P. 71-74 Aspirating Smoke
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3:32 PM
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DON’T FORGET ASPIRATING SMOKE DETECTION!
SMOKE DETECTION
What this means is that ASD products will (from around 2009) be required to be tested by an independent test house (formally known as a “Notified body”) before they can be CE marked and legally installed within the majority of the EU. Regulation of “emerging technologies”, such as those mentioned is at a much earlier stage. Once an ASD product has been successfully assessed to EN54-20 by a notified body the manufacturer is able to affix the CE mark and declare it compliant with EN54-20 under the CPD. Without notified body approval to EN54-20, the CE mark can only relate to other EU Directives such as the EMC Directive and Low Voltage Directive (LVD). During the transition period (2006 to 2009) manufacturers may continue to sell unapproved product or continue to declare their products compliant with other prevailing European standards – of which there are only three in existence in Europe; CEA4022, NF S 61950 (France) and ONorm3014 (Austria). However, it is inevitable that between now and the end of the transition period, increasing numbers of ASD systems will be submitted for testing against EN54-20.
Ongoing quality assurance While EN54-20 and the CPD will inevitable increase the quality and understanding of ASD systems the question of ongoing quality assurance remains an issue. Under the CPD, Fire Detection Products are required to have “Level 1 attestation”. This means that the products must be type approved by a Notified body in order to carry the CE mark. Furthermore, under level 1 attestation, appropriate Factory Process Control (FPC) must be in place and undergo regular auditing by the Notified body. While this should ensure the ongoing quality and performance of manufactured product there is no requirement for the Notified body to independently the test the performance of manufactured product on a regular basis. However, some Notified bodies such as VdS, LPCB and CNPP require this regular product audit in order for a product to carry their particular “quality” mark. It is almost inevitable that some products with 74
marginal performance which can meet the requirements of type testing (in the case of ASD systems this includes testing of 8 samples for reproducibility) will struggle to meet ongoing auditing of performance and it is not unknown for Product approvals to be withdrawn on account of failures during product audits. It is therefore a good idea to check the current status of a products approval prior to each purchase. This is easily done by visiting their “real-time” website or consulting their product catalogue. For example LPCB maintain a list of news of product approval at www.redbooklive.com.
5 points to consider 1 Clearly define the intent and route to conformity for each and every ASD project. The BFPSA CoP provides a useful categorisation technique to support this. 2 Ensure that the ASD product you select has the appropriate capability – i.e. that the sensitivity class (considering pipe length and number of holes) is sufficient to meet the project objectives. 3 Check that the specific ASD product selected has the necessary approvals. 4 Require that the installation is done in accordance with normal practise. For example that it is done in line with the recommendations of the BFPSA CoP. 5 Finally, ensure that a maintenance plan is in place and that the results of commissioning tests are recorded for reference during future maintenance. By following these five steps you can be confident that the ASD system will perform to the IFP objectives defined. References 1 I&I Proplan Study European Fire Market 2003 – 2008 www.iandi.ltd.uk 2 EN54-20 Fire detection and fire alarm systems – Part 20: Aspirating smoke detectors 3 British Fire Protection Systems Association (BFPSA) Code of Practise for the Design, Installation, Commissioning and Maintenance of Aspirating Smoke Detector (ASD) Systems. www.bfpsa.org.uk INTERNATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION