News analysis with BESA
Improved damper testing better for safety and costs
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ESA has produced a technical bulletin (VH001) outlining all aspects of a safety and compliance test regime for dampers in line with industry best practice and standards. It builds on the industry’s installation and commissioning code of practice DW/145, sheet metal ductwork specification DW/144 and the ventilation hygiene standard TR/19. The test guidance was produced in response to urgent calls for a methodology that can help the building services industry comply with the British Standard (BS9999) for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings along with the healthcare sector’s technical documents HTM 03-01 for heating and ventilation and HTM 05-02 for fire safety in healthcare premises.
BS9999 requires all installed dampers to be tested by a competent person and at regular intervals “not exceeding one year”. It also states that spring- operated dampers should be tested annually with those installed in dust-laden atmospheres checked even more regularly.
BESA’s guidance explains how dampers should be located – in line with the responsibilities of the system designer and as part of a building’s fire strategy – and accessed for testing along with the levels of competence required to carry out this work. It states that an inventory of all dampers should be created and that every manually resettable damper must be individually released to ensure the spring loaded shutter remains operational.
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Fusible links must be regularly checked for deformity and damage; and other problems such as corrosion reported to the client. The BESA document also sets out a comprehensive plan for providing reports to clients and any findings that need action including damaged and missing dampers. It also highlights key elements needed to put a planned maintenance regime in place for fire and smoke dampers linked to the
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Growing awareness of fire safety issues linked to ventilation systems has created huge demand for improved clarity around the installation, inspection, testing and maintenance of fire and smoke dampers
Association’s digital maintenance tool SFG20. “This is an important part of the industry’s response to the Hackitt Review, which shone a harsh light on weaknesses in the way fire safety strategies in buildings are managed,” said George Friend, chair of the BESA Ventilation Hygiene branch. “Hackitt called for practical measures to improve compliance with fire safety standards and this technical bulletin provides a comprehensive programme that will ensure dampers, which are absolutely critical to any fire risk management plan, can be properly installed and regularly tested by companies and individuals competent to carry out this work.”
BESA explains that one of the most important aspects of fire and smoke damper testing is pinpointing those dampers that cannot be tested – often because they cannot be found or easily reached. “If you can’t test something, you must propose remedial work such as installing access panels or builders’ hatches,” said Mr Friend. “It is no longer acceptable – or compliant – to put in your report that a damper could not be tested.”
A crucial change is the requirement for the testing company to provide the client with a proposal for how this can be rectified so that 100% of dampers in an installation are checked. BESA believes having this industry approved guidance in place will also save clients’ money. Currently, a number of companies are being
!" March 2020
www.heatingandventilating.net
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