Chiltern International Fire has been awarded United Kingdom Accreditation Service accreditation for carrying out building air leakage testing under CIBSE TM23 :2000, BS EN 13829 :2001 and ATTMA TS1.
UKAS is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. According to Chiltern Fire General Manager Jon Osborn, accreditation by UKAS ‘demonstrates Chiltern Fire’s competence and impartiality to carry out testing’.
Air tightness testing became compulsory under the revised Part L building regulations, which came into effect on April 6th this year. To pass, buildings must achieve a minimum rating of 10m3h-1 per m2 of building envelope, at 50 Pascals, in a simple pressure test. Mr Osborn said, ‘There is nothing difficult in achieving air tightness. Attention to design and to detail throughout the project and good workmanship on site should ensure a pass for the vast majority of properties.’
Testing does not have to be carried out by a UKAS-accredited body, Mr Osborn conceded. ‘However, for years Chiltern Fire has carried accreditation with UKAS for a whole range of fire and other tests and we believe that customers want the credibility that an accredited test house can give. If, as some suggest, UKAS accreditation will become mandatory in future, we will be ahead of the field.’
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