34 FEATURE: VOICE ALARM SYSTEMS August 2014
noted one respondent, “an addition will be needed so that the installer and consultants can come to agreement [more easily].” Given the above results and the confusion over implementation and responsibility, it is to be expected that the vast majority of respondents (71%) rejected the notion that the EN54 standard covers the totality of what is permissible. Underlining the sense that the whole area is a legal minefield, half of respondents also felt that if a way of working is not covered by the EN54 standard, it is permissible by law if it is allowed under other codes of practice. Close to half (46%) of respondents also believed that the Construction Products Regulation permits other legal ways of providing compliant systems other than via the EN54 route.
The final indictment of
the regulatory set-up came with a question about participants’ confidence that, should there be a fire in a building with a voice alarm system that their company has designed, supplied or installed, and as a result there was some loss of live, they or their company would not be found at least partly culpable. More than 70% said they were either entirely or fairly confident that they would not be found responsible. “What was amusing is in the instances where respondents said that they were 100% confident in the case of their system going to court, they all made errors in knowing who is legally responsible for each element of the voice alarm process,” says Hemming. To the obvious concerns raised by our survey,
Hemming also adds a few observations that could only be made after the kind of extensive research that he has lately undertaken. “There are issues about the validity of some of the test houses; some may not be valid and there are inconsistencies as to how the tests are performed,” he says. “For example, I know there are cases where a system went to one house and failed, but went to another and passed. There were also occasions where stages [of the process] were being skipped.”
Unforeseen consequences
Hemming does not place the blame at the door of any one particular group, and believes the standard has had consequences that no one could have easily predicted. But he does believe that having more people from a pro-audio background included in the formative stages could have prevented a lot of headaches: “There were people involved who knew little about voice alarm per se, let alone professional audio. It was so far away from what they knew that it was a big challenge for them to understand [the ramifications].” Surveying the results of
our research, Hemming is hopeful that at least it will open up the debate about EN54 to a wider audience. “My biggest concern is that some people think that by having an EN54 certificate they are legally protected.” The industry needs some definitive guidance, and that is what a number of us are now seeking to achieve.
Proportion of voice alarm projects EN54-16 and EN54-24 compliant (since 2011) EN54-24
EN54-16
0%
20%
40%
60%
80% How strongly do you agree with the following statements about EN54?
EN54 has suffered strongly from a lack of pro-audio input
100% All More than 75% 50-75% 25-50% Less than 25% None
EN54 part 16 is ambiguous in many areas
EN54 part 24 is ambiguous in many areas
Conflicts between EN54 and other codes of practice mean I am uncertain about how to proceed in some areas
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Agree strongly Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree None More statements about EN54 – true or false
EN54 covers the totality of what is permissible
If a way of working is not covered by EN54, it is permissible by law if covered by other codes of practice
CPR permits other legal ways of providing compliant systems apart from EN54
www.rhconsulting.eu
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% True
False I’m not sure
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