BS7346 PART 8 – A clear path for smoke ventilation

compliance and safety

With the publication of the new BS7346 Part 8 standard, the

potential for confusion when navigating the various compliance
issues surrounding smoke ventilation systems design, installation,
commissioning and maintenance is almost completely overcome.

Here, Will Perkins, Group Managing Director of smoke ventilation

systems specialist, SE Controls and a key contributor to the new
standard, explores how it can help save lives while and improve
industry standards.

Unsurprisingly, the legislative SCA, the association began the process

environment governing the smoke of creating an installer certification
control and fire safety industry is procedure.
complex, far-reaching and absolutely
vital to ensure that systems not only The resulting FIRAS accreditation
operate faultlessly when they’re scheme was created to ensure systems
needed, but also provide effective safety were consistently and safely installed,
protection, allowing people to escape a commissioned and maintained in
fire. accordance with the clear design criteria
that are required to be set out on each
However, while Building Regulations project.
Approved Document B, The Machinery
Directive and The Construction Product The development of the FIRAS
Regulations, via the various parts of accreditation scheme brought into sharp
EN12101, provide a relatively tight focus the urgent need for a common
regulatory framework, until the BS7346- standard against which assessments could
8 Code of Practice, no single document be made. This led to the formation of the
existed that provided guidance for the corporate member and has been present British Standards 7346-8 working group,
industry from initial design, through on the British Standards committee for comprising key industry stakeholders,
installation to maintenance. more than 15 years, recognised that there including manufacturers, regulators and
was a need to raise the standards across the Fire and Rescue Service.
The over arching benefit of this new the industry.
document is that by adhering to In practice
its guidelines; designers, installers, A key driver in the early stages of the Some would say, the standard is perhaps
commissioning engineers and process was evidence suggesting that long overdue and for some time there
maintenance teams can create, install smoke control systems in residential high- has been a need to harmonise standards
and operate a fully compliant smoke rise developments were of variable quality, across the industry and ensure the
control system. an issue created by a number of factors. systems perform effectively. In reality,
For example, although there are several as has already been explored, there
Throughout BS7346-8, there are some inter-related product standards governing is a diverse range of regulations and
constant themes that are present. Not individual components within smoke conventions in the UK and Europe that
only does it deal with product quality, control solutions, nothing existed that already ensure that the key elements of
location, performance and operation, encompassed the entire system. smoke ventilation systems perform to the
but also the key questions of assessment highest standards.
of needs together with the certification In addition, while the Regulatory Reform
and verification by authorised bodies. (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) allows By having a robust installer accreditation
systems to be inspected, verified for scheme, which is now in place, and
Interestingly, the development of the performance and even condemned by BS7346-8 as the recognised system
new Code of Practice was stimulated the fire service, where necessary, this can implementation standard, there is
by a number of factors including the only be undertaken after the building is now no justification for inferior quality
need for a consistent standard against complete and is occupied. installations. Ignorance cannot be an
which approving bodies could evaluate a excuse.
system’s performance. Clearly, there were gaps that required BS7346-8 builds on all of the regulations,
bridging, particularly in managing the procedures and processes that exist
Developing the standard quality and consistency of the design and and combines them into a unified code
The Smoke Control Association (SCA), installation process. Following an initiative or practice that is designed to make
of which SE Controls is a long-standing and proposal made by SE Controls to the the entire procedure of designing,
installing and maintaining a compliant
smoke control system a much more
straightforward task.

The code exists to ensure compliance

and high standards, as well as making
things simpler for all those involved.
For example, the first chart within the
standard is a block process diagram
that not only covers the full path from
‘identifying the system requirements’
to the details of ‘frequency of
maintenance’, but also includes the key
considerations that need to be observed
throughout the entire process.

The scope and detail it contains is

comprehensive and every aspect of the
system design is covered along with key
system design considerations dedicated
to particular smoke ventilation products,
such as SHEV’s, smoke barriers and
smoke shaft systems. Consulting engineers, architects, design
teams and installers will already be familiar
This same level of detail is carried with the principles of cause & effect, but
through the entire document, covering BS7346-8 makes it a discrete but inherent
core elements, such as cable selection part of the overall system process to ensure
and routing, while equally importantly failsafe operation and system integrity.
providing templates for mandatory
documents, such as commissioning, With complex life safety critical systems,
acceptance and inspection & servicing such as smoke ventilation and smoke
certificates. control, ‘Responsibility’ is an integral
feature that must be observed,
In operation implemented and enforced. Through the
Ultimately, the new standard deals standard, the responsibility and acceptance
with two essential elements of smoke of responsibility for key procedures, phases
ventilation and control systems – ‘Cause and elements of the system are built in
& Effect’ and ‘Responsibility’, both of to ensure compliance and adherence to
which are key principles of effective the relevant regulations. It demands that
system design, operation and safety, but performance documentation for every
for differing reasons. phase of the work should be fully recorded
by the person or organisation taking
responsibility for the stage. This has the
effect of verifying performance, standard
of design, installation and maintenance at
each phase and acting as a quality or ‘due
diligence’ procedure as an integral system
feature.

Although various contractual arrangements performance, quality and compliance.

are possible, the overall responsibility for Admittedly, the industry already had
checking that the performance of the excellent standards, but BS7346-8 has
system matches the design requirements made it clear what needs to be achieved,
should be assumed by one organisation how it can be done and what procedures
System cause & effect schedules define that is ‘competent’. In this instance, have to be observed, without fail.
the system architecture and operation. competence can be typically demonstrated
For a specific input or event, then there through accreditation under a third party Overall, perhaps its most significant
will be a corresponding response from scheme, such as FIRAS. contribution is that it will help save
the system, whether it’s a manually even more lives, as the quality of smoke
controlled test process or an automatic In conclusion ventilation design will be even more
trigger in the event of a fire. In both There are no down sides to BS7346-8, only consistent and will promote even higher
cases, the system must perform correctly positives. Within this single document that standards throughout the industry, which
and respond appropriately to maintain is barely 50 pages long, the entire smoke is essential to maintain and enhance
safety. ventilation and control systems industry the professionalism that the SCA, SE
has ‘come of age’ in terms of its integrity, Controls and other similar organisation
have worked so tirelessly to achieve.