Simplifying compliance at Fire Safety Scotland

The field of compliance is very complicated and the more you get into it, the more it changes. Understanding standards can be difficult and the industry you are working in also has its own standards.

Sales manager at Advanced Neil Parkin says that as a manufacturer, they have responsibility to keep up to date with regulations.

“How on earth do we comply and who is responsible for what? Key life events like Grenfell lead to major changes, and here is a renewed focus on compliance.”

Dame Judith Hackitt's independent review post-Grenfell calls for 'major reform and a change of culture'. This will affect us all to various degrees and some key areas include:

• Establishment of a new Joint Competent Authority (JCA)

• A very clear model of risk ownership

• Transparency of information and an audit trail

The quickest route of compliance is to ensure you use the best test houses as these ensure the rules are rigidly applied, and the best manufacturers as they invest heavily in meeting the standards and put products through rigorous testing.

Parkin said, “By choosing high quality, third-party approved fire products, you are well on your way to compliance. You can also go a step further by choosing a system that exceeds basic requirements.”

Exceeding standards is the way to go one step further. EN 54-13 approved systems continuously check for faults, alerting you to potential problems that could compromise the system and put building occupants at risk.

Parkin says: “Part 13 takes it a whole step further and tests it all as a system. This is tested to ensure there are no conflicts and everything works together. It is mandatory in some countries, and I am sure it will be here in the future too.”

Confirming compliance has become even more important and Advanced introduced its software that provides an auditable trail.

On this software, Parkin said, “We are making it very difficult for people not to comply.”