Compartmentation
or use a liquid level indicator to verify correct content of containers; replace or refill any showing a loss of more than 5 %’
• Annex F 6.2.4.2 – ‘Means shall be provided to indicate that each container is correctly charged’
The assumptions in the above extracts are that gaseous extinguishing/suppression systems do leak. The regulations that underpin the pursuit of them explore their leak identification every six months. However, gaseous extinguishing/suppression systems are installed to protect special hazards in critical infrastructure as their key objective. If the hazard is special and the infrastructure critical, then this is the case for the constant monitoring of the suppression systems that aim to deliver their protection. In order to understand how fire resistant
a compartment is, an inspection of the overall condition of the existing fire compartments is needed, as well as an assessment of the condition and effectiveness of the sealing of wall/soffit interfaces, and an inspection of existing fire seals applied to service penetrations through fire compartment lines. Issues in the quality of compartmentation
walls can come from maintenance, minor works and refurbishments. Contractors carrying out such tasks can occasionally destroy the compartmentation integrity of the wall, floor or ceilings if they are unaware that the area is a comparted space. Therefore following maintenance, it is ‘good practice’ to ensure the fire resistance of walls, floors and ceilings, and to safeguard again if necessary.
Improving standards
Technology must solve industry problems, not only to promote successful business in terms of profitability, but also in terms of sustainability and genuinely offering service to the industry in order to reduce risk, improve safety and help save lives. We have produced a smart solution that
provides quick and easy assurance of compartmentation using ultrasound to detect signal leaking through any apertures within the barriers. Ultrasonic room integrity testers provide interpretation of the fire resistance of the desired locations, labelling them airtight or providing an indication of the overall leakage of the room. The advantages of being able to
accurately detect the exact leak locations and size are self evident when they are
FOCUS
considered alongside the resistance to collapse as well as the transfer of excessive heat. In a case where there is too much
leakage in a room, the ultrasonic room integrity tester*allows for rapid and accurate identification of these sites, so that they can be sealed. It is lightweight, fast and easy to use, allowing leak site detection to increase its operational efficiency and speed to a high degree. So, as can be seen, the technology is currently available to solve this problem. In 2018, with continuing developments
in technology, there is an expectation that safety should be all encompassing. We cannot let this expectation continue to be a fantasy
Carl Hunter is chief executive and managing director of Coltraco Ultrasonics. For more information, view page 5
*The statements in this section are based on the Coltraco Ultrasonics brand of ultrasonic room integrity tester, Portascanner 520. The author does not claim any knowledge of any other ultrasonic room integrity tester brand.
www.frmjournal.com MAY 2018 29
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