poor water turnover
- Inappropriate system modifications
Water Hygiene Management
Review of available records including:
- Previous Legionella risk assessments
- Written Schemes of Control
- Temperature monitoring
- Flushing records
- Tank inspections
- Shower cleaning
- TMV servicing
- Cleaning and disinfection
- Sampling results
- Contractor reports
- Corrective actions
- Roles and responsibilities
Consistent Reporting Across Multiple Sites
One of the biggest challenges for FM organisations is inconsistency.
Different assessors or contractors may use different terminology, scoring systems, report formats and recommendations.
That can make portfolio-level management unnecessarily difficult.
Source Water Compliance can provide a consistent assessment and reporting approach across multiple properties, making it easier for FM teams to:
- Compare sites
- Identify common issues
- Prioritise actions
- Review outstanding risks
- Provide information to clients
- Track remedial works
- Prepare for compliance audits
- Manage reassessment programmes
For larger portfolios, assessment programmes can also be planned around geography, property type or client priority.
Mobilisation and New Contracts
Taking responsibility for a new FM contract can present significant water hygiene challenges.
Documentation may be incomplete, existing assessments may be outdated and the condition of the water systems may not be fully understood.
During mobilisation, we can help review:
- Existing Legionella risk assessments
- Written Schemes of Control
- Asset information
- Monitoring records
- Schematic drawings
- Outstanding recommendations
- Sampling history
- Contractor documentation
- Site responsibilities
- Water system condition
This can help the FM provider establish a clearer picture of the water hygiene position at the start of a new contract.
Independent Water Hygiene Audits
Where an existing monitoring programme is already in place, an independent audit can provide useful assurance that the system is being managed as intended.
Audits may review:
Risk assessment → Written Scheme → monitoring → records → contractor performance → corrective actions
This can help identify gaps between what the control programme says should happen and what is actually happening on site.
Contractor and Compliance Oversight
Many FM organisations use specialist water hygiene contractors to undertake monitoring, sampling, cleaning and maintenance.
HSE guidance requires service providers to ensure personnel carrying out water hygiene tasks are appropriately competent and states that deficiencies identified in the water system or control measures should be communicated to the responsible person.
Independent audits can therefore be useful where FM teams want assurance regarding:
- Monitoring quality
- Record keeping
- Temperature testing
- Flushing programmes
- Corrective actions
- Tank inspections
- Shower maintenance
- TMV servicing
- Sampling programmes
- Contractor recommendations
Our role is to assess what is actually happening and provide an independent view of whether the site’s arrangements are appropriate.
Changes in Occupancy and Building Use
Facilities managers are often among the first people to know when a building changes.
Floors may become vacant, departments relocate, tenants leave, refurbishment begins or previously unused areas return to service.
These changes can significantly affect water usage.
Our assessments consider:
- Vacant floors
- Temporarily closed buildings
- Remote areas
- Low-use facilities
- Refurbishment
- Tenant changes
- Building extensions
- Decommissioned areas
- Reoccupation
This helps ensure the water hygiene programme reflects how the building is currently being used rather than how it was used when the previous assessment was written.
Practical Recommendations for FM Teams
A risk assessment needs to translate into manageable actions.
Our reports provide clear, prioritised recommendations that can be incorporated into planned and reactive maintenance programmes.
Typical recommendations may include:
- Reviewing flushing arrangements
- Removing redundant pipework
- Improving hot water circulation
- Investigating temperature failures
- Reviewing low-use outlets
- Maintaining water storage tanks
- Servicing TMVs
- Reviewing contractor records
- Updating schematic drawings
- Updating the Written Scheme of Control
- Clarifying responsibilities
- Undertaking further investigation or sampling where appropriate
The objective is to help FM teams understand what needs doing, why it needs doing and how urgently it should be addressed.
Working in Accordance With Legionella Guidance
Our assessments take account of applicable guidance including:
HSE Approved Code of Practice L8 – Legionnaires’ disease
HSG274 Part 2 – The control of legionella bacteria in hot and cold water systems
HSG274 requires those with control of premises and water systems to assess and properly control the risk of exposure to Legionella. It also specifically addresses shared premises and situations where responsibilities are divided between owners, occupiers and managing agents.
Supporting FM Teams Beyond the Risk Assessment
Legionella Risk Assessments
Independent assessment of water systems and existing control measures.
Written Schemes of Control
Development or review of practical site-specific water hygiene procedures.
Water Hygiene Audits
Independent review of monitoring programmes, documentation and contractor performance.
Water System Schematic Drawings
Clear schematic drawings showing principal water storage, generation and distribution systems.
Portfolio Reviews
Review of risk assessments, outstanding actions and compliance arrangements across multiple properties.
Water Hygiene Consultancy
Independent assistance with unusual findings, refurbishment, building closures, sampling results, changes in occupancy or complex water hygiene issues.
Multi-Site and National Portfolios
Source Water Compliance can support FM organisations responsible for multiple sites.
Using a consistent reporting format across the portfolio can make it easier to identify trends, compare risk and provide clients with meaningful compliance information.
We can support:
Single properties → regional estates → client portfolios → multi-site FM contracts
This can be particularly useful where an FM provider manages sites from several different sectors under one contract.
Independent Support for Your FM Team
Our focus is on providing independent assessment and practical advice, rather than using the risk assessment as a route to generate unnecessary remedial work.
This gives FM teams and their clients a clearer basis for deciding what actions are actually required and where resources should be prioritised.
Arrange an FM Legionella Risk Assessment
If you manage a single property, client portfolio or multi-site FM contract and require independent Legionella risk assessment or water hygiene support, speak to Source Water Compliance.
We can discuss the portfolio, existing compliance arrangements and the level of support required.