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cavity barrier type and brand; cavity barrier frequency; position of cavity barriers relative to panel joints; insulation type; insulation thickness; support rail and bracket centres; and nature of the backing wall. DTSs are very much project specific and not transferable from one project to another. Although the full scale tests do not take into account any form of suppression system that may be installed in the building or any other active life safety measures, such aspects may provide further support to any DTS case that may be presented. Some commentators have expressed doubts about the rigour of DTSs. We believe that guidance governing the use of DTS reports needs to be tightened. For instance, a published register of all approved DTSs, setting mandatory qualifications for those performing them and better prescription of what test data can and cannot be considered in the production of a DTS would all improve reliability.
Holistic engineering If none of the above options is suitable, compliance with the functional fire safety standards may be demonstrated by alternative means, such as the adoption of a fire safety engineering approach. Based upon scientific principles from an integrated or a ‘whole building’ perspective, fire safety engineering not only considers the performance of structures, systems, products and materials when they are exposed to fire, but also includes human behavioural aspects, fire prevention, and active and passive fire protection measures. For example, effective means of egress and adequate measures for alarm, detection, control and extinguishment. Furthermore, this approach can enable
innovation in building design without compromising fire safety, particularly in some large and complex buildings, as well as in multi purpose buildings where it may be the only practical way to achieve a satisfactory level of fire safety. If taking this advanced route to compliance, the guidance given in a number of supporting published documents can be followed. However, Approved Document B – Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellinghouses (both England and Wales) refers directly to BS 7974: 2001: Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings. Code of practice, while
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Technical Handbooks Section 2 refers directly to International Fire Engineering Guidelines 2005. In summary, the linear approach to compliance may not provide a reliable indication of how an overall wall assembly might react in the case of fire. Whether using systems that have been successfully tested to BS 8414/BR 135 or DTSs based on compliant tests, given the amount of test data that is now available, there is a clear and proven route to compliance which the industry can follow and have confidence in
Nick Jenkins is executive director at Booth Muirie. For more information, view page 5
www.frmjournal.com JUNE 2018 51
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