Buildings constructed today — including hospitals, high-rises offices or schools — are quite different than those erected 20, 10 or even five years ago. With the rapid advancement of technology, these buildings are becoming increasingly “intelligent,” especially in regards to the capabilities of life safety systems like fire alarms and the detection of smoke, gas and carbon monoxide.
With the widespread availability of these systems, we no longer encounter living spaces only equipped with basic protective devices like smoke detectors; today’s structures are replete with a number of integrated systems that work to secure unwanted entry, monitor life safety threats and maintain comfortable environments, among a number of other functions. Generally speaking, building system intelligence is created with these three notions in mind.
To ensure that these building systems operate as intended, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has been working with experts throughout the fire safety and prevention industry since 2012 to construct the NFPA 4 Standard for Integrated Fire Protection and Life Safety System Testing (available at http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/document-information-pages?mode=code&code=4). The NFPA 4 standard helps to close gaps in older NFPA standards, facilitate innovation in the industry and allow for fire alarm dealers/integrators to experience growth in their profession. Most of all, the NFPA 4 standard is helping to ensure today’s more intelligent buildings are safe.
What is NFPA 4?
The goal of the NFPA 4 standard is to create a requirement for new and existing buildings, stipulating that all systems integrated or interconnected with a life safety system must be tested simultaneously — or in conjunction with one another — to demonstrate they all function as intended.
Prior to NFPA 4, there was not a standard written with mandatory language that looked to accomplish this goal of fully integrated testing. Older NFPA standards, protocols and codes only went so far as to ensure that all systems operated correctly, but not necessarily together. Fully integrated testing only occurred on a voluntary basis and, because of the level of collaboration required to complete testing of this scope, was often left uncompleted. This is especially true of older buildings — leading many fire and life safety experts to advocate for integrated testing.
How Does NFPA 4 Work?
There are a number of life safety systems used in modern buildings, with the fire alarm system being the most obvious. NFPA 4 outlines the minimum requirements for the end-to-end testing of all interconnected systems, including but not limited to the following systems: fire alarm, emergency communication, sprinkler, elevator, standby power and stairway pressurization.
Prior to NFPA 4, the fire alarm system would be tested, and once passed, that individual would leave and another individual would come in to test fans and other parts of the stairway pressurization system; therefore, while the two systems passed inspection separately, there was no way of proving both would continue to function together as intended.
To address this shortcoming, NFPA 4 states that the building owner or the integrated systems testing agent (ISTA) who has knowledge of the building’s fire and life safety systems needs to perform an integrated test. To put this into motion, all parties who have installed systems in the facility must come together with the ISTA to create a testing plan, hand out testing assignments and execute said plan.
Although the new standard does not require that the ISTA have a special license or be certified, it does make a point of stating that the ISTA must have adequate knowledge of all the systems within the facility.
As for the timing of tests, NFPA 4 prescribes a risk assessment be completed to outline potential failure modes as a way of determining testing frequency; however, it only requires integrated testing every five years if a different frequency is not or cannot be determined. Where deficiencies in the system are found, the ISTA is required to submit a corrective actions report as a way of providing guidelines to remedy the problem. Furthermore, NFPA 4 also lists a number of triggers that would require integrated testing, such as modifications or additions to the system, making NFPA 4 standard testing applicable to existing buildings.
How Does NFPA 4 Differ From Past NFPA Standards?
The criteria surrounding integrated systems testing was previously part of NFPA 3: Recommended Practice on Commissioning and Integrated Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems (www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/document-information-pages?mode=code&code=3); however, understanding the importance of the section and hearing the calls of advocates, the NFPA decided to break out the section into a separate standard.
In doing so, the NFPA has been able to close some gaps left by NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code as well as NFPA 92: Standard for Smoke Control Systems. NFPA 72 required testing smoke detectors or the water flow switches that initiate the fire alarm system, but only separately, not together. Similarly, NFPA 92 included a requirement for testing the fan, damper and air movement partitions of the smoke control system, but again this was a siloed effort.
Aside from vacating the integrated testing portion of NFPA 3, the NFPA 3 standard will remain largely the same when updated in 2015.
Affect on Fire Alarm Dealers/Integrators
Fire alarm dealers and integrators should welcome NFPA 4 with open arms, as it provides an opportunity to coordinate the systems that will be used inside buildings to ensure proper integration. Given their knowledge of the buildings in which they are working, these individuals will be top candidates for ISTA duties that can serve as resume builders and will help them grow their business offerings.
While it seems like working in an ISTA capacity is a big workload to assume — with the requirements of completing a risk assessment, a corrective actions report and post-occupancy testing to establish a testing frequency base — there are tools available that can accomplish a large chunk of this workload. NFPA 4 will only facilitate the development of similar hardware and equipment.
Building Service Automation
Since fire alarms systems are required to be tested at regular intervals, the NFPA 4 standard will most likely result in testing occurring more frequently than five-year intervals as those tasked with ISTA duties file their post-occupancy testing requirements. Failure to maintain systems could lead to penalties.
The market has recently seen a proliferation of tools to automate the testing, service and regular maintenance of building systems. Tools like Honeywell’s eVance Services have recently been introduced to help improve testing and inspection operations by automating some of the heavy lifting that is expected of an ISTA. With eVance, for example, an ISTA can automate test and inspection reports for fire systems as per NFPA 72, extinguishers as per NFPA 10 and sprinklers as per NFPA 25, among a number of other tests an inspection manager would normally perform manually.
Automated testing platforms should be able to track test intervals and generate reports detailing issues and corrective actions; however, the accuracy and thoroughness of report information has become a big selling point, considering a growing number of building service contracts are now specifying use of building inspection and management software. Likewise, dealers and integrators appear to be promoting their proficiencies with these platforms as a competitive advantage.
Rich Fischer is Director of Sales for Honeywell Fire Safety Software Services. Request more info about Honeywell Fire at www.securityinfowatch.com/12094950.
