But technology does not need to be ‘high-tech for it to be underestimated. Even the seemingly simplest of technologies or processes (like changing a power Plug can have its consequences, if you wire it up incorrectly.

Fire stopping is, perhaps one of the least understood but most commonly installed elements of all passive fire protection systems. It affects just about every aspect of any building from the obvious, in the form of a fire door, to the protection afforded to the myriad of penetrations passing through a fire wall hidden out of sight (and mind) above a suspended ceiling.

To the untrained eye it’s not rocket science and in a society conditioned to the expression ‘ it does what it says on the tin’, it is not something that can be dealt with in an off the shell manner!

 In reality, of course, a better turn of phrase might be ‘it does what it states in the assessment’. For instance, a pipe collar may state that it has been tested to archive a rating of one hour, but unless you are aware of the makeup of the pipe with which it was fire tested and there, how can you be sure that the collar you have installed is appropriate to the pipe you wish to protect? Similarly is a one hour linear fire seal, tested between two concrete surfaces, suitable to be used in a gap between concrete and a dry lined partition? It may well not be appropriate!

Industrial equipment supply In the other words, reading the installation instructions is only part of the story. Unless you understand why you are installing the PFP system and what the implications might be should you do so incorrectly, there can be no certainty of the completed installation fulfilling its intended function?

One of the key achievements of the fire industry over recent years has been the development of third party certification schemes, tailor made to a range of fire industry disciplines. Within Industrial supply the fire protection industry ( and I comment here specifically in relation to the passive ‘built-in fire protection sector), a third party certification scheme is one where the certification and registration of system, material, product or structure installers, provide a means of ensuring that installations have been conducted by knowledgeable contractors, to appropriate standards, such a process is ongoing and subject to a third party auditing process by independent bodies.

 however is growing increasingly concerned that third party certification schemes are being confused with other schemes, sometimes know as self certification. Self certification, by it very definition, affords no third party auditing process but may offer the provision of certificate- of-conformity to suggest that the work has been carried out in an appropriate manner.

It could be argued that not all passive fire protection is installed by a specialist company, as by circumstance it often forms just a small part of another trade’s activities during the completion of another trade’s activities during the completion of a project. All the more reason, therefore if what they are doing, the correct way to do it and their legal obligations is ensuring that the fire protection work they undertake complies with relevant and required standards, regulations appropriate codes of practice and manufacture procedures. Recently published statistics indicate

John is an eminent analyst and writer in Industrial related topics. he has authored many books on Industrial safety, Industrial supplier, Now he is rendering her services to http://www.pangulfproducts.com, Email: sales@pangulfproducts.com