Carry out a legionella risk assessment covering hot and cold water systems and cooling towers.
Occupational Health & Safety
Legionella Risk Assessment and Water System Control Schemes
Learn to assess legionella risk in building water systems and build a written scheme of control that keeps monitoring, dosing and records audit-ready.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
A legionella risk assessment that sits in a folder without a working control scheme behind it protects nobody, and a system with no named responsible person tends to drift out of control between audits. This course teaches facilities managers, water treatment specialists and health and safety advisers how to survey hot and cold water systems, cooling towers and spa pools, identify conditions that let legionella bacteria multiply, and translate the findings into a written scheme of control that operational staff can actually follow. Participants learn the temperature and flow monitoring regime that keeps water out of the growth range, how to specify a biocide or chlorination dosing regime for cooling towers, and how to manage infrequently used outlets and dead legs that a general inspection can miss. The course covers duty holder and competent person responsibilities, log-keeping standards that satisfy an inspector, and how to interpret sampling results when a positive culture is returned. Case exercises include reviewing a real water system schematic and drafting a monitoring schedule with named responsibilities. By the end, participants can produce or audit a written scheme of control that stands up to scrutiny.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Identify system features, such as dead legs and low-use outlets, that increase legionella risk.
Build a written scheme of control with named responsibilities and monitoring frequencies.
Specify a temperature monitoring regime that keeps water outside the bacterial growth range.
Set a biocide or chlorination dosing regime appropriate to a cooling tower or water system.
Interpret legionella sampling results and decide on remedial action when levels are elevated.
Maintain log-keeping and records that satisfy a duty holder's legal obligations.
Who Should Attend
Facilities and estates managers responsible for water hygiene across a building portfolio.
Water treatment specialists advising on dosing regimes and system control measures.
Health and safety advisers auditing legionella compliance across multiple sites.
Building services engineers maintaining hot and cold water systems and cooling towers.
Duty holders and responsible persons named under a legionella control policy.
Hotel, leisure and healthcare facilities staff managing spa pools and calorifiers.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Assessing the Water System
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Surveying System Types and Vulnerable Points
- Survey hot and cold water systems, cooling towers and spa pools for legionella growth conditions.
- Trace a system schematic to locate dead legs, low-use outlets and infrequently flushed sections.
- Identify temperature zones where water is likely to sit within the bacterial growth range.
- Record system components, materials and age factors that influence scale and biofilm formation.
Session 2Scoring and Prioritising Risk
- Score identified risks by likelihood and consequence to prioritise remedial action.
- Reference BS 8580-1 methodology when structuring a formal written risk assessment.
- Distinguish risks requiring immediate action from those suited to a scheduled improvement plan.
- Present risk assessment findings in a format the duty holder can act on directly.
02Building the Written Scheme of Control
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Defining Roles and Monitoring Frequencies
- Name a responsible person and competent person with clearly separated duties in the scheme.
- Set monitoring frequencies for temperature checks, tank inspections and outlet flushing.
- Align the scheme's monitoring calendar with the risk priorities identified in the assessment.
- Write scheme procedures in language operational staff can follow without specialist training.
Session 2Specifying Dosing and Water Treatment
- Specify a biocide or chlorination dosing regime matched to the cooling tower's operating conditions.
- Set acceptable ranges for water treatment parameters and the response when they are exceeded.
- Coordinate water treatment specialist input with in-house monitoring responsibilities.
- Review dosing chemical selection against manufacturer guidance and system material compatibility.
03Running Monitoring and Sampling
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Executing Temperature and Flushing Checks
- Record flow and return temperatures at representative outlets on the scheduled frequency.
- Flush low-use outlets and document the flushing regime for infrequently occupied areas.
- Inspect calorifiers, tanks and cooling tower packs for scale, sediment and biofilm.
- Escalate a reading outside the acceptable range through the scheme's defined response process.
Session 2Interpreting Sampling Results
- Commission legionella culture sampling through a laboratory competent in the relevant method.
- Interpret a sampling result against the action levels set out in current guidance.
- Trigger disinfection and re-sampling when a result exceeds the scheme's action threshold.
- Communicate a positive result to the duty holder and affected building occupants appropriately.
04Maintaining Compliance and Records
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Keeping Records an Inspector Will Accept
- Maintain a log book that records every check, result and remedial action taken.
- Notify the local authority of a cooling tower or evaporative condenser where required.
- Prepare records in a format that supports a defensible response to an inspection or incident.
- Store historical records long enough to demonstrate a consistent pattern of control.
Session 2Reviewing and Improving the Scheme
- Review the written scheme after any system change, extension or period of disuse.
- Reassess risk following an outbreak, near miss or significant maintenance failure.
- Audit competent person and contractor performance against the scheme's requirements.
- Update the scheme to reflect current HSE guidance and lessons from recent incidents.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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