Fire Protection - Third Party Accreditation - It's The Only Way!!
Recently there has been mention in the press and on the internet of self certification schemes for installers and their personnel, with regard to the application of passive fire protection systems such as pipe collars, penetrations seals and intumescent coatings for steel.
A self certification scheme involves an installer, or one of his personnel, issuing a "Certificate of Conformity" that says that the work has been carried out in the appropriate manner. The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) believes, however, that such CoCs are worthless because they do not carry any independent verification of the work.
A self certification scheme involves an installer, or one of his personnel, issuing a "Certificate of Conformity" that says that the work has been carried out in the appropriate manner. The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) believes, however, that such CoCs are worthless because they do not carry any independent verification of the work.
Whilst
there are Government backed self certification schemes for other
industries, for example FENSA for replacement glass, currently there
are no such schemes for passive fire protection in the UK. If you are
offered the services of one, or invited to join one, you should ask if
it has the "endorsement" of Government - for England and Wales, which
would come from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
If the proposed scheme does not have this endorsement you should ask
why not, since Building Control or the Approved Inspector on a job is
likely to ask you this question and will want to know why the scheme
hasn't been placed before Government for scrutiny.
The ASFP believes that all passive fire protection work should be carried out by third party accredited installer. The Association assumed, perhaps naively, that most people in the construction industry understood the concept of third party accreditation for installers of fire protection systems. A survey carried out by the ASFP contractors' committee, however, found that there was a lot of confusion in the market and in particular from the main contractor and property developer base. Thus it's time for a basic course in the nomenclature!
You may well ask why the market should have any knowledge of the term "third party accredited". For that answer turn to "Approved Document B" (ADB) of - The Building Regulations 1991 - 2000 Edition, which says:
"Since the performance of a system, product, component, structure is dependent upon satisfactory site installation, testing and maintenance, independent schemes of certification and registration of installers and maintenance firms of such will provide confidence in the appropriate standard of workmanship being provided".
And?.
"Third party accreditation and registration of installers of systems, materials, products or structures provide a means of ensuring that installations have been conducted by knowledgeable contractors to appropriate standards, thereby increasing the reliability of the anticipated performance in fire."
In addition, the ASFP was especially encouraged to see the following proposed wording in the recent ADB consultation document with regard to third party accreditation schemes for the installation of fire protection systems:
'Schemes such as those mentioned above may be accepted by Building Control Bodies as evidence of compliance. The Building Control Body will, however, wish to establish, in advance of the work that the scheme is adequate for the purposes of the Building Regulations.'
The ASFP considers that these ADB statements are the best practise and that the construction industry should be striving to ensure the highest level of fire safety of the UK's buildings. Indeed, all ASFP installer members are third party accredited or working towards third party accreditation.
So where does the market's confusion come from? Well, many respondents to the survey thought that approved or recognised applicators as appointed by manufacturers of products were, in fact, third party accredited! This is not of course to say that product manufacturers don't train their installers properly, but this does not extend to them randomly inspecting the installed product on-site!
Some other respondents to the survey thought that the carrying of CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) Cards by the operatives meant that their company was third party accredited. The CSCS scheme aims to register every competent construction operative within the UK not currently on a skills registration scheme. Operatives will get an individual registration card (similar to a credit card) which lasts for three or five years. The CSCS card also provides evidence that the holder has undergone health and safety awareness training or testing. The CSCS initiative is supported strongly by the ASFP, but the scheme registers operatives and not companies and does not provide any inspection of work or company systems.
The ASFP has been heavily involved with the Construction Industry Training Board in the design of the Level 2 and 3 NVQs in Passive Fire Protection. Level 2 is for installation Operatives and Level 3 for Supervisors. These NVQs demonstrate the competence of the employee and this is assessed by on-site visits and it is the latter that has led to the confusion in some quarters that these constitute some sort of accreditation/ inspection. It does not! The NVQ demonstrates that the holder has been assessed to have a basic competence level in at least two out of the seven possible fire protection modules. The seven modules currently include the application/installation of structural cladding, intumescent coatings, fire rated ductwork, fire stopping and penetrations/cavity barriers, fire rated walls and linings, fire rated ceilings and spray applied materials. The NVQ is a valuable tool in looking at the competence of a company's workforce, but it does not ensure that the work on-site will be of the standard required by the client.
In the opinion of the ASFP third party accreditation schemes mean a combination of site inspections, quality management system audits plus the assessment of the competence of the workforce. Such schemes ensure that passive fire protection installations have been conducted by knowledgeable contractors to the appropriate standards. In addition, these schemes offer a meaningful certificate of conformity that is backed by a third party (the scheme organiser) and this will add confidence to the client that the passive fire protection in his or her building has been installed properly. Given the increased responsibilities of the "Responsible Person" under the soon to be introduced Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, it would seem sensible for them to insist upon the use of third party accredited installers for the passive fire protection in their buildings.
So remember, there is no space for naivety or confusion in the installation of passive fire protection. It's a life safety item and as such, should be installed in the opinion of the ASFP by a third party accredited installer.
The ASFP believes that all passive fire protection work should be carried out by third party accredited installer. The Association assumed, perhaps naively, that most people in the construction industry understood the concept of third party accreditation for installers of fire protection systems. A survey carried out by the ASFP contractors' committee, however, found that there was a lot of confusion in the market and in particular from the main contractor and property developer base. Thus it's time for a basic course in the nomenclature!
You may well ask why the market should have any knowledge of the term "third party accredited". For that answer turn to "Approved Document B" (ADB) of - The Building Regulations 1991 - 2000 Edition, which says:
"Since the performance of a system, product, component, structure is dependent upon satisfactory site installation, testing and maintenance, independent schemes of certification and registration of installers and maintenance firms of such will provide confidence in the appropriate standard of workmanship being provided".
And?.
"Third party accreditation and registration of installers of systems, materials, products or structures provide a means of ensuring that installations have been conducted by knowledgeable contractors to appropriate standards, thereby increasing the reliability of the anticipated performance in fire."
In addition, the ASFP was especially encouraged to see the following proposed wording in the recent ADB consultation document with regard to third party accreditation schemes for the installation of fire protection systems:
'Schemes such as those mentioned above may be accepted by Building Control Bodies as evidence of compliance. The Building Control Body will, however, wish to establish, in advance of the work that the scheme is adequate for the purposes of the Building Regulations.'
The ASFP considers that these ADB statements are the best practise and that the construction industry should be striving to ensure the highest level of fire safety of the UK's buildings. Indeed, all ASFP installer members are third party accredited or working towards third party accreditation.
So where does the market's confusion come from? Well, many respondents to the survey thought that approved or recognised applicators as appointed by manufacturers of products were, in fact, third party accredited! This is not of course to say that product manufacturers don't train their installers properly, but this does not extend to them randomly inspecting the installed product on-site!
Some other respondents to the survey thought that the carrying of CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) Cards by the operatives meant that their company was third party accredited. The CSCS scheme aims to register every competent construction operative within the UK not currently on a skills registration scheme. Operatives will get an individual registration card (similar to a credit card) which lasts for three or five years. The CSCS card also provides evidence that the holder has undergone health and safety awareness training or testing. The CSCS initiative is supported strongly by the ASFP, but the scheme registers operatives and not companies and does not provide any inspection of work or company systems.
The ASFP has been heavily involved with the Construction Industry Training Board in the design of the Level 2 and 3 NVQs in Passive Fire Protection. Level 2 is for installation Operatives and Level 3 for Supervisors. These NVQs demonstrate the competence of the employee and this is assessed by on-site visits and it is the latter that has led to the confusion in some quarters that these constitute some sort of accreditation/ inspection. It does not! The NVQ demonstrates that the holder has been assessed to have a basic competence level in at least two out of the seven possible fire protection modules. The seven modules currently include the application/installation of structural cladding, intumescent coatings, fire rated ductwork, fire stopping and penetrations/cavity barriers, fire rated walls and linings, fire rated ceilings and spray applied materials. The NVQ is a valuable tool in looking at the competence of a company's workforce, but it does not ensure that the work on-site will be of the standard required by the client.
So, we've looked at what third party accreditation is not, so what is it?
In the opinion of the ASFP third party accreditation schemes mean a combination of site inspections, quality management system audits plus the assessment of the competence of the workforce. Such schemes ensure that passive fire protection installations have been conducted by knowledgeable contractors to the appropriate standards. In addition, these schemes offer a meaningful certificate of conformity that is backed by a third party (the scheme organiser) and this will add confidence to the client that the passive fire protection in his or her building has been installed properly. Given the increased responsibilities of the "Responsible Person" under the soon to be introduced Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, it would seem sensible for them to insist upon the use of third party accredited installers for the passive fire protection in their buildings.
So remember, there is no space for naivety or confusion in the installation of passive fire protection. It's a life safety item and as such, should be installed in the opinion of the ASFP by a third party accredited installer.
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