08 Dec 85% of global organisations have no risk assessment for Lithium-ion batteries

We live in a world where Lithium-ion batteries are dominant in both work and personal lives, present in vehicles, laptops, and toothbrushes – but a recent survey carried out by IFSEC Insider and Firechief Global this autumn has found that 85% of organisations have no risk assessment for Lithium-ion batteries.

Source: Pexels

“A typical workplace is likely to have many devices containing Lithium-ion batteries,” said Laurie Pollard, Managing Director of Firechief Global. “There will be mobile phones, laptops, e-bikes, e-scooters, and electric vehicles being used, stored, and charged on site and that’s before considering other equipment such as forklift trucks, power tools, and energy storage systems etc.”

The Survey Results

Over 500 organisations were surveyed during webinars held by both IFSEC Insider and Firechief Global, 15% of respondents stated they had recently updated their fire risk assessments to cover Lithium-ion battery fires, 14% said they were unsure, and 71% firmly knew they had not.

Different sites have different amounts of Fire risks, regarding this – and the results of the survey, Firechief Global strongly urge businesses to carry out appropriate fire safety checks with the recommended eight-step battery-safe action plan. Which includes such actions as assessing the scale of risk, and setting up reactive protocols during a lithium-ion battery thermal event.