CASE STUDY: WHSmith Nationwide Fire Compliance

CLIENT OVERVIEW 

WHSmith operates one of the UK's most diverse retail estates, with more than 600 locations nationwide in key transport locations including airports, railway stations & hospitals, as well as distribution centres and corporate offices. 

Maintaining fire safety compliance across such a varied estate requires specialist knowledge, robust planning and the ability to operate within highly regulated and security-controlled environments while ensuring minimal disruption to day-to-day operations 

PROJECT SCOPE 

SEE Services has provided fire compliance services for WHSmith for over three years, supporting the maintenance and compliance of fire alarms, fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems across its nationwide estate. 

The contract covers: 

Planned maintenance of fire alarm systems 

Fire extinguisher inspections, servicing and replacement 

Sprinkler system compliance management 

Reactive support services 

SEE Services delivers hundreds of planned and reactive maintenance tasks annually, coordinating works across a diverse portfolio of sites with varying access requirements, operational constraints and compliance obligations. 

SEE SOLUTION 

SEE Services delivers a structured and proactive fire compliance programme supported by dedicated planning, administration and engineering teams. Both planned and reactive work orders are received directly from the client and managed through SEE's service delivery platform, enabling efficient scheduling, deployment, certification and reporting across the nationwide estate. 

Given the scale and complexity of the portfolio, there is a strong focus on proactive asset management and efficient task scheduling. SEE Services has developed and maintains a comprehensive asset register, enabling the expiry of 2,000+ fire extinguishers to be identified and replacement programmes coordinated in advance. This helps reduce unnecessary site visits, improve planning efficiency and provide greater visibility of future compliance requirements and capital expenditure. 

Dedicated teams manage planned and reactive activities separately, ensuring emergency call-outs do not impact scheduled maintenance programmes and helping to maintain high levels of service delivery across the estate. 

Close collaboration with local maintenance teams and specialist contractors ensures fire safety systems operate efectively alongside wider building infrastructure and site-specific operational requirements. 

CHALLENGES 

Delivering fire compliance services across the WHSmith estate presents a number of operational challenges. 

Many locations operate within highly controlled environments, including airports, railway stations and healthcare facilities, each with unique permit requirements, security procedures and site-specific training obligations. Engineers require specialist accreditations, annual passes and location-specific training before works can be undertaken. Despite this 94% of jobs are completed on time. 

Transporting equipment and replacement assets into secure environments such as airports often requires additional screening, approvals and coordination with site operators, adding further complexity to service delivery. 

During a major business transition in 2025, SEE Services continued to deliver services to the WHSmith estate without disruption, maintaining compliance, operational continuity and service standards throughout the change process. 

Hospitals: Compliance-critical facilities where safety and continuity are paramount. 

Rail Stations: Operational environments requiring planned access and permit controls. 

Airports: Specialist training, security clearance and restricted access requirements.