FIRE & ELECTRICAL SAFETY
DATA DRIVEN FIRE DOOR SAFETY
Sue Corrick of Allegion UK reviews the expanding role of digital information in building safety and how its use is transforming fire door hardware from passive fire protection to an active data source.
Data drives informed decisions, and in the built environment, the role of information is growing. Where fire safety is paramount to building design, the adoption of digital practice – combined with modern legislation – proceeds to have a greater impact on standards and is reshaping the landscape as we know it.
Before the tragic events of the Grenfell Tower fire, the fire door safety sector accepted a conventional approach, reliant on physical testing, manual record keeping and reactive maintenance procedures. Though, as regulations tighten and the demand for accountability and transparency heightens through updated proposals such as the Construction Products Reform Green Paper, data is now positioning itself at the heart of how modern systems are tested, monitored and maintained.
Above all, the industry must remain focused on improving the structure, quality and usability of digital handover information, in compliance with Regulation 38 and ‘Golden Thread’ requirements. The use of standardised, accessible asset data can further elevate fire safety standards and safe building operation, supporting professionals throughout the supply chain as they navigate hardware specification, installation and maintenance.
And so, as many move towards a more transparent, traceable and digitally integrated model, how does something as mechanical as a fire door closer contribute to a progressively data-reliant environment?
STRENGTHENING CERTIFICATION
Testing has always existed as the foundation of fire door safety standards. Yet, the ‘Green Paper’ proposals
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are perhaps set to reform the testing and certification environment, with critical gaps being identified in the construction product regulatory framework. Fire doors and their hardware components endure comprehensive fire resistance tests, durability cycle assessments and sustainability evaluations as a way of generating detailed evidence of a system’s capabilities, but much of this data is often considered inconsistent, missing or unverified.
Historically, this information has been stored in a disconnected system of paperwork, but it is now clearer than ever that testing data should be collected, saved and accessed in a different way to ensure safety claims are credible and independently verifiable. Following almost a decade of pivotal regulatory updates, the increased governing pressure placed on building design is changing the management of construction products, and with that, third-party testing and unified, structured data files are becoming more valuable. This movement is strengthened by legislation such as the Building Safety Act, which has placed a renewed focus on competency whilst highlighting the importance of traceable, accessible product information.
This shift is altering the way fire door certification and record holding is approached, where:
• Test evidence must clearly demonstrate classifications, limitations and compatibility between components such as door closers, hinges and leaf assemblies.
• Assessment reports must be transparent, retrievable and linked directly to a manufacturer’s products.
• Digital record keeping is becoming essential for duty- holders, who are being held responsible for products remaining reliable and suitable throughout a project’s lifecycle.
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