The Association for Specialist Fire Protection - ASFP 15/2. Firex 2015 17 June... ·...

Why is 3rd Party Certification essential?

Ian Woodhouse, Director of Certification

IFC Certification Ltd.

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection

Pioneering fire protection through innovation and professionalism

Copyright © International Fire Consultants Ltd

Why is 3rd Party Certification

essential?

Ian Woodhouse

Director of Certification

IFC Certification Ltd. (IFCC) www.ifcgroup.com


IFC Group – Who are we?

– IFC, Specialist Consultants in fire safety to assist:

• Architects, Specifiers, Regulators • Builders and construction developers • Specialist trades • Building control, Fire Services

– IFC Certification, expertise in Certification in the fire safety industry

• Product Certification both own voluntary certification schemes and AVCP towards CE marking

• Installer Certification • Inspection Service • Quality Management System Certification service • Fire Risk Assessor scheme


What Is Third Party Certification?

• First-party certification, • an individual or organization providing the goods or

service offers assurance that it meets certain claims (you say it’s good)

• Second-party certification, • an association to which the individual or organization

belongs provides the assurance (someone who you work with or provides you with materials says it’s good)

• Third-party certification, • involves an independent assessment declaring that

specified requirements pertaining to a product, person, process or management system set out in a scheme document or BS / EN / ISO Standard have been met.



– Third Party Certification should always be delivered by a certification body.

– A certification body should be accredited (in the UK by UKAS) as this gives further value to their decisions as it means that the certification body themselves are competent to deliver certification and are subject to scrutiny by national body.



– In the area of CE Marking, a “Notified Body” is a third-party, accredited by UKAS to conduct AVCP work to assist a client in being able to apply a CE Mark to their product.

– All this in order to ensure and assess compliance to previously defined standards, scheme documents, building codes, etc.. but also to provide an official certification mark or a declaration of conformity


Why is Third Party Certification essential?

• In 1980’s fire protection products were commonly sold on the basis of fire test reports.

• Products regularly sold which had not been tested in the configuration the client wished to use them or in some cases to the same fire rating.



• Were the products then suitable?

• Would the products perform and provide the fire protection required?

• Did all products in the range perform the same way as those which had been tested?



• Were the products tested the same as those manufactured in routine production?

• If component materials / parts used in original tested products were substituted in production how did clients know?



• Any form of test (fire resistance, reaction to fire, durability, etc..) is a “snap shot” in time of the performance of a product submitted by the producer / manufacturer.



• Regulatory authorities, building owners, insurers, developers, main contractors and others were looking for assurance of product performance.

• In response, Certification Bodies developed voluntary product certification schemes



Voluntary Product Certification schemes drawn up requiring:

• Performance of products from range to be tested (not single tests)

• Evidence from tests used in assessments to create a scope of certification to cover performance of product range



• Factory Production Control audits / inspections of production of the products, typically conducted annually.

• Requirements for manufacturers to declare changes to products

• Ongoing product verification (audit tests / inspections) at predetermined frequencies.



• What does a product manufacturer receive upon successful award of third party certification of their product?



• Award of product certificate with supporting schedule setting out scope of certification

• Listing of product on certification body website for access by regulatory authorities, building owners, insurers, etc.. providing assurance.



• With products under independent certification, what about how they are installed?

• Would the way they are installed affect their performance?



• Product manufacturers were concerned with ways in which their products were installed as it was affecting client perception of their products

• Regulatory authorities, insurers, building owners, management contractors, etc.. were (again) concerned with product performance



• Are the companies employed to install the fire protection products competent to do so?

• Do they understand how the products work and therefore understand how important the installation instructions from the manufacturer are to the product’s performance?



• Certification bodies have developed schemes which are designed to verify the competence of installer companies

• To confirm that competent personnel are allocated to work they can correctly undertake when provided with correct, appropriate information.



Installer schemes are generally based on:

• Audit of company operational / management procedures and processes (typically annual)

• Regular inspection of ongoing site work

• Competence assessment of supervision and installation personnel at site



Successful certification of installer company results in:

• Award of certificate confirming scope of product types company can install under certification.



• Listing of company on certification body website for access by regulatory authorities, building owners, insurers, management contractors etc.. providing assurance.

• Ability to issue a certificate of conformity to the client for works carried out on each specific project which is supported by the certification body.



• Through independent third party certification of Products, Installers and Fire Risk Assessors the various regulatory authorities, building owners, insurers, management contractors etc.. have access to assurance of the performance of installed fire protection.



• Fire Protection is Life Safety!

• Third party certification provides assurance of fire protection performance

• This is why third party certification is essential.



• Without third party certification fire protection may continue to be installed as shown in the following photograph………



Thank you for your time and attention

Compartmentation, fire stopping installation and maintenance

Oliver Shaw, Sales Director, FSi

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection

Pioneering fire protection through innovation and professionalism

Researchers, Developers and Manufacturers of Built-In Fire Protection Systems, Acoustic

Reduction, Water Permeability, Building Movement and Air

Tightness Solutions

Compartmentation, Installation and

Maintenance

• Industry knowledge of 28 years + • Formed in 2000 • 56,000 sq/ft Production Facility • In-House Indicative Fire Testing • ISO9001:2008 • Warrington FPC • CE Marked Products • UL – EN – BS – AS - ASTM • Certifire & UL 3rd Party Accreditation • ASFP Members • BASA Members • Toll Manufacturer • Worldwide Shipping • 100% Recycle & 0% Landfill • Various Test lab Associations

Company Overview

What is Compartmentation?

Division of a buildings walls and floors using Firestop products.

• “Prevent spread of fire and other elements” • “Subdivide buildings into manageable areas of risk” • “Provide adequate Means

of Escape”

Building Regulations

Why Compartmentalise?

Fire Safety Objectives • Life Safety • Building Fabric • Contents • Business Interruption • Heritage • Environment

Compartmentation - Where?

• Batts and Sealants • Compounds & Mortars • Pipe Closures • Movement Joints • Pillows • Cavity Barriers

Importance of getting it Right

GLOBAL TESTING

INSTALLATION

ASFP recommend 3rd Party Accredited Manufacturers

ASFP recommend 3rd Party Accredited Products

ASFP recommend 3rd Party Accredited Installers

Keep record of Installation works carried out and ensure maintenance

program is in place

PFP contractor to employ 3rd Party Accredited inspector to issue reports to main contractor

Key Points

THIS LEADS TO FULLY A CERTIFIED INSTALLATION

• Building Assembly requires Firestopping? • Floor or Wall type

• Material is the Building Assembly? • Concrete, CMU, Gypsum, Wood Frame Example

• Penetrating Service? • Metallic, Plastic, Cables, Insulated, Linear Gap Joints

• Specific descriptions regarding the Penetrations? • Size, quantity, type of plastic, type & thickness of insulation, layout,

duct & cable type

• Fire Resistance Required? • Integrity Rating, Insulation Rating

• Are there any special considerations? • Movement, Environmental exposure, Smoke Seal and Acoustics

Criteria for specifying a Firestop product

Linear Joint Seals Fire Rated Acrylic Sealant 600ml foil Fire Rated Acrylic Sealant Installation

Linear Movement Joint Always check use in variety of substrates

Small open & closed State Cavity Barriers Ventilated Rainscreen Cavity Barrier Non - Ventilated Rainscreen Cavity Barrier

Flexible Slab Edge Movement Joint Slab Edge Cavity Barrier

Penetration Seal Intumescent Pipe Wrap High Expansion Graphite Sealant

Batt and Sealant Penetraion Seal Intumescent Pipe Collar

Incorrect Installation

Incomplete unsealed Penetration seal

Voids left open behind compartment walls

and ceilings

Incorrect use of Sealing material

Poor Finish to the Installation – Large Voids

Potentially un tested Solutions

MAINTENANCE

Risk Assessments including Maintenance of Passive Fire Protection

should be kept. Create Fire Safety Manual

Can be anything from simple ID Tags to fully computerised automated systems

Fire safety manual needs to be reviewed annually

Make-good areas of PFP that have been disturbed by other trades Products used must be compatible with original solution

How?

ASFP website • www.asfp.org.uk ASFP Red book • .

Further Reading …

Manufacturers websites and Technical Handbooks • www.fsiltd.com

http://www.asfp.org.uk/

http://www.fsiltd.com/

Thank You

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection - ASFP 15/2. Firex 2015 17 June... ·...

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