Mark Alton, Fire Door Product Manager at Winkhaus UK, explains the latest changes to fire doorset legislation
Fire doorset legislation has improved significantly in the recent years, with changes made at every stage in the lifecycle of a fire doorset, from design and testing to inspection and maintenance. For social housing fire doorset specifications, this means that all the stages in the lifecycle of a fire doorset, need to not just be included in the specification, but reviewed to ensure compliance with the new legislation.
One of the most important changes to legislation is The Golden Thread, created to link all stages in the lifecycle of a fire doorset. It is required for all high-risk residential buildings to ensure that the original design intent of the fire doorset is preserved, that any changes must be made through a formal review process and the data for lifecycle is visible to responsible person(s) and tenants.
There are five steps in the lifecycle of compliance for a fire doorset. The first is design and test which is the key reference point for all other steps to ensure the original design intent is preserved. The others are: specifying, manufacturing, installation and maintenance post inspection, with a recommended planned annual inspection.
Certifiably safe
It is of paramount importance that maintenance teams are fully trained and have knowledge of the individual aspects of a fire doorset. This should include tested performance knowledge and product composition to ensure what was tested is the same as what is surveyed, manufactured, installed and maintained.
As an example, if a fire doorset has a damaged or broken piece of glazing, the maintenance team will need to have been trained and have the knowledge of how the doorset was constructed. They must be able to replace components like for like and know what components should be replaced as part of this repair. This will ensure the fire doorset remains compliant and its performance is maintained as per original design intent.
We are seeing an increasing number of report cases where components are being replaced during maintenance with components that are not part of the original test data and even where non-fire rated components have been used.
When specifications are changed and aren’t reviewed to ensure compliance with legislation, this brings significant personal risk to you as the responsible person(s). Under the new legislation the responsible person(s) is both legally and financially at risk if The Golden Thread is not adhered to at every stage of the lifecycle.
Over the past decade the Winkhaus UK technical team has been involved in the creation and implementation of the latest standards and guidance. All its fire doorset solutions are compliant with the latest MHCLG guidance and are triple Q Mark independent 3rd Party audited.
Winkhaus UK Composite Fire Doorset solutions were the first to attain the new Q Mark 3rd Party Audited Certification for Smoke and become the first company to attain Q Mark certification for all three critical performance requirements Fire, Smoke & Security. Winkhaus UK Timber Fire Doorset solutions are also currently completing accreditation.
If you are unsure whether your specification is complaint or unsure about what compliance is, Winkhaus UK can do a specification health check or even write your fire doorset specification. We have also expanded our free training to aid the understanding of the new requirements for a compliant fire doorset specification. We offer three different levels of training which can be tailored to the audience to ensure it meets your requirements.
To further aid in adoption and understanding of the new legislation we have created The Golden Thread for Fire Doors Checklist which provides you with a definitive list of key things that you are required to include in your specification at every stage of The Golden Thread.
To register for Winkaus’ free training, to receive a specification health check or a copy of the specification checklist, visit www.firetraining.winkhaus.com
