ASFP elects new Chair and first female Vice Chair at 2023 Annual General Meeting

by Breaking NewsPeople

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) made pivotal leadership changes at their 2023 Annual General Meeting.

On 7th June at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, the ASFP selected new representatives for its Chair and Vice Chair roles. Clive Miles, the founder of CLM Fireproofing, has assumed the role of Chair, succeeding Chris Miles who stepped down after his two-year term. In a significant development, Sharon McClure of Avesta Scotland takes up the Vice Chair position, making her the first woman to hold this post within the ASFP.

Clive Miles: A veteran with a vision

Clive Miles, having established CLM three decades ago, boasts a long-standing career in delivering passive fire protection (PFP) solutions to some of the UK’s most noteworthy buildings. His primary focus is on propagating best practices, nurturing talent, and fostering innovation within the PFP sector.

Clive shared his perspective on the ongoing issues plaguing the industry and his plan for the ASFP’s advancement: “Increased pressures from legislation, media coverage, insurances and skill shortages are driving unprecedented transformation in the sector. The ASFP and our members have to evolve in new and innovative ways in order to adapt to this new, ever-changing world.

“The industry is suffering both from an ageing workforce and a skills shortage and more needs to be done to attract and retain young professionals. Through a combination of apprenticeships, academies and outreach programmes we can help secure the next generation of our profession.

“By creating and implementing new ways to train, engage and promote PFP, we can ensure the ASFP becomes the industry benchmark for ‘educational best practice’.”

He also warmly welcomed Sharon McClure as Vice Chair, acknowledging her extensive industry experience and past contributions to the ASFP’s growth as a long-serving Council member.

Sharon McClure: A advocate for quality and competency

Having been part of the PFP industry since 2006 and Avesta since 2010, Sharon is a dedicated professional with a clear vision for the sector’s evolution. She currently represents Scotland for the ASFP within BuildUK (BuildScotland) and is the Chair of the Ayrshire Construction Training Group.

Sharon’s goal is to enhance the PFP sector’s competency, boost quality within the built environment, and ensure lessons are learned from past construction errors. She believes in timely consideration of passive fire and other crucial construction components.

A successful annual gathering

The 2023 Annual General Meeting served as a valuable networking event for ASFP members and guests. Attendees gained insight into ASFP’s activities and future plans, and received regulatory updates. The highlight was a keynote speech from Aman Sharma, CEO of Totus Digital and former Deputy Chair of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee. Sharma’s talk focused on how digital innovation can create a ‘Golden Thread’ of information to improve building safety.

For more information about the ASFP, please visit their website.

ASFP announces new Managing Director

by Featured NewsPeople

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has announced that current ASFP CEO Steve Davies to step down to take up a new challenge with Corrosion Resistant Products Ltd, a division of Indutrade. The association’s Business Manager Mike Ward will be taking over as the Association’s new Managing Director.

Davies is moving on having led the Association through a period of huge development and growth over the last two years, putting down strong foundations for the future. He has presided over the largest growth in membership in the history of the Association, amounting to an increase of over 42%. Steve also put in place new resources and structures to further develop the ASFP training, events and other membership services.

He said: “I am proud to have led the ASFP through such a period of rapid change. Having had the opportunity to be involved in developing the Association’s strategy for 2023-25, I am confident that the Association will continue to meet the growing expectations of ASFP Members and the wider the passive fire sector.

“By handing on the baton to Mike, I know that the Association will remain in safe hands. I would like to thank the ASFP Council and Members of the various technical groups for their support and participation and I wish Mike and the entire ASFP team every success in the future.

“I am leaving the ASFP at an exciting time, given that ASFP will be moving into new premises with additional training capacity, which will further assist in meeting the demand of the industry.”

Ward joined the ASFP as its Business Manager in 2019 and has been fully involved in supporting the Association’s development, taking forward many initiatives on the ground.

Commenting on the news, Ward said: “I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to lead the ASFP and want to thank Steve for his diligent and expert leadership over the last two years; the Association is indeed stronger for it.

“We intend to continue the Association on this trajectory of growth, increasing membership and improving membership diversity. I am also keen to further improve skills and knowledge in passive fire protection and will continue development of the ASFP training and competency offerings. We will build on the value of ASFP membership through adding member benefits; creating new technical support assets and improving ASFP’s reach and influence.

“I will also seek to increase ASFP technical and regulatory support through the publication of best practice guidance documents in a series of new product sectors and trades, related to passive fire protection.”

Davies will remain involved with the ASFP as a non-Executive Director on the Executive Board, providing continued support and advice to Ward and the team.

ASFP updates online passive fire protection training

by Featured NewsTraining

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has updated its generic Online Introduction to Passive Fire Protection. The course provides a basic overview of passive fire protection (PFP) and its role in the overall fire strategy of a building.

In addition, a new version of the course, Online Introduction to Passive Fire Protection (Installation) has been developed with new content specifically designed to cover the particular needs of passive fire installers.

Delivered in eight learning modules, the new improved Online Introduction course covers key elements of design, installation and inspection. It is intended to provide a first step for those considering a career in the passive fire protection industry.

The learning modules covered are: putting passive fire protection in context; the basics of structural fire protection; introduction to fire resisting walls and floors; introduction to cavity barriers; introduction to fire resisting doors and glazing; introduction to fire resisting ductwork and dampers; introduction to firestopping; and introduction to fire testing and certification.

The Online Introduction to PFP (Installation) has taken the content from the general introduction course and has been specifically tailored for those who undertake installation activities. It contextualises the information in the generic introduction course and provides instruction on particular features and concerns to consider during the installation of passive fire protection systems.

Both courses use images, animations, audio, and video to enhance the learning experience and introduce the key features of each type of passive fire protection system. Each version of the course takes around three hours to complete but can be undertaken at a time to suit, stopping and starting as necessary.

Successful completion will provide learners with a sense of what good fire protection in buildings looks like. This will allow them to better understand the role of the various fire safety measures in the built environment, and in particular passive fire protection.

ASFP Training Manager Chris Sharman said: “ASFP is pleased to offer this new and improved Introduction course, which has been developed in partnership with Milford and Marah, an experienced training consultancy. This partnership has enabled us to create a new industry-leading course which offers an enhanced learning experience, delivering expert knowledge in a clear, concise and engaging format.

“The improved modular format will also enable us to tailor the course to particular industry sectors, as exemplified by our new version targeted directly at installers.”

ASFP shortlisted for membership engagement and skills development awards

by Featured News

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has been shortlisted for two awards in the Trade Association Forum’s (TAF’s) Best Practice Awards – the Membership Engagement Award and the Skills Development Award.

The Awards, which are supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, recognise, reward and promote best practice among trade associations in the UK.

ASFPTV

ASFPTV, the ASFP’s YouTube channel, has been shortlisted for the Membership Engagement Award as the channel’s depth, breadth of programming, reach, capacity to engage and ability to inform has been recognised for improving ASFP’s member engagement. The platform has been used to a high level with the development of five distinct series that split content into technical information, ASFP news, and member-based content.

ASFPTV has helped make content more digestible, accessible, engaging and understandable for members. It has given members a platform that they can use to advertise and find new audiences, while allowing the ASFP to quickly get information out to members, and the wider industry, keeping everyone up to date with the latest news.

Competence Pathway

The ASFP’s Competency Pathway has made the shortlist for the Skills Development Award. The ASFP has developed a series of passive fire protection training courses, across multiple platforms which culminate in the establishment of a full Competency Pathway for passive fire protection. This will be aligned to the RIBA Plan of Works for the design and construction process and reflect the SKEB (Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Behaviours) across all associated stakeholders.

The Competency Pathway is ASFP’s proactive response to the Grenfell disaster and recognises the need to improve all areas of SKEB across the entire design, product development, procurement, installation, and sign off process for passive fire protection systems.

‘Member engagement has grown by 40%’

ASFP Business Manager Mike Ward commented: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for these two prestigious awards, which clearly recognise the ASFP’s dedication to improving and developing the services we offer to our members. These initiatives have already delivered huge dividends and are a testament to the continued commitment and enthusiasm of the ASFP team.

“Member engagement has grown by 40% over the last two years and our comprehensive training courses ensure that our members can widen and evidence their skills. Our qualifications framework allows ASFP members and others to clearly demonstrate their competence. Once fully developed, our Competency Pathway will offer a clear route for all working in the design and construction sector to achieving the appropriate competency in passive fire protection.”

The Award winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Brewery, London on 23 February.

ASFP names Passive Fire Protection Award Winners

by EventsFeatured News

The winners of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) 2022 Passive Fire Protection Awards were announced at the Association’s Awards Dinner at the Park Regis Hotel in Birminghamon 25 November.

Chosen by an independent panel of judges, the winners were presented with their awards by special guest speaker Mandy Hickson, a former Royal Air Force pilot. Hickson later regaled guests with tales from her time as a fast jet pilot in Iraq, sharing insights of successful leadership and highlighting the importance of encouraging diversity in all industry sectors.

The 2022 Award winners

  • ASFP Installation: Coopers Fire, Battersea Power Station. An installation of 86 fire and smoke curtains. This involved re-design and bespoke engineering of seven FireMaster Concertina curtains of 25m width and 12m height in straight sections to meet the project requirements.
  • Passive Fire Protection Innovation: Fire Protection Ltd, FPLHV. This fire-resisting high voltage cable enclosure offers unparalleled insulation performance at high temperatures. Prefabricated in modular section to ease installation, the cables are fitted to the lid section and connected via internal channels, before the closing underside is fitted to fully enclose the cables.
  • Marketing Campaign: Minster. The ‘Spread the Word’ campaign focused on heightening awareness of Minster’s passive fire protection (PFP) range. The drive successfully stimulated interest and delivered unprecedented levels of sales of Minster PFP products.
  • Best Customer Service: Quelfire for its commitment to raising awareness of PFP through technical support, social media outreach and training initiatives, including the development of the Quelfire Knowledge Hub.
  • Training and Development of the Year: Alec Purdie, Quelfire. Having joined Quelfire in early 2020 with no prior fire industry knowledge, Alec quickly completed the IFE level 3 training, passing the IFE exam in 2022. He was accepted into membership of the IFE at Technician level and continues to maintain his CPD learning .He also conducts training for Quelfire customers.
  • Highest Engagement of the Year: Siderise for its steadfast support and participation in many of the ASFP activities such as events, marketing campaigns and training.
  • Individual Rising Star: Molly Callaway, TBL Fire Protection. Molly’s professionalism, eagerness to learn and enthusiasm for the industry was quickly apparent resulting in TBL identifying her for their Management Training Programme.
  • Lifetime Contribution: Carl Atkinson. Carl was the founder of FSi and served a six year term as vice Chair, Chair and Past Chair of the ASFP. The award recognises his commitment to the ASFP and his lifelong dedication to developing the passive fire sector, raising standards and improving the quality of PFP products and systems.
  • Advocate of the Year: Will Pitt of Laing O’Rourke for his dedication to the industry and commitment to the improvement of standards through work, such as the Passive Fire Knowledge Group of which he is one of the founding members.
  • Academic Accomplishment Awards for achieving the highest marks in the 2022 IFE PFP exams went to Rhea Akiens of Saint Gobain for Level 2 and Malcolm Williams of Quelfire for Level 3.

ASFP CEO Steve Davies congratulated all the award winners: “We were delighted to welcome so many members to this year’s prestigious ASFP Awards Dinner. The event has grown significantly since its launch in 2017 and, in 2022, we recognised a hugely diverse range of company and individual accomplishments.

“All the nominations were of the very highest standard and I would like to congratulate all the deserving winners and everyone who took the time to enter. The entries clearly demonstrated the excellent work, expertise, professionalism and commitment of our members. We were truly impressed by the growing role of ASFP members in inspiring innovation, improving fire safety standards and raising awareness.

“We also thank our many sponsors including FireFly, Etex, Siderise, Consort and Encon. Without their continued support, an event of this scale would not be possible.”

ASFP makes resources available in additional languages to increase international reach

by Featured NewsSafety

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has launched several websites with a view to reach out to fire safety professionals across the world.

The new websites welcome visitors in their own language, signposting them to ASFP resources and information, including membership, training and technical guidance.

The sites will encourage greater interaction with the ASFP on a global scale and help to improve understanding of passive fire protection throughout the world. New ASFP websites are planned for Qatar, Singapore, Australia, India and South Korea.

Sites for Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, France and Spain are already live.

The ASFP is also making its popular online training courses available in a new range of languages. The Level 2 and Level 3 Foundation Courses in Passive Fire Protection, delivered via the e-Learning platform, are now available for purchase in French and Spanish.

Delegates will be prompted to select the English, French or Spanish version when they register and purchase the course online. The selected version will be available as soon as they login to the online platform. All ASFP courses can be booked via https://asfp.org.uk/page/OnlineTrainingASFP.

ASFP CEO Steve Davies welcomed the move, commenting: “The ASFP has seen growing demand for passive fire protection information, guidance and training from across the world. By developing new websites and making training available to international audiences in their own languages we hope to make our expert knowledge and experience more widely accessible.

“Such a move can only lead to a greater understanding of the vital role of passive fire protection products and systems and improve the quality if fire safety within the global built environment.”   

AFSP signs members discount agreement with British Standards Institution

by Featured NewsSafety

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has signed a series of agreements with the British Standards Institution (BSI), the national standards body of the UK which will enable the ASFP to offer British standards for sale at discounted rates to members, free standards to small to medium size enterprise (SME) members and free onboarding to the BSI’s new Identify Scheme.

ASFP will now offer BS, BS EN and ISO standards to members at discounted rates of up to 30% off, providing them with access to all the standards they need at an affordable price. The standards can be purchased via the Association’s online shop as either hard copies or as pdf downloads.

As part of a Government scheme to support SMEs, the Association will offer a range of up to 100 passive fire-related standards free of charge to qualifying ASFP members. The range available reflects those of most interest to the passive fire protection community, as well as helping member companies with their company quality assurance by offering BS EN ISO 17025 and BS EN ISO 9001 quality management standards.

ASFP members can also receive free on-boarding to the BSI Identify Scheme, which aims to bring transparency and product traceability throughout the built environment supply chain. This new BSI service harnesses Digital Object Identifier (DOI) technology to deliver a unique, constant, and interoperable identifier, called a BSI UPIN, which can be assigned to products. It helps UK manufacturers to directly manage information about their products in the supply chain, providing a persistent record of each product throughout its life cycle, from manufacture, specification, procurement and installation to de-commissioning or reuse. 

The new services form part of the ASFP Hub, which offers a wide range of discounts, free support and advice to all ASFP members. There is a huge range of benefits to be found, catering to member companies and their employees. These benefits range from free affiliate membership of Make UK, to membership discounts from CHAS and Barbour ABI.

ASFP CEO Steve Davies commented: “The ASFP offers a wide range of training, technical and support services for members which form our core membership offering. These additional benefits aim to provide an enhancement to our services, making ASFP membership yet more rewarding and resulting in significant savings for members.

“Our new agreements with BSI ensure that ASFP member companies of all sizes can access all BS, BS EN and ISO standards at an affordable price, while ASFP SME member companies can obtain access to essential fire safety standards free of charge. This initiative, along with the BSI Identify Scheme offering, aims to help educate our members and further improve the quality of the passive fire protection products and services they can offer. This will further enhance recognition of the professionalism and competence of ASFP members throughout the construction industry.”

ASFP releases new and updated guidance documents

by Breaking NewsIndustrialIndustry SectorsPassive

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has expanded its range of guidance with the release of three new and three updated documents covering steel beams, firestopping of metal pipes, and planned maintenance.

The first document, Advisory Note 27, provides advice on the structural fire protection of steel beams with corrugated webs which were recently introduced to the market and offer a thinner steel plate than can be used in traditional webs.

The fire-resisting performance of these sections is not fully understood and so the advisory note warns against the use of plain section data in support of a corrugated web section without extra testing.

Advisory Note 28 covers the firestopping of metal pipes where flanges are located close to service penetration seals and encourages earlier involvement of passive fire specialists to prevent the construction of untested service penetration arrangements, particularly in the presence of flanges within the secondary insulation zone.

The guidance says that for the avoidance of issues with certification and installation it is best to keep the flanges more than 500mm away from the wall, pointing out that this detail is not always considered during the spatial coordination of services. 

The final new publication, Advisory Note 29 covers planned maintenance and draws upon advice from within the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order; BS 9999: Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings; and BS 8524: Active fire curtain barrier assemblies to ensure that a competent person conducts that maintenance

Meanwhile, Advisory Note 21 has been updated covering coatback to secondary structural steel, highlighting thatthat this can prevent conduction of heat into a primary structural member and its consequent early failure.

Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs) 15 and 20 have also been revised, with the former giving advice on the installation and inspection of spray-applied passive fire protection. The document has been updated to align the film thickness measurement criteria and to take the implications of Brexit into account and the consequent changes to UK Construction Product regulations.

The changes to UK Construction Product regulations and the introduction of the UKCA mark also prompted the revision of TGD 20, which covers the CE marking of fire-resisting and smoke control duct sections. 

All the documents are available for download from the Publications area of the ASFP website.

ASFP publishes independent guidance on active fire curtains

by Projects

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has published its new Black Book: Active Fire Curtains: Compartmentation and Protected Routes, 1st Edition: Guidance on specification, use and application of product. This is the most up-to-date independent guide to the provision of proprietary active fire curtains.

The new Black Book outlines how to select a suitable fire curtain, as well as best practice considerations for all involved in the specification, installation and maintenance of such products. It also provides details of recognised test methods and the classification system from EN 13501-1 and EN 13501-2 for Operable Fabric Curtains tested to European standards. In addition it features listings of products that have been fully tested to the appropriate British or European standards.

The active fire curtain industry is relatively young and until recently there were no dedicated fire test methods to determine the fire performance of active fire curtain products, or harmonised methods of assessing oversized dimensions. This new guide was developed to provide independent guidance on the advantages and limitations of these products and advice to help stakeholders to evaluate the diverse marketing data and claims made by manufacturers.

With active fire curtains increasingly being considered as an alternative to conventional compartmentation elements as designers seek to create more open plan buildings, the Black Book will be of interest to all involved in the manufacture, specification, purchase, commissioning or maintenance of fire curtains. It also offers useful guidance to inspection authorities, risk assessors, facilities managers and business owners, providing a useful introduction to all the requirements related to maintaining active fire curtains.

The document also references the ASFP’s latest Technical Guidance Document, TGD 21: CE Marking of Operable Fabric Curtains, which explains some of the complexity behind CE marking of active curtains and highlights where BS 8524 (Active Fire Curtain) differs from BS EN 16034 (Operable fire curtain).

The documents were launched in a webinar on Wednesday 9 September, which described the essential factors relating to the design and installation of active fire curtains in accordance with UK and EU legislation.

www.asfp.org.uk

ASFP releases new advice on the fire protection of structural steel

by Passive

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has released a suite of new Advisory Notes which offer guidance on the fire protection of structural steel. The four new Advisory notes address specific concerns identified by industry.

ASFP Advisory Note 18: ASFP Position on Installing Partitioning to the Underside of Structural Steel Sections Coated with a Reactive Fire Protection System highlights concerns related to fixing partitioning directly to columns or beams treated with intumescent paint. It notes that fixing anything directly to either the column/beam will impede the intumescent paint from expanding and may allow heat to transfer to the steel, resulting in localised loss of strength and potential failure in the event of a fire.

Since partitioning is often installed along the line of a structural steel frame, the ASFP has joined with the FIS (Finishes and Interior Sector – the dry lining industry trade association), to recommend that, regardless of the existing sound or acoustic protection, the beam or column should be boxed out with an independently tested framed or an unframed system that will provide the required level of fire protection to the beam/ column.

Advisory Note 19: ASFP Position on the Use of Critical Steel Temperatures above 650°C recommends that if a limiting temperature of above 650°C is specified, then a second opinion should be sought from an appropriately trained structural engineer. This reinforces the best practice guidance contained within Advisory Note 12: Best Practice Guide for Specifying reactive coatings for structural steel fire protection, published jointly by the ASFP and the British Coatings Federation.

ASFP Advisory Note 20: ASFP Position on Portal Frame Buildings provides advice on providing fire protection to portal frame rafters, and should be used in conjunction with the SCI document P313: Single Storey Steel Framed Buildings in Fire Boundary Conditions.

It recommends that where fire protection is required to portal frame rafters, certified 4-sided beam thicknesses should be applied to all 4 sides of the rafter, using the appropriate critical temperature.  In cases where a portal frame rafter cannot be coated on the top flange if the roofing materials are in place, a structural engineer and/or fire engineer should be consulted, as further action may be required. Care should also be taken to use the appropriate 4-sided section factor in all cases.

ASFP Advisory Note 21: ASFP Position on Coatback with Respect to Unprotected Secondary Beams Fixed to Protected Primary Beams advises against the omission of coatback to protect secondary beams when the primary beam is fire protected.

It describes references to such omissions contained within Steel construction – Fire Protection, published by the British Constructional Steelwork Association in 2013, as unconservative. The recommendations in the advisory note has more detail than that contained within ASFP Yellow Book (5th edition) and ASFP TGD 8: Code of practice for junctions between different fire protection systems whichwill be amended accordingly.

The Yellow Book will state: ‘If there is no evidence to support the omission of coatback then a figure of 500mm as stated in ASFP TGD 8 Code of practice for junctions between different fire protection systems when applied to load bearing structural steel elements should be assumed as a conservative solution.’

The guidance highlights that the primary beam must be a solid web beam and that omitting coatback does not apply when the protected beams are cell beams. While noting that individual manufacturers have undertaken tests to show that reduced coatback may be sufficient, the guidance states that, the specific end use situation and the proprietary evidence must be considered and that coatback should only be omitted in situations where a detailed engineering study has been completed.

All ASFP guidance documents are available for free download from the Publications area of the ASFP website: www.asfp.org.uk.