Fire alarms are devices that detect the presence of fire and smoke in the area where they are installed. Also, there are fire extinguishers and water sprinklers that help people to put off a fire at any place. These wonderful devices can protect life and property in case of a fire by giving a loud alarm to warn the people around about a fire.
However, organizations need to maintain the fire equipment regularly to keep them in good working condition. Fire alarms not maintained regularly may get clogged with dust and debris. Non-maintained fire alarms may not work when required as smoke will be blocked by dust and debris.
Fire extinguisher testing and other equipment are also necessary to ensure that they work during fire breakouts. However, there are many things that organizations should consider while testing and maintaining fire equipment. This post shares all the essential factors for the testing and maintenance of fire equipment.
Age and maintenance history.
Knowing the age and maintenance of fire equipment helps you to determine the steps you need to take for its maintenance and operational readiness. Equipment less than 5 years old would require a little maintenance. When the systems are under 5 years of age, they usually face problems like voltage transient and improper grounding that can be easily fixed during periodic testing.
The equipment between 5 to 10 years of age may experience component breakdown due to harsh environmental factors. Systems more than 10 years old can still provide satisfactory e response, but they require close attention 10 regular inspection. If you find problems in systems more than 10 years old, you should replace them instead of repairing them.
Standards and guidelines
Most Fire equipment manufacturers recommend at least one inspection and annual test after installation and acceptance. Also, various organizations, local authorities, and Agencies recommend and, in some cases, make the testing intervals mandatory. These standards deal with installation, application maintenance, and performance of protective fire equipment and its components.
The standards and guidelines outline some Minimum requirements for every piece of equipment. Because of these Minimum requirements, manufacturers may recommend their service organizations for inspections and maintenance that exceed the laid guidelines and standards.
Budget and staffing resources.
In addition to the time period after installation, you should also consider the budget and video staff resources. It simply means whether your staff has sufficient time and expertise to use for the maintenance of fire safety systems.
Which option would be more cost-effective between your in-house staff and manufacturers contractor or service agency that specializes in maintenance of fire equipment. Even the stringent guidelines and Standards will become meaningless if the staff performing testing inspection and maintenance is not well qualified and knowledgeable.
The people in facility maintenance do not have and experience as much knowledge as found in service technicians of the manufacturer. The work of manufacturers’ service professionals revolves around the technology used by the manufacturer in fire equipment. It is essential to consider your budget and staffing resources before using them for the testing and maintenance of your fire equipment.
Emergency lighting test.
In case of fires and emergencies, the regular lights main turn off or may not work. Emergency lights are installed in an organization to work ok in case of fire breakouts when the power gets turned off. The emergency lights should be tested for a full duration at least once or twice a year. The emergency lights must work ok perfectly by the end of this test. Professionals testing the emergency lighting should record the results, and in case of any failures, they must be fixed as soon as possible.
Record in a logbook.
It is important to record all the processes of testing and maintenance carried out on the FIR equipment in different logbooks. Recording the testing and maintenance in a logbook enables the professionals to check the history of any equipment and determine what needs to be done further.
Replace the outdated systems.
In addition to testing and maintenance, it is also essential to check the Fire equipment and replace it at the right time. The outdated systems are not compatible with the testing and maintenance tools used by present-day professionals. Therefore, it might be challenging to test or maintain the outdated systems precisely. It is best to replace them with new systems as the latest technology always works better than outdated technology.
Workplace Emergency Management offers emergency services and training in Australia. If you have a business or organization in Australia, you can consider consulting them for a complete inspection of your premises and emergency management plan.
Final words.
These were the factors that organizations need to consider while testing and maintaining their Fire equipment. Taking care of all these factors enables businesses and organizations to maintain their equipment well so that they work perfectly in case of fire breakout and emergencies.
