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BM TRADA Certification Ltd has experienced a surge in demand for its Q-Mark scheme for fire door installation. The key driver, it seems, is that third-party certification is being increasingly written in to specifications and that sub-contractors cannot tender for work without it.
Part B (Fire safety) of the Building Regulations (England & Wales) has for years recommended, although has not prescribed, third-party certification. It states: ‘Since the performance of a system, product, component or structure is dependent upon satisfactory site installation, testing and maintenance, independent schemes of certification and registration of installers and maintenance firms of such will provide confidence in the appropriate standard of workmanship being provided.’
Bryan Belshaw of B J Belshaw Ltd said, ‘Now, clients appear to be paying much more heed to this guidance. With the downturn in construction, clients are seeking reassurance that what will be built will be done well.’ The company is about to embark on a major fire door installation project for Defence Estates at the Imjin Barracks HQ ARRC, near Gloucester, the base for the new NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, for which third-party certification was a prerequisite.
Glen Withers of T&G Carpentry has been installing fire doors, as a partnering organisation, for one of the biggest names in construction for 20 years. ‘If you look back, third-party specification is rarely mentioned, but it has suddenly started to appear in specifications, particularly for schools, hospitals and other public buildings. The BM TRADA Certification Q-Mark scheme was recommended to us by another party in the supply chain.’
Another driver, suggests Paul Stockham of Project Support Services, is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. ‘Since the RRFSO came into force there have been more prosecutions and owners, tenants and landlords are more aware than they used to be. Architects and others now want the reassurance that third-party certification can give for their investment.’
Under the BM TRADA Certification Q-Mark scheme, the registered installer’s work is audited on site twice a year. BM TRADA Product Certification Manager Simon Beer explained, ‘A prerequisite of retaining certification is that BM TRADA auditors inspect the installation work carried out at our members’ customers’ premises, something that provides those customers with the reassurance of the quality of the work undertaken.’
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