Smoke Control – Keep Safe & Carry On

“Safety First” – an idiom, a cliché, an expression we all know but maybe don’t give too much thought to. But in a world that’s always changing, it’s a mantra that’s best not forgotten,

So, Brexit is happening, and it’s going to affect us all in the many ways discussed in the media prior to the referendum. But it’s also going to affect us in many ways that we didn’t necessarily anticipate, too. One of these is the range of standards used in British industries such as manufacturing or construction – European regulations that we all see with the letters ‘EN’ written in front of them. If you aren’t sure how big of a deal this could be, check out the vast Wikipedia listing of EN standards here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_EN_standards

However, we don’t want to join the league of scaremongers. The important fact to bear in mind is that in the world of smoke control life safety systems – and their maintenance – most of the relevant EN standards are in fact themselves based on British ‘BS’ standards in the first place. In the UK we’ve long been the leading innovators in fire engineering, product manufacturing, installation and maintenance standards, and this will continue to be the case regardless of what letters we place in front of those standards.

Examples of British standards include BS9999, BS7346 and BS5588 – all of which advise that smoke ventilation safety systems must be serviced and tested annually. And let’s not forget FIRAS accreditation (created to ensure fire safety maintenance standards are followed and monitored) which we were so integral in helping to set up.

The two-year plus deadline for finalising Article 50 gives us all a little leeway, a little time to organise what standards our country will adhere to in the future and how these will be arranged. But in the real world it doesn’t matter – you can be reassured that any product or system we supply, any refurbishment we design and install and any maintenance schedule we set up and implement, will be safe, secure and ready for action if needed.

So our advice as the market leaders in UK smoke control service and refurbishment? Keep safe and carry on.

For more information visit www.airvent.co.uk

Published September 2016