FIRE SAFETY & DISASTER RECOVERY


LIGHTING THE WAY


The Government’s draft Building Safety Bill and the fall-out from the tragedy at Grenfell Tower has highlighted the much-needed scrutiny, effective control and monitoring of emergency lighting systems. Dave Watkins, Director at Abtec Building Technologies, explains the role that smart building-tech can play in occupant safety.


With post-Grenfell legislative changes continuing to hit the headlines, the subject of building safety, and buildings which fail to keep occupants safe, remains headline news.


In the aftermath of the 2017 tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review set out more than 50 recommendations regarding the delivery of a more robust building regulatory system, and the recently launched draft Building Safety Bill incorporates many of these. Perhaps most importantly it establishes a chain of custody that will hold those in charge throughout the various stages of the building’s construction and existence accountable for any mistakes.


The result of this is a renewed emphasis on the performance of building management systems, including emergency lighting which is an important part of the system to evacuate along with signage and escape doors.


Those in positions of accountability, particularly those responsible once the property is occupied such as


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facilities managers, must deliver a safe passage for occupants out of the building by ensuring, and more crucially signifying, a clear escape route. Therefore, they must take a good look at their existing system and ask themselves whether it is truly fit for purpose, particularly in commercial and public buildings.


“Despite the transparency of


current legislation and supporting industry standards, it is widely know that testing of systems is sporadic at best.”


Emergency lighting is about more than the luminaires. Quite simply, building managers and operators must be


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