Compliance in 2024
By Owen Jones, technical director at Distinction Doors, the stockist and distributor of the FDS (Fire Door Systems) fire door range.
The Building Safety Act was established following the Grenfell tragedy and commands higher levels of safety, competence, and compliance across the wider construction industry.
It emphasises the need for enhanced skills, knowledge, and best practice, and for rigorous product testing, certification, and traceability.
This industry manufactures and installs products that are key components in the structure of a building. Many of them, including our own fire door blanks and FDS fire door system play an integral role in ensuring building performance and occupant safety, and we are responsible for this.
Up to standard
Last year Paul Morrell OBE (chair) and Anneliese Day (KC) headed an independent review of the construction products testing regime.
Within the review, a new regulatory regime was announced which includes ‘two new regulators: the National Regulator for Construction Products (NRCP) based in the Office for Product Safety and Standards, who will work with a new Building Safety Regulator based in the HSE.’
‘The NRCP will oversee the strengthened regulatory framework for construction products,’ and be granted ‘powers designed to ensure that only those products that do not pose a risk to safety can be marketed, and to order their withdrawal from the market if they do.’
Enforcement will also include ‘…requirements for manufacturers to share technical documentation and information with the National Regulator for Construction Products and/or enforcement authorities.’
As a fire door system supplier, together with our approved manufacturing partners, we are responsible for meeting these demands and are proactive in doing so.
Nothing but the truth
The review also emphasises the importance of positive not just defensive information. The performance of a product, its fitness for purpose and how to use it must be trusted as being truthful. More important for those products covered by the Construction Products Regulations (CPR) which includes external fire doorsets, is a Declaration of Performance.
The entity responsible for first ‘placing the goods on the market’ i.e., the manufacturer, is legally obliged to ensure the product complies with current legislation. This is authenticated by affixing a CE or UKCA mark (for EU and UK markets, respectively) and the issuing of a Declaration of Performance.
To legally supply composite fire doorsets for external use, the manufacturer (in this instance, our FDS fabricators) must first be UKCA accredited. This authorises them to produce a UKCA marked external fire doorset and issue a Declaration of Performance that references both BS EN 14351-1, the external pedestrian doorset standard and BS EN 16034, the standard for fire resisting and/or smoke control pedestrian doorsets proving compliance.
It’s worth noting that, currently, UKCA marking applies to external fire doorsets only.
The robust choice
To support our FDS manufacturers in adhering to these exacting requirements we provide the most robust and proven composite fire door solution on the market. We do this through independent and verified test results proving consistent performance and compliance.
This information is readily available and is underpinned by video footage, for complete transparency.
Our high-performance composite FDS fire doorset is independently tested to the more demanding BS EN 1634-1:2014, rather than the older BS476-22:1987, although both are currently accepted for Building Regulation compliance.
For internal applications it meets the demands of EN1634-3:2004 (ambient smoke control), and for external use, BS 6375 (weathertightness). It complies with Approved Document L (thermal performance) and PAS 24:2022 (security) which is strengthened by additional Secured by Design status.
We understand that for some, these requirements and changing demands may be overwhelming, and as the impact of these new regulations gather momentum, they will be seeking support and assurances when selecting a fire door solution. We, along with our FDS manufacturing partners, offer technical expertise and guidance, alongside our trusted and compliant 30-minute fire door system.
