Verifying the accuracy of your passive fire protection installations

Contractors play a pivotal role in ensuring passive fire safety strategies are delivered in the way they have been designed. Therefore, it is vital that onsite teams are not only equipped with the right knowledge and skills to install these life-safety critical products correctly, but that they have the tools to both demonstrate and verify the quality of the finished works.

This is especially crucial on projects subject to Gateway 3, requiring those involved in the construction phase to evidence that they have carried out the works in line with the design proposals signed off by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). One way to do this is by taking advantage of Siderise’s free site support and inspection services.

The Building Regulations requires buildings to be “designed and constructed so that the unseen spread of fire and smoke within concealed spaces in its structure and fabric is inhibited.” Passive fire protection measures within the building envelope can facilitate this by containing the spread of fire, heat, and smoke, creating areas of manageable risk— known as compartments— using fire-resistant materials and gap-filling measures like cavity barriers and firestops. This inhibits the movement of flames, smoke and hot gases from one compartment to another, protecting escape routes and reducing the risk of fire-induced structural damage which could result in collapse.

It is essential these solutions are installed properly to work as intended. Failure to do so could result in gaps in the compartment, providing an easy path for fire to spread up and around the building. Additionally, passive fire protection solutions not installed in accordance with their manufacturer’s recommendations may not achieve a project’s fire safety design requirement. This is because the installation will not be reflective of the way the products or systems have been designed and tested to perform. 

Explore our passive fire safety products.

Ensuring accurate installation begins with equipping teams with the right knowledge and skills. As a general point, it is worth noting that, as installation contractors of passive fire protection systems are considered a ‘specialist trade, there are several independent schemes that can include training, third-party certification, and professional qualifications. Whilst voluntary, they are good practice and help to ensure a strong foundation of competency. These often include various assessments of both how projects are managed, how installations are carried out, and how they are overseen— in addition to annual audits and random site inspections. Depending on the schemes, they may also allow contractors to log their installations and issue certificates of conformity to the end client. 

However, for teams wanting to know more about the specific methods and approaches needed to install Siderise products effectively, we offer a range of free product-specific training and support opportunities. These have been developed to provide installers with invaluable insight into the specifics of our products and systems, as well as potential build challenges— allowing them to be addressed before the installation programme has progressed and preventing issues being ‘baked into’ the construction. 

This offering includes a combination of classroom learning and practical onsite training, covering everything from ‘toolbox talks’ that ensure installation instructions and method statements are clearly understood, to delivering hands-on training and benchmark installations to demonstrate best practice.

Furthermore, the recent launch of the Siderise Academy Online Learning Portal has made learning about our products more accessible with a range of on-demand courses, webinars, and CPD modules. Certificates of completion can be downloaded as evidence of training, supporting the need to increase the competency levels of individuals.

Also, being an ASFP Recognised Training Provider means our training material has been verified as technically accurate and relevant and can also be used within the ASFP Competency Pathway, leading to the ASFP Pass Mark.

Learn more about Siderise Training.

We can supply you with reports from our inspection services, as well as documentation about any advice contracting teams have received from our technical and site service engineers. These can be logged and shared with other project stakeholders and included in subsequent handover information, providing a clear digital record of exactly what’s in the building and how it was installed. This helps to maintain that vital ‘Golden Thread’ of product information, support Building Control and/or the Building Safety Regulator in ensuring the passive fire safety measures have been delivered correctly, and can be a useful reference point for any future modifications that may affect the building envelope.

Want to learn more about how we support contractors? Read our installation guidance page for more details.