The installation of fire doors is a critical aspect of building safety, with far-reaching implications for the well-being of occupants and the legal responsibilities of installers. Correct installation is essential to ensure the ongoing performance of fire doors and, ultimately, the safety of those who will use the building. In this blog BWF Technical Director, Kevin Underwood highlights the significance of installer competence, the BWF’s leadership in developing industry standards, and its commitment to individual-focused training programs.
It is important that anyone who installs fire doors is competent to do so. Correct installation is critical to the ongoing performance of the fire door and the installer may have legal responsibilities for the safety of people who will use the building once the installation work has been completed. The components that are brought together to make up the fire door assembly must be in accordance with the supporting test evidence, assessment reports or certification documents. The fire door assembly or doorset must be suitable for installation into the supporting wall or partition, taking into consideration whether there is likely to be any distortion in the event of a fire. Also, the sealants, mastics or foams used to seal the fire door frame to the structure must themselves be approved for that purpose.
The BWF has also been involved over the last few years with the Competence Steering Group Working Group 2 which is responsible for the mapping of installer competence for all occupations in the built environment – of which the installation of fire doors is just one. This work is ongoing and the working group is now looking at the detail relating to different occupations.
The BWF is leading on a workstream looking at the competency of installers of fire doors and will be responsible for developing the industry competency framework. This work is in progress and will be released to the sector once it is ready to be launched.
Training and education is a key objective of the BWF and as such we continue to find ways to ensure training is robust and of high quality. There are too many organisations claiming individuals are competent after they have completed online E-learning courses, which is a concern. We will ensure the competency framework will be looking at individual competence rather than companywide competence, as this is considered more robust and effective as the skills remain with the individual as they progress in their career.
Alongside this work, over the last three years the BWF has worked very closely with Ofqual regulated awarding bodies such as the National Open College Network (NOCN), and City and Guilds, to develop regulated training for individuals in the installation of fire doors. (Ofqual is the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation which regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England). This has led to the BWF and NOCN launching in 2020 the BWF SiteRight Fire Door Installation Awareness two day course, completion of this course and an onsite assessment allows the individual who already holds a defined vocational qualification the option to have this unit added to their CSCS card. In addition to this, the BWF has worked with City and Guilds to develop and launch this year the L3 Award in Fire Door Safety. Both are Ofqual approved and are embedded as a mandatory unit in the Level 3 Site Carpentry and Architectural Joinery Apprenticeships. This means individuals are learning the correct principles in the installation of timber fire doors, alongside building safety and regulation, what to look for in third party certification and how to maintain and inspect fire doors.
Only approved training providers can deliver these courses, and they are approved by the Awarding Organisation against a strict approval process, which includes looking at the competence of the trainer and assessor delivering and assessing the training. They have to be able to demonstrate that they have the right skills, knowledge and experience in installing fire doors on site to gain approval. By working with Ofqual regulated awarding organisations ensures there is a robust approval process for the quality of the provision of training on offer thus improving the competence of fire door installers.
