Performance Panel Solutions
 The Interview
Over the last year there have been major changes in the UK warehouse industry's approach to fire safety, including the introduction of the Regulatory Reform [Fire Safety] Order. Performance Panel Solutions, the internal wall specialist, has launched the FireWall panel system, which improves the passive fire safety of new and existing warehouse and distribution buildings. The pre-finished panels are ideal for non-load bearing internal partition walls, where tested fire resistance is required. Warehouse & Logistics News spoke to Mike McColl, Performance Panel Solutions' Managing Director, to get the background on the company's new approach to fire safety and hear about their new FireWall product for the warehouse and distribution market.
W&LN - What is the particular piece of Government legislation that is pushing awareness of passive fire safety?
It may not have a very memorable name but The Regulatory Reform [Fire Safety] Order, which came into effect last October, has had wide-ranging consequences across all industry sectors. Most people refer to this as the Fire Safety Order, or 'FSO'. It brings together fire legislation previously embedded in about 100 separate statutes.
The FSO guidance states that the risk of fire should be reduced to 'as low as is reasonably practicable'. Fire certificates have been abolished, but the Fire Brigades have strong new powers of enforcement, including fines, closing premises and prison sentences. In Scotland the Scottish Executive has enacted reforms much in line with England and Wales.
W&LN - What are the key points of the Order that affect a business?
The key point is the concept of the 'Responsible Person'. This person is responsible for the safety of the whole site, not just the buildings, and consideration must be given to people legally considered to be in or near the premises. The Responsible Person has a range of defined responsibilities, and the Government has published specific guidance on producing a fire risk assessment for eleven different building types. The Responsible Person must appoint one or more 'Competent Persons'. This person's competence is demonstrated through a combination of sufficient training, experience and knowledge. Failure to carry out these responsibilities may result in enforcement by the enforcing authority, which is generally the fire and rescue service. Conviction for failure to comply may lead to a penalty, consisting of a fine or up to two years' imprisonment.
W&LN - What is the relationship with Building Regulation control?
Many fire risk assessments will be for buildings that comply with Approved Document B [ADB], the guidance supporting the Building Regulations in England and Wales, and should be relatively straightforward. However, compliance with ADB does not automatically satisfy the requirements of the FSO, as this places additional emphasis on the need to consider both fire prevention and fire protection. Also, with advances in building design and new materials, some establishments may not conform fully to existing guidelines and regulations and may base their safety measures on fire engineering solutions.
W&LN - What is the duty of the Responsible Person?
The FSO places a statutory duty on the Responsible Person to reduce fire risks. Where it is straightforward and not costly to do so, measures should be taken to reduce risks into the 'broadly acceptable' region. The difficulty comes in deciding when it is acceptable to leave risks in the 'tolerable' region.
 W&LN - How do you decide if a fire risk is acceptable?
Most things are achievable given enough time, money and effort. However, it is not the intention for risk assessments to bankrupt companies, but rather to implement pragmatic risk control measures. The term 'reasonable' means that risk reduction measures should not entail excessive costs. The term 'practicable' means that the risk deduction measures are feasible. One clear thing about our FireWall panel system is that when it is used for dividing large volumes into compartments or protecting escape routes, the solution is often seen as 'practicable' and 'reasonable'.
W&LN - What will be the role of the Fire Brigade in these new arrangements?
They will be responsible for 'policing' the scheme, and failure to comply could lead to criminal prosecution and enforcement action. Companies and their directors could be fined and/or imprisoned. Breach of the FSO can also lead to a civil action by an employee, if he or she has suffered injury as a result of a company's failure to carry out a proper risk assessment.
W&LN - Has the role of the Fire Brigade changed?
Yes - but not just as a result of the FSO. The fire service has been radically reformed after the Fire Brigades' Union dispute over three years ago. Saving lives rather than property is now the priority, with a parallel focus on the need for more effective fire prevention as well as fire protection. National service standards used for the last 50 years and based on property have been scrapped in favour of local Integrated Risk Management Plans [IRMP] based on saving lives.
W&LN - What is the consequence of this to the warehouse sector?
The consequence of many IRMPs is that brigades are sending small appliances, or in the first instance, just an observer, to commercial fires where no lives are at immediate risk. Some also claim that as many as 90% of automated fire alarm calls are false alarms, so reduce their response as a result.
W&LN - What is the view of the insurance industry?
Insurers are concerned that they are starting to see more large losses. The situation may be improved for schools, hospitals and shopping centres, but the trade off is that industrial estates' overnight safety is less well served. Many insurers are already insisting on improved passive safety, with fire-rated compartment walls as well as sprinklers. The Association of British Insurers' design guidance specifically states that 'Increased use of compartmentation should be considered for new and existing premises to limit spread of fire.'
W&LN - Are warehouse and distribution buildings a particular fire risk?
Yes, there are potential problems in their design and use. Fire can spread very quickly in high bay, large floor area buildings. The ethos of 'maximum stock in minimum area' and 'just in time stockholding' means densely packed goods are the norm, resulting in increasing fire load. Add in greater use of plastic pallets, wrapping and boxes and combustible plastic insulation in walls and roofs and it is not unexpected that insurance companies are looking for more passive fire protection in warehouses.
W&LN - So what should be done?
Alarms can only alert the fire service, and if they are not going to attend to an alarm the insurance industry is likely to insist on more passive and active fire protection.
W&LN - Briefly - how would you describe the new FireWall System?
FireWall panels consist of two galvanized, polyester coated steel sheets and a structural insulation made of non-combustible mineral wool. All three layers are then bonded to form a composite element. The panel is ideally suitable for the construction of non-load bearing internal partition walls that require a tested fire resistance. When a partition wall is installed into a new or refurbished building, it may be required to contain a fire within a space [compartment] or to provide a means of escape for personnel into which a fire cannot readily penetrate.
The first concept is known as compartmentation, and the latter is known as a protected corridor. When a non-load bearing partition wall is providing such functions it will have to comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations and possibly insurance requirements. The FireWall Panel System will meet all the requirements for compartmentation and protected zones in Building Regulation Approved Document B.
W&LN - Finally, have you any parting thoughts on why the warehouse industry should be thinking about passive fire safety and compartmentation?
Yes. Besides loss of life and damage to property, a fire in a large warehouse can ruin the business and pollute the environment. Insurance companies now focus on consequential loss when assessing risk and premiums. The legal world sees environmental damage as a result of fires being a major area of litigation. Add on to this the fact that fire-fighters are more likely to enter a building and fight a fire if it is divided into effective compartments. Overall, improved passive fire safety is a 'no-brainer' - with compartment walls as top of the list for consideration. Performance Panel Solutions' FireWall panel system has been developed with durability, structural and fire performance in mind.
Our FireWall panels consist of two galvanized polyester coated steel sheets and a structural insulation made of non-combustible mineral wool. All three layers are then bonded to form a composite element.
The panel is ideally suitable for the construction of non-loadbearing internal partition walls that require a tested fire resistance. When a partition wall is installed into a new or refurbished building, it may be required to contain a fire within a space [compartment] or to provide a means of escape [protected zone] for personnel, into which a fire cannot readily penetrate.
When a non-load bearing partition wall is providing such functions, it will have to comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations and possibly specific insurance requirements. The FireWall Panel System will meet all the requirements for compartmentation and protected zones in Building Regulation Approved Document B.
Tested fire performance
Our FireWall panels have been tested to BS476 Part 22, for fire resistance and to LPS1208. Fire resistance is generally a requirement of Building Regulations, but can also be used when compartmentation within buildings is required. It is measured in terms of:
¥ Integrity - the ability of a system to prevent the penetration of hot gases and flames
¥ Insulation - the ability of the system to reduce the temperature rise on the unexposed side of the fire, and therefore prevent fire spread through radiated heat. This can be particularly important in a warehouse that may contain combustible goods.
When considering the fire resistance of a fire-resisting wall, it is important to refer to both integrity and insulation. FireWall panels require NO additional components in order to achieve excellent ratings. They are available with integrity and insulation of 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes and an unsupported span of up to 7.5m, which may result in savings on support steelwork.
Independent Loss Prevention Certification Board Approval
Our FireWall panels have independent Loss Prevention Certification Board approval confirming that our products meet, and continue to meet, appropriate standards. This approval procedure is different from a test as it helps ensure, through regular audits, that the product continues to comply with the prevailing standards, which are themselves subject to revision and update.
The auditing process also helps to confirm that the FireWall product available on the marketplace is exactly the same as the product that was originally tested and approved.
Our investment in the FireWall test program continues, and the latest test has been to BS 5234-2: 1992 Partitions Part 2: Specification for performance requirements for strength and robustness. FireWall passed with the top grade of "Severe Duty," that makes it suitable for use in major circulation areas and heavy industrial areas.
When it comes to non-load bearing partition walls that require a fire rating, the traditional solution has been some type of metal stud and board construction or concrete blockwork. Both required considerable labour and several different construction stages, involving wet trades and a final finish. Some of the many components may have been fire tested in some way, but the final construction - stud and board or blockwork wall - has NO tested fire performance. Its fire performance and quality of finish is totally dependent on the quality of workmanship, and a suitable and effective combination of component materials.
In contrast, a FireWall panel from Performance Panel Solutions has a tested and certified fire performance, and its finish is high quality and totally consistent.
Cheapest and fastest solution
In fact FireWall is also often the cheapest and fastest means of internal partition wall construction for all levels of fire resistance. To get an outside view on this, an independent cost consultant was asked to compare the use of metal stud and board, blockwork and a panel system for 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes fire rated constructions. The cost analysis was to final finish and included material, labour costs based on the average construction rate and any temporary plant required by a contractor.
The key conclusions of the independent research were:
¥ Blockwork walls are the most expensive form of construction followed by metal stud and board, for both fire resisting partition walls and fire compartmentation walls for all resistances up to 120 minutes.
¥ Panel systems such as Performance Panel Solutions' FireWall were found to be the cheapest method of construction for all levels of fire resistance. Panel systems were shown to be 40% - 60% per m2 cheaper than blockwork walls and up to 40% per m2 cheaper than stud walls, the margin increasing with the level of fire resistance and height.
¥ Panel systems can also be constructed over 10 times quicker than blockwork or stud and board walls, leading to the possibility of significant savings in construction programmes.
This is confirmation that in many applications our FireWall is faster and cheaper.
¥ Add to that it delivers a tested fire performance from an engineered product that does not depend on workmanship and correct use of materials.
¥ FireWall is a "green product" with a low environmental impact. The steel and mineral wool used in its manufacture have a high-recycled content. As the product is cut to size off-site, site waste is minimised.
¥ If business requirements and internal layout of a warehouse change, FireWall panels can relocated within a building unlike blockwork and stud and board.
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For further information about this company's activities in the warehouse and logistics industry please contact:
Performance Panel Solutions
Tel: 0191 280 0130
www.performancepanel.co.uk |
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