Door Industry Journal - Summer 2018

21 THE door industry journal summer 2018 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk industry news SALUTARY TALES MULTIPLE COMPARTMENTATION FIRE SHUTTER INSTALLATION IN BREACH OF REGULATIONS. This case occurred 17 years ago,but the lessons learnt could, in principle, be relevant today. The site was a new 4-floor financial trading building, which incorporated a modernistic ground-to-roof atrium against one side wall of the building. This atrium passed up through all 3 upper floors, which were supported around the three sides of the atrium by a system of structural pillars which also formed the openings for five two-hour fire shutters on each floor around the atrium, 15 in total. Each shutter was approx 8.5M wide and 2.4M high. The shutters were closed automatically at the end of each business day, in conjunction with the fire and security system. The investigation started innocently enough with a lower lath endlock snagging in the “V” at the top of one side guide channel, resulting in the familiar “fanning” down of the shutter curtain, leaving a wide triangular gap across the opening, which invalidated the fire resistant integrity of the building. Inspection of the site and scrutiny of the document trail from the occupants, the main contractor, the architects, the shutter manufacturer, the installation company, and reference to LPCB/BRE guidance revealed many points in need of urgent attention, including: - 1). Pop-riveted light gauge mild steel endlocks were fitted, instead of the malleable iron ones which were specified. 2). Side clearances in the guides were minimal to nil, allowing for hardly any expansion. 3). The audit trail was sparse. It appeared that the 2 hour fire rating on the 8.5M wide shutters was based on a “Desktop” assessment, (where have we heard that term recently ?), using figures for a 7M wide shutter. 4). There were no casings over the drive units, and the actual shutter barrel casings were pop-riveted, making access for maintenance very difficult. 5). The requisite barrel and casing support arms, essential for wide fire shutters, (8 per shutter, 120 in all), had been cut off above the suspended ceiling, as they would have protruded below ceiling level, if left in place! The list above, which is not exhaustive, had very serious insurance implications. Urgent remedial work was initiated at once by the contractors, being carried out overnight between close of business and about 8 am, plus all weekends. The curtains were narrowed and correct malleable andlocks fitted, and the side guide “V’s” were remedied. The barrel and casing support arms were redesigned to give a shallower profile without loss of the required modulus of rigidity, to fit between the underside of the casings and the ceiling. The whole process, with interim inspections, spanned two years, costing many thousands of pounds. This tale highlights the very real need for detailed and ongoing liaison between all parties in a project before, during and after design, manufacture and installation. J. M. Boydell Email: jmbgpc@tiscali.co.uk Phone: 01952 432429 A regular column, which concisely outlines Door and Gate related incidents, some of which became court cases, brought to you by John Boydell, a Door Industry Consultant and Forensic Engineer since 1984. J Boydell SWS UK’s Training School Continues to be an Invaluable Support to its Distributors Held at their head office in Lancaster, SWS UK run regular training events for their distributors, providing structured technical training on the correct specification and installation of their products. Known to SWS UK and their distributors as SeceuroSchool, each one-day event is held in their purpose-built training facility and focuses on a product from the company’s diverse choice of security and garage door products. These include SeceuroGlide (garage doors), SeceuroFire (fire protection products) and SeceuroDoor (industrial doors). Attended by fitters, sales reps and business owners, the specialist events cover topics such as product specification, surveying, installation and diagnosing faults and fixes. All delegates are given the opportunity to get hands on with the product and partake in a variety of practical activities, all designed to ensure distributors are confident in the correct surveying and installation methods set out by the company. Each SeceuroSchool is free to attend and upon completion, every company will receive a £100 voucher which can be used on their next purchase of that product. The events are presented by the company’s Technical Manager John Duffy who has worked for SWS UK for over 20 years and who has extensive product knowledge. John is frequently praised by distributors for delivering informative, interesting and enjoyable seminars. Talking about the SeceuroSchool events, SWS UK’s Managing Director Kevin Lindeque told us: “With such a broad range of products, we appreciate the importance of product training. Our SeceuroSchool’s were introduced to offer our network of distributors their own tailor-made product training for our bespoke products. We are fortunate enough to have excellent facilities at our head office which enable us to run these events on a regular basis. Running for over five years, most of our SeceuroSchools are fully booked which is testament to their popularity and how valued they are by our distributors”. The next SeceuroSchool training seminars are scheduled to take place in November. For further information, or to reserve a space please visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/seceuroschool-training- tickets-43934438087