Research + Testing
Our team are able to undertake door and partition assessments, project manage research and development projects, plus support and advise on product testing.
The integrity of passive fire protection within a building is essential and underlines the life safety expectations within any fire strategy or means of escape process. Understanding and being confident in the ability of key elements such as doors, floors and walls to resist the passage of fire is vital when considering life safety in our built environment.
In many cases, it is not practical to remove and test or, remove and replace, existing built elements within a building’s fabric and consequently, demonstrating fire resisting performance becomes extremely difficult. Such situations may come about due to the historic nature of the building, a change in use of the property or as identified by the buildings fire risk assessment as part of a planned maintenance programme.
Our team has extensive experience in testing and assessment
The team at Ashton Fire includes individuals who have significant experience in fire testing and therefore have the skills to establish fire performance of existing and installed separating elements such as doors, floors and walls. Much of that experience has been gained from being directly involved in establishing fire test programmes for product manufacturers through work with test laboratories and the subsequent provision of assessments to extend test data results.
By undertaking on site assessments and surveys of existing building elements, Ashton Fire has the expertise to provide insight into inherent fire performance against the current fire test standard. The team is also able to provide a risk-based approach to account for the fire growth expected within a specific space and the consequential ‘actual’ performance needed against the real fire condition. Undertaking a survey by one of Ashton Fire’s team can prevent unnecessary demolition or replacement and provide a determining conclusion on whether the extent of upgrades necessary are in fact, cost effective and appropriate.
Where new or bespoke installations need to be designed to meet or match an existing condition, the required design may not be available with pre-determined fire performance. In these cases, it may be more appropriate to carry out physical fire testing in order to confidently determine fire performance. With experience in running testing programs, the team at Ashton Fire has the understanding to assist in preparing research testing so as to help demonstrate required performance economically.
Fire Door Inspections/Assessments
Fire Test Design advice.
With significant amounts of new legislation and guidance and new regulatory structures, the importance of rigorous fire resistance testing has never been more evident.
The fire resistance testing process can be a costly and time-consuming process, so establishing what design of specimen to test, with a view to maximising its’ potential future scope of application, is critical.
We guide clients from the initial design of fire test samples that may combine various product options to help optimise the scope of the fire test – through to the project management of the testing program. This can include liaising with test laboratories, witnessing the tests and helping to draft/review the resulting test report to help negotiate the complexities of the testing process and prevent the need for costly re-tests.
Project-specific assessments.
It would be impractical to conduct a fire resistance test on every possible design variant of any one product. Therefore, the ability to review and underwrite what impact a small change in design would have on a product’s ability to still achieve its required period of fire resistance, is critical.
Our project-specific assessments use extensive field experience in conducting full-scale fire resistance tests to evaluate design variations, ensuring accuracy and compliance without the need for further exhaustive testing.
This strategic evaluation adheres to industry guidelines such as the ‘Passive Fire Protection Forum’ (PFPF) ‘Guide to Undertaking Technical Assessments of Fire Performance of Construction Products Based on Fire Test Evidence’ and is produced in accordance with BS EN 15725: 2023. All assessments are peer reviewed prior to issue and are done so by engineers who have the relevant competencies to conduct such work.
Field of Application reports.
Following successful fire resistance testing, our Field of Application reports detail permissible variations from the tested design, thus broadening the product’s market application. These reports are vital for manufacturers and regulatory bodies, offering a clear scope of product compliance and application possibilities based on extrapolated test results.
Ongoing Technical support.
We recognise that many companies do not have the luxury of a full-time technical or product development manager. Our ongoing technical support service is the perfect solution, offering flexible access to specialised fire safety knowledge.
Available under an annual contract, this service is designed to be cost-effective, allowing companies to get quick answers to technical queries and ensure their fire safety engineering practices are up to standard.
Compartmentation Surveys
Once a building has been designed or built and the lines of fire compartmentation identified, any penetration through these compartmentation lines has the potential to compromise the intended required period of fire resistance. Examples of penetrations would be doors, windows, pipework, cables and ductwork.
Ensuring that these various penetrations have been installed correctly inline with their accompanying fire test evidence is one way of ensuring that they are fit for purpose and the fire integrity of the building is maintained.
Ashton Fire are well placed to provide impartial advice both at the design stage and after installation to ensure correct products have been specified and are to be installed in accordance with their fire test data.
In circumstances where there is a bespoke or non-conventional installation of a specific penetration, it may be possible to prepare an appropriate project-specific assessment to cover gaps in the test evidence provided in order to satisfy Building Control.
For expert advice and detailed assessments tailored to your specific needs, please get in touch with Chris Houchen at chris.houchen@ashtonfire.com or call 07907 867415.
