Chad McLean, Certification Manager at Warringtonfire Australia, discusses the importance of standardising the adoption of third-party certification for fire-protection products in the construction industry to ensure compliance, mitigate risk and avoid costly remedial works.
There is an undoubtable surge in the current Australian construction market. With $237 billion worth of projects in the works over the next five years, $15 billion of which was added in the last 12 months alone, there is a significant demand for new buildings and infrastructure across the country.
Excitingly, this growth shows little sign of stopping with the Australia Construction Industry Report 2023 asserting that the industry is expected to record an average annual growth of 3.1% from 2024 to 2027. Backed by the government’s allocation of $9.6bn for vital infrastructure projects for the next four years, it stands to reason that we ought to see not only an emergence of new buildings but also improvements to existing ones across the country.
Such funding is particularly important for ensuring the standard of design, installation and maintenance of fire-protection measures is upheld. Doing so is necessary for the successful safeguarding of occupants while reducing the need for what can be costly remedial work in the future.
This is where third-party certification has to come more to the fore across the industry. As it stands currently, third-party certification is not mandated in Australia. However, this does not mean it is without benefits. For architects, specifiers, consultants and all building stakeholders, third-party certification can provide peace of mind that both fire-resisting products and the personnel responsible for installing and maintaining them are up to standard. Yet, the benefits of third-party certification are often overlooked. This is an area of high priority to be looked at going forward.
Insufficiency of test reports alone
Despite Australia’s built environment growing exponentially in recent years, there remains significant traceability challenges around the building products used.
Let’s look at a prime example, passive fire protection (PFP) products, which includes products such as fire doors, fire collars, sealants and door hardware. The only quality assurance that needs to be presented in order for such products to be accepted is a test report or an assessment report outlining the product’s compliance with the associated standard.
While such assurance and testing are important, and its benefits ought not be minimised, it fails to represent and report on a manufacturer’s factory process or quality-control procedure. Testing reduces a product to its performance in a single instance. Instead, independent third-party certification lends another layer of assurance by providing traceability.
There is an additional risk presented by products that are imported from overseas which may not have been tested or assessed in ways that are compliant with the National Construction Code (NCC). Such products may have faults that pose a potential risk, especially when they go unnoticed.
A call for specifying products with third-party certification
To provide added reassurance throughout the supply chain and as a way to combat the issues, it is imperative that the industry uses products that are third-party certified by approved bodies and experts. Rather than viewing certification as a cost, it should be seen as a saving.
Arguably, from a business point of view, the biggest benefit is that of quality assurance and risk mitigation. By specifying a product that has achieved third-party certification, such as Warringtonfire’s Certifire scheme, stakeholders can be confident that they are receiving a product that fits within the scope to which it should have been tested and is fit-for-purpose.
In doing this, there is additional peace of mind that the product, or product range, has undergone an evaluation; the manufacturer’s factory has been through a Factory Production Control (FPC) audit; and the product has been sampled and tested. In turn, this increases traceability and any defective products or issues with quality can be remedied.
As well as this, third-party certification also brings a level of risk mitigation. In circumstances where products only have first-party testing and assessment, the onus falls on the building designer, specifier or building certifier to understand the product. Essentially, they must ensure that the product meets the standard and National Construction Code, before signing off on its use. This can often involve combing through lengthy test and assessment reports, which in turn slows down decision-making and construction projects.
Any activity that can streamline the processing while improving life safety should be taken, particularly with an infrastructure project pipeline worth $237 billion at stake.
Enabling a safer future with certification
The country and construction industry alike are in one of their most exciting, expansive and progressive eras. It is important that those who have responsibility for our buildings do what they can to ensure they are safe for the years to come all the while, helping to curb unnecessary costs through costly reworks or slowing progress. Third-party certification is a crucial step in solving all these challenges. For more about Warringtonfire, third-party certification and its Certifire scheme, please visit https://www.warringtonfire.com/certification-services/fire-certification/certifire
About the Author
Chad McLean is the certification manager for the new Certifire scheme operated by Warringtonfire Australia. He has been with Warringtonfire for over 17 years in the Testing division, with the last 12 years as Testing Group Manager, before recently taking on the role of establishing the product certification business. Chad takes pride in being an advocate for increasing the quality of passive fire products to the building industry, whether from a testing point of view or in his current focus in product certification.
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