Door Industry Journal - Summer 2019

114 THE door industry journal summer 2019 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Fire & Security dhf and BRE collaborate to achieve greater standards of fire safety dhf (Door & Hardware Federation) and BRE Academy are continuing to work together to offer fire door training courses, with 2018 seeing a significant rise in course uptake. BRE Academy has been the world’s leading provider of training and education programmes for professionals and employers since 1921. They and dhf , have been working closely together since 2014, having developed three all-inclusive one-day training courses on fire door safety to offer greater clarity on the regulations and standards applying to fire doors. The courses clearly explain the different types of fire doors and door closers and their installation, repair and maintenance, in addition to offering direction on what to look for during a fire door inspection. Fierce advocates for appropriate levels of training across all the sectors that it serves, dhf continues to place the importance of training firmly ‘up-front-and-centre’. This is central to its on-going fire safety campaign which it launched in 2017 following the Grenfell fire tragedy. “After the Grenfell fire, the issue of fire door failures was very much brought from the margin to the mainstream,” explains dhf ’s Commercial Manager, Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens. “We continue to stress that the use of fire doors, correctly installed and with robust fire door maintenance procedures, are a vital part of fire safety and urge those in positions of responsibility to seek the correct training with regards to installation and maintenance.” dhf ’s voice has been one of the loudest and most passionate in its call for third-party certification by a UKAS-accredited body of manufacture, installation, maintenance and inspection of fire, smoke and security doors, in order to offer complete assurance on their performance. With a history and heritage dating back to 1897, the federation is undoubtedly one of the most revered organisations, widely respected as the industry’s independent authoritative voice. dhf represents more than 206 member companies that manufacture, install and maintain fire-and smoke-resisting doors, and lobbies tirelessly to highlight the importance of compartmentation and the issues surrounding poorly fitted or incorrectly specified fire doors and door closers. In March 2019, dhf announced a further high-profile collaboration: it has joined forces with industry heavyweights, Secured by Design (SBD) and Fire Industry Association (FIA) to publish a guidance document on fire safety. Named A Guide for Selecting Flat Entrance Doorsets; A publication for housing associations, landlords, building owners and local authorities in England, the publication stresses the key issues of fire safety for those selecting fire doorsets, recommending all fire doorsets are factory-prepared (as opposed to prepared on-site), that all work be completed under factory production control, and in addition, audited by a third-party. “Bringing together the knowledge and expertise of three reputable not-for-profit organisations was unprecedented and a natural partnership, and we are delighted to be able to publish this combined industry advice in one easy-to-understand and authoritative document,” says Patricia. “We believe it will deliver much-needed clarity in the complicated field of Building Regulations and help housing associations, landlords, building owners and local authorities make informed decisions on what to look for in a new flat entrance doorset.”