Jan 9 2008
The recently published Door and Hardware Federation (DHF) comprehensive guide to fire door and shutter certification is becoming the “bible” of specifiers, designers and purchasers of fire resisting doorsets and shutters.
Its publication (on the DHF website) follows the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which came into force in 2006. These regulations place a far greater responsibility for fire safety on the owners and occupiers of buildings.
The DHF Guide to Fire Door and Shutter Verification is a handy step-by-step guide. By following the guide the specifier or purchaser is able to verify that the product selected is covered by third party product conformity certification. The guide also helps verify whether the product can be properly installed by a certificated installer. In addition it will help the user ensure that the product satisfies relevant standards and the requirements of the Building Regulations.
The DHF held a fire door and shutter certification workshop for specifiers, designers and purchasers of fire-resisting doorsets and shutters at its recent annual Conference and Expo. The DHF guide was used as the basis for the workshop.
The DHF is stressing that the presentation of a copy of a test report with a fire product - even when accompanied by a letter of assessment - is not product certification. In fact, certification is a process involving independent third party testing, inspection and random auditing.
Said Tony Fitzpatrick, chairman of the DHF’s metal doorset forum and author of the guide: “This process is designed to ensure that the product complies with an agreed standard. Only products subjected to this process can be properly described as certified. Mere possession of a test report and an assessment is not sufficient.
“Building owners and occupiers, who now have far more responsibility for fire safety, should be aware that building control officers are looking very closely for correctly certified fire doors and shutters. They know that a traceable certification scheme label attached to a fire door is one sure way of verifying that a fire door installation satisfies the requirements of the Building Regulations.”
A number of DHF member companies who are BS EN ISO 9001 approved offer third party product and installation certification with their fire tested products. These are supported by certificates of approval and technical data sheets.