Facilities management (FM) is more than maintenance and operations—it’s also the frontline of workplace health and safety. In commercial properties, the FM team is usually the one coordinating contractors, overseeing repairs, managing site access, and operating equipment. That places them in direct control of many risk areas, including fire protection systems, electrical safety, fall hazards, water quality, and emergency planning.
Because of this proximity to daily hazards and critical systems, facility managers are often designated as “responsible persons” under local, state, or federal safety laws. That includes OSHA in the U.S., Health and Safety at Work regulations in the UK, and similar requirements elsewhere. Whether those responsibilities are spelled out in job titles or not, the FM team is expected to know and enforce the legal standards that keep the site safe. If something goes wrong—whether it’s a slip and fall, a mechanical failure, or a hazardous exposure—the question will always come back to who was managing the facility.
Legal Duties That Can’t Be Delegated Away
Certain legal responsibilities rest squarely with the facility or property owner, but day-to-day enforcement typically falls to the FM team. That includes ensuring safe working conditions for both employees and contractors, complying with building code and life safety requirements, and managing documentation around inspections, permits, and risk assessments.
Failure to maintain equipment that causes injury can result in both fines and legal liability—even criminal charges in severe cases. For example, if a fire suppression system hasn’t been inspected per code and someone is injured during an emergency, the facility operator could be held responsible. Likewise, ignoring lift inspections, boiler certifications, or egress lighting requirements exposes the organization to serious risk.
Permits and certifications also come into play. A commercial kitchen, mechanical plant, or elevator system typically requires regular inspections that must be documented and kept available for audits. Skipping those inspections, or failing to correct cited deficiencies, is a common and preventable compliance failure.
Another legal requirement is the proper handling of contractors. Under many regulations, contractors are treated the same as employees when it comes to site safety. That means the FM team must confirm training, verify insurance, review risk assessments, and ensure all work is performed safely—even if the contractor is only onsite for a day. Assuming the contractor “knows what they’re doing” is not a defense when something goes wrong.
Building Systems and Their Safety Implications
Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems all carry specific safety obligations. For example, HVAC systems must meet indoor air quality standards, particularly in facilities with high occupancy or sensitive operations. Filters, ventilation rates, and air distribution systems need to be maintained according to manufacturer specs and updated guidance on workplace health—especially since airborne illness transmission became a heightened concern.
Electrical systems must be inspected and maintained to prevent overloads, grounding failures, or arc flash risks. Facility teams are typically responsible for ensuring lockout/tagout procedures are in place when electrical work is performed and that panels and switchgear are safely labeled and accessible.
Fire life safety systems—sprinklers, extinguishers, alarms, smoke control, egress lighting—require recurring inspections by licensed professionals. Facility management must coordinate these, maintain the records, and ensure that deficiencies are resolved quickly. Passive systems such as fire doors, exit signage, and compartmentalization are also the FM team’s responsibility. Even simple issues like blocked exit paths or dead batteries in emergency lights can result in citations.
Water systems, including cooling towers and domestic plumbing, also carry safety risks such as Legionella if improperly maintained. Where testing and flushing programs are required, they need to be tracked and documented with the same rigor as any other compliance-driven system.
Managing Contractor Safety and Site Control
Facility managers rarely handle every task in-house. That means outside vendors, contractors, and service providers are constantly rotating through the building. Whether it’s an elevator tech, pest control, HVAC maintenance, or construction crews, each presents a new set of risks.
To manage those risks, the FM team must implement contractor safety protocols that begin before anyone arrives on site. That includes prequalification processes, certificate of insurance checks, safety policy reviews, and signed agreements confirming site rules. Once work begins, contractors must be briefed on site-specific hazards, emergency procedures, and permit requirements—especially if hot work, confined space entry, or rooftop access is involved.
Contractor orientation isn’t just a formality—it’s part of your legal defense. When an incident happens, one of the first questions will be whether the injured party received a safety briefing, signed off on the work plan, and followed access procedures. Many FM teams are now using digital tools to log contractor entries, assign permits, track check-ins, and verify work completion.
Supervision also matters. Even if the vendor is highly experienced, someone on the FM side needs to monitor progress, check that controls are in place, and shut down unsafe operations. Contractor safety is one of the most common areas where FM teams lose control—especially when too many jobs are happening at once or when the work takes place after hours.
Safety Protocols That Need to Be Embedded in Daily Operations
Health and safety management isn’t just about inspections and emergency plans—it’s about culture. Facility teams must bake safety into daily routines and service workflows. That includes:
- Daily or weekly site walks to identify hazards like spills, blocked exits, or exposed wiring
- Checklists for equipment rooms to confirm that panels are closed, signage is intact, and nothing is stored in prohibited areas
- Documentation for ladder use, confined space entry, and any non-routine task that carries risk
- Incident reporting protocols for slips, trips, falls, and near misses, even if no one was hurt
- Regular reviews of MSDS sheets and chemical storage areas, particularly in janitorial or mechanical zones
Many facility managers implement a safety board or dashboard in shared work areas to track open issues, display inspection logs, and share updates. Toolbox talks, even if brief, help keep staff and contractors aligned on what’s expected. Just as important: enforcing standards. If hard hats or fall protection are required for certain tasks, there should be no exceptions, even for a five-minute job.
Consistency builds trust with building occupants, vendors, and inspectors. It also reduces incidents, which keeps insurance costs and regulatory scrutiny in check.
Emergency Preparedness and Incident Response
Facilities teams also carry primary responsibility for emergency procedures. That includes fire evacuations, medical response, severe weather actions, and utility failure plans. FM must maintain the emergency contact lists, post evacuation maps, train staff on alarm systems, and coordinate with local responders when necessary.
Regular drills are essential—not just for occupants, but for the facility staff and security team. Knowing who does what when a sprinkler head activates or when the fire alarm goes off is not something that should be figured out in real time. After-action reviews help refine these protocols and identify weak spots.
In critical environments like data centers or medical buildings, emergency procedures must go beyond evacuation. Contingency plans should include generator start-up protocols, mechanical system resets, emergency vendor contacts, and detailed roles for staff during off-hours events.
Incident response also involves documentation. Every emergency or near miss should be logged, investigated, and reviewed. If a serious injury occurs, authorities will expect a full timeline, including maintenance logs, contractor work records, and safety inspection results. That kind of preparedness doesn’t happen without a solid FM-led system.
