Fire doors/glazing


specialist to carry out a full inspection and, when satisfied, issue a Certificate of Conformity. Every fire door and glazed panel would be checked as part of the inspection, giving the certificate much more credibility than the documents self certified by installation contractors or the cursory checks of building control officers. Consequently, it will provide peace of mind to the owners that the building complies with the regulations and give insurers confidence when they are calculating premiums.


Effective inspection


One major frustration for those involved in the inspection of passive fire protection systems is that asset registers for buildings are often incomplete, particularly when it comes to detailing fire doors. How can any planned inspection and maintenance regime manage the hundreds of fire doors on site without a comprehensive register? So, the first task of any new programme to maintain fire doors is to survey the site to ensure the asset register is complete. Once that is done, it is sensible to think about structuring the inspection regime so that it matches the risk of damage to the doors. It is impractical to attempt to check every door on a university campus, hospital or large apartment complex each month, but equally 12 months is likely to be too infrequent for doors that could be opened and closed hundreds of times a day. By assessing the usage, location and risk of damage of each fire door on the estate,


a thorough but manageable inspection regime can be devised. For example, a riser cupboard door that is rarely opened does not need to be checked as often as double doors in main corridors that are used many times a day and are at risk of being kicked open and dented by trolleys. And doors in hospital wards where patients have restricted mobility need to be inspected more regularly than those in storage facilities that people rarely visit. It is likely that some fire doors on site will need monthly inspections, while it is perfectly safe to put others on an annual regime. All inspections must involve an assessment of the leaf gaps, checks on the condition of the hinges, leaves, intumescent strips, glazing and closers, as well as the associated signage. Equally important is that a user friendly system for keeping records and logging any remedial work required is in place, ensuring that repairs are implemented quickly. Implementing a proper inspection and


maintenance programme of this type is a big ongoing job and one that is difficult to simply add into the mix of competing priorities for the general on site maintenance team. Safety schemes such as asbestos management, electrical compliance and legionella risk assessments usually involve the use of external specialists; shouldn’t maintenance of passive fire protection systems merit the same level of importance and resource?


Mark Williams is chief executive officer at Checkmate Fire. For more information, view page 5


FOCUS


www.frmjournal.com MAY 2018


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