ELECTRICAL SYSTEM SAFETY
Ensuring cable management systems are fit for purpose
It is easy to understand why fire safety is paramount in electrical installations, but – says Paul Martin, head of Specification for Cable Management Legrand UK & Ireland – where fire rating for cable management systems is concerned, the lack of a British Standard leaves room for confusion. Here he explains how those looking after healthcare facilities can ensure that their product specification offers them peace of mind in terms both of performance in a fire situation and significantly reduced ongoing costs.
Regulations tend to move forward fastest in the period following a disaster. In the years since the Grenfell Tower fire, with ever greater scrutiny on the fire safety of building materials, Legrand’s cable management team has frequently dealt with questions about the fire rating of our cable management systems. Rapidly implemented regulatory change in response to deadly fires, to ensure that areas of concern or weakness in the existing regulatory framework are erased quickly to avoid any repetition, is important, and to be welcomed. New regulations can, however, introduce new concepts, be hard to navigate and, until clarity is restored through future amendments and training, may result in confusion and anxiety within the affected industry – especially when they involve fire safety.
One safe way forward for those looking
after electrical design is to ensure that the cable management systems they deploy are tested to the highest standards possible. This means that contractors need to have a thorough understanding of fire safety, the reasoning behind the updated regulations and standards, and why the premature failure of a cable management system in a fire should be avoided.
The manufacturer’s role It is important that we, as manufacturers, can offer proof of our products’ ability to withstand fire damage, despite the lack of a UK standard and legal obligations related to cable management products. When manufacturers provide that proof, contractors can work with confidence, knowing that their project will provide high levels of safety for a building’s owners and occupiers. Without a British Standard in place, looking abroad for an appropriate benchmark can be helpful. There is a standard test in Germany, for example, for circuit integrity cabling that allows cable management manufacturers to fire test
Swifts cable trays and ladders, as well as Salamandre distribution trunking from Legrand, are examples of solutions that have been subjected to testing under DIN 4102-12 conditions.
their products in a true-to-life installation. The DIN 4102-12 standard, Fire behaviour of building materials and elements – Fire resistance of electric cable systems required to maintain circuit integrity – Requirements and testing, exposes building components, such as cable management systems, to fire for over 90 minutes, eventually reaching 1000 °C by the end of the test. Swifts cable trays and ladders, as well as Salamandre distribution trunking from Legrand, are examples of solutions that have been subjected to testing under DIN 4102-12 conditions. Assuming that a project is taking place in the UK, it is important to adhere to the UK standards – BS 8519:2020: Selection and installation of fire-resistant power and control cable systems for life safety, fire-fighting and other critical applications – code of practice, for circuit integrity
cabling, and BS 7671:2018, Requirements for Electrical Installations, for all other types of cabling. If, however, a stakeholder enquires about fire testing standards, or says they require it, neither of these require the product to have undergone an actual fire test. In this case, those with concerns can be reassured by the evidential proof that products have been fire tested to the DIN 4102-12 standard offer via published declarations of performance.
Flexible design for passive fire protection The Grenfell Tower fire and subsequent enquiry have also been responsible for significant changes for the passive fire protection industry, with new regulations, standards, and legislation, being introduced over the past three years. While many of these only apply
April 2024 Health Estate Journal 61
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