COMPETENCY PATHWAY 34

just how much we need to consider when defining the competence of an individual. An ideal place to start, and indeed where we have the largest number of individuals involved is at that point where knowledge, skills, and experience come together at the coal face, with the installer.

Historically an installer, when being recruited for a role or project, has been asked to provide proof of their competence and ability by having a CSCS card, an NVQ 2, and a third-party accreditation by a UKAS accreditation body such as FIRAS, IFC, LPCB, UL, FM, BM Trada etc. While these may have been the accepted industry standard requirements for an installer of passive fire products, they are not necessarily a proof of an individual’s competence since they only demonstrate the bare minimum of site safety and assessment have been met. It does not show, for example, that a specific knowledge level has been achieved, nor that the individual has experience in installing a particular type of product from a specific manufacturer. So, when trying to create our Competency Pathway we need to consider the Skills, Knowledge, and Experience linked to each product type, each application, and each system within each of the realms of passive fire protection.

We can begin by looking at the product sectors: Structural Fire Protection, Compartmentation,

Firestopping, Ducts and Dampers, Fire Doors,

Fire-resistant Glazing. If, from that list, we take Firestopping as a single section, we need to split down the section into various firestopping types such as Penetration Sealing, Linear Joint Seals, Cavity Barriers, Load Bearing Seals etc. Drilling down further; within Penetration Sealing, we need to consider each of the following penetration types: Cables (single, multiple, bunched, trays or baskets) Pipes (combustible/non-combustible) Ductwork and Damper sealing.

From the previous list, if we were to select combustible pipes, we have various options for pipe sealing utilising either collars, wraps, bandages, or high expansion sealants all of which have different applications depending on the size, type, orientation, and material the pipe has been manufactured from. All of this is purely an example of drilling down to one specific application in the myriad of those available to the installer of passive fire protection systems. For each of these individual system applications a matrix containing all the SKEB requirements will need to be drawn up so a clear definition can be made of who is competent to carry out such installations based on their having the correct demonstrable competencies. This then gives us additional challenges. If an individual possesses all of the competencies required for a particular part of their role including training and assessment, project history and proof of completion, AND the standard requirements of third-party accreditation, CSCS card etc, how do they demonstrate it if there is no one individual place where their competencies can be verified?

Since we are the ones that are creating the

Competency Pathway and the levels required, are we then going to have to be able to verify those when asked to by potential employers etc?

Should we offer a service where we host the records of those on the ASFP Competency Pathway so they may be verified to external bodies going forward?

These questions then give us a whole other line of matters we must take care of, including the hosting of such a database, the ability of third parties to access such information, and the guardianship of same. This presents our next set of challenges yet to come. For now, our focus is on the requirements for the pathway itself and getting the buy in from all our members and industry partners. Many of whom have already signed up to support us in our ongoing quest for improvements in the competency of our sector, and the construction industry as a whole.

As you can gather from the above, this is neither a simple, nor straightforward undertaking, but if we are going to ensure that the competency of those working in the passive fire sector reflects the needs of that sector then it is something that must happen. It is going to take a concerted effort from a great many people to enable the creation of such a complex scheme and to ensure that once established it continues to develop. It must eventually expand to include all of those who are less directly involved in passive fire protection itself but who will cross paths with it and must also understand the competency requirements that will be placed upon them. This will require the buy in of a great many parties both within and adjacent to the passive fire sector, and also many of those who have little understanding of those elements listed within these pages. We are grateful that many individuals and organisations have already given us their undertaking that they will actively support us and promote the ASFP Competency Pathway in both its creation and its ongoing development. We ask for all those who wish to support us going forward to declare their support and join us in bringing a clearer and more defined future to competency in PFP.