SAFETY & SECURITY 77


THE ‘THIRD’ WAY TO PROVE BUILDING SAFETY IS BEING NEGLECTED


Helen Hewitt of the British Woodworking Federation’s Fire Door Alliance warns that third-party certifi cation of fi re doors is lagging, despite the emergence of the Building Safety Act and greater awareness of the importance of specifi ng third-party certifi ed fi re doors.


S


ince the introduction of the Building Safety Act in 2022, those with resonsibility for fi re doors and other


fi re safety systes in a buildin are held to a far greater level of accountability. iher standards are now deanded over the way buildings are designed, constructed, and aintained hen it coes to fi re doors, thirdarty


certifi cation  the rocess of testin and verifyin a fi re doors desin, erforance, anufacturin rocess and assurance of rocedures  is a readyade solution to ensurin coliance with the new legislation. It is the only way to be certain over a fi re door or doorsets erforance in the event of a fi re o, what are the advantaes of fi re door thirdarty certifi cation for housebuilders and developers, and how well are these advantages currently understood?


KEY BENEFITS


ot only does thirdarty certifi cation rovide crucial evidence that a fi re door is fi t for urose, it hels oranisations in colyin with reulations The key advantaes of thirdarty certifi cation are


TRACEABILITY Thirdarty certifi ed door dislay labels or plugs offer traceability throughout the construction supply chain, including iortant inforation about the doors coonent arts


TESTING ll fi re door desins should be tested to BS 476 Part 22 or the European equivalent BS EN 1634 Part 1 by a aroved test facility ach fi re door desin ust be tested as a colete assebly at least every fi ve years, and annually for hihvolue roducts


AUDITING


ll ebers involved in the anufacture and conversion of fi re doors, or their associated coonents are audited annually by their certifi cation rovider The ai is to ensure that fi re doors or coonents use the sae aterials identifi ed in the oriinal test for that secifi c desin


QUALITY MANAGEMENT


The order anaeent, desin and anufacturin rocesses are assessed  uality anaeent syste followin the rinciles of   and a actory roduction ontrol yste  are reuireents of the  ire Door Alliance to ensure that standards are consistently aintained


TRAINING


ll staff involved in the anufacture and sale of fi re doors or coonents are reuired to undertake reular trainin to ensure they understand the latest Building Regulations and can offer correct advice to their custoers


AWARENESS OF THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION ecent research fro the  ire Door Alliance found that awareness of thirdarty certifi cation aon those with resonsibility for fi re doors has increased since 2022, when the new legislation was fi rst introduced The riary reason that thirdarty certifi ed doors are secifi ed is to rovide robust roof of erforance This was only the third riority when


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