Smoke Control Service and maintenance: Your legal obligations
No matter how well equipment has been designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned, the possibility for failure cannot be ignored.
For life safety equipment such as Smoke Control Systems, the building operator or owner is required by law to provide a suitable system of maintenance to maintain the system in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
This is a requirement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Furthermore, the DCLG Guides to the regulations suggest that "The smoke control system should be maintained by a competent person who is familiar with the fire engineering performance specifications of that specific system." Colt can advise you on the scope of these regulations. BS 5588-12 recommends annual maintenance of smoke control systems.
The best way to guarantee that your systems will pass an investigative inspection is to hire a service provider that has is third-party certified to SDI 19 and SDI 05 as a competent installer and servicer of active fire and smoke control systems. Colt was the UK’s first company to receive both of these accreditations.
As part of the Grenfell enquiry and Dame Judith Hackitt’s report, these regulations are in the process of changing, with Colt being right at the forefront of understanding what the implications are for building owners and managers. In the proposed changes to the building regulations, there are two new roles connected with building safety. One is of the dutyholder, who takes responsibility for the design and construction of the systems that will make the building safe. The other is the accountable person, who is responsible for ensuring that systems are maintained properly.
Colt was the first UK company to be certified to both IFC SDI 19 and SDI 05, demonstrating not only our competency in fire strategy, scheme design and installation, but also our high standards of servicing.
Planned and regular maintenance can extend the life of an item, and reduce the likelihood of down-time. Such a programme also may permit the equipment to be updated in line with the latest technological advances and standards.
If you want to make sure your systems are following the latest maintenance regulations, talk to one of our service specialists today.
All too frequently when our service engineers are visiting new sites, they find dangerous, irresponsible installations and systems that have been neglected, causing them to under-perform. If these systems were expected to perform at full capacity when a fire broke out, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Therefore, we’ve put together a list of the most common mistakes we see on our daily visits. If your systems have similar symptoms, do not waste time in repairing or re-installing them straight away.
Items for fire and smoke release not being wired in fire rated cable, FP for example, which could cause the unit to fail closed in a fire.
Magnets used instead of motors on smoke shafts, magnets lose power and fail open causing smoke in shafts to open on wrong floors with disastrous consequence of smoke in the wrong place.
Fusible Links with screws and bolts fitted to join them together as the service provider don’t have spares, these units will then never part company in a fire.
Air leaks not fixed properly, insulation tape wrapped around leaking joints to prevent air escaping instead of a proper repair, this causes the compressor to over-run and burn out.
Service provider closing vents down with concrete blocks as a temp measure blocks instead of proper brackets, the vents are snow loaded and will open with this weight and if they open it will cause the concrete block to fall inside the building.
If your systems have been neglected, we can help.
Colt is the UK’s most highly accredited provider of smoke control service and maintenance. We were also the first UK company to be certified to both IFC SDI 19 and SDI 05, as a competent installer and servicer of smoke control systems.
