FEATURE
support the Dutyholder with respect to the certified applications of the dampers, should be considered.
In the case of a new build, once the building has been designed for compartmentalisation, and the damper is being selected, the type of supporting construction into which the damper is to be installed is crucial. The manufacturer must provide a Declaration of Performance (DoP) and Installation & Operating Manual (IOM) to the Dutyholder, specific to the supporting construction. The material structure of the wall itself is crucial. Without both of these documents, there is no guarantee of performance that the installation will meet the required performance.
be registered with the Building Safety Regulator prior to occupation. The testing regimes for fire dampers are dictated by the categorisation of the building involved, with additional responsibilities for those designated as higher-risk.
FIRE DAMPER REQUIREMENTS
Firstly, under the Building Safety Act 2022, responsibilities have increased for all Dutyholders, for example individuals and organisations that commission, design, construct or refurbish buildings. Those involved must now go beyond the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM), ensuring projects are not only safe to build, use and maintain, but also making sure they are safe to occupy.
Secondly, the Act introduced the role of Accountable Person, referring to individuals or organisations that own or have responsibility for buildings during occupation as well as those responsible for the repair or maintenance of common parts of a building, for example corridors and lobbies. Therefore, responsibility falls on Dutyholders to select “adequate and proper materials”, that are “appropriate for the circumstances in which they are used” and to integrate these within the building design to facilitate them to be “applied, used or fixed so as to adequately perform the functions for which they are designed”. This must be achieved whilst ensuring that routine inspection and maintenance throughout the lifetime of the building can be achieved.
NAAD-22 KEY TOPICS
In addition to reviewing damper types, NAAD-22 provides guidance on minimum regulatory requirements for routine maintenance, testing and inspection of installed dampers. It also covers installation, testing and commissioning of dampers during initial installation, as well as considerations for the correct design for, and selection of, fire dampers.
Some key areas to study are the requirements relating to system design and damper selection, and the importance of detail and quality of workmanship during installation.
Recognition is given that the required knowledge may not be held by a single party, therefore, the involvement of a manufacturer at the early stage of design, who can
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Failure to install a fire damper in accordance with the manufacturer’s IOM, without obtaining permission for an installation deviation, will render the fire damper non-compliant, with responsibility to underwrite the installation falling on those involved in this design decision. After installation, changes to building use which might impact the required damper classification are also critical, as they could void the original installation compliance. For example, if a change in use results in a fire damper protecting an escape route, a fusible link fire damper would need to be changed to a motorised fire damper.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Engagement with the fire damper manufacturer at an early stage is crucial to achieve compliance. With one of Europe’s most modern fire protection laboratories, the International Centre for Fire Protection Technology (ICB), TROX has developed its range of Fire Dampers for a wide range of supporting constructions encountered in modern buildings from solid walls and floors to lightweight partition walls (metal and wooden stud), solid wood / CLT walls and floors, sandwich panel walls, asymmetric shaft wall, ribbed concrete, composite ceilings and hollow deck, among others. This has resulted in third-party Notified Body testing and certification of over 400 damper installations. We can assist those specifying dampers by providing proven, declared performance within an extensive range of supporting constructions and with multiple penetration seal options. The full accompanying installation details for the specific applications are available for an extremely wide range of mounting situations, and specifiers and contractors can be provided with the information necessary to ensure accurate selection and installation of TROX fire protection dampers. This is essential to enable those designated as Dutyholders or Accountable Persons to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance, and to safeguard building safety.
www.troxuk.co.uk WWW.TOMORROWSHS.COM
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