Fire Safety Engineering Design and the Implications for Facility Managers
White Paper
Bart Taylor B Eng(hons) MIEAust RBP (mech.& fire)
May, 2006
One of the primary benefits of a fire safety engineering or performance approach to fire and life safety systems design is that it allows for the consideration of all the features that will be inherent in a particular building, including structure, installed systems and management and occupancy regimes, when assessing the overall fire safety requirements. This can lead to substantial cost savings for building developers at the time of construction.
However because fire safety engineered solutions often rely on how the building will be operated and the integration of various systems they can place significant responsibilities on the Facilities Manager to ensure that the fire safety of the building is maintained. A very clear understanding of the resultant elements of a fire safety engineering design is required when formulating occupancy and maintenance management systems and procedures.
About the Author
Bart Taylor B Eng(hons) MIEAust RBP (mech.& fire) Bart Taylor is a Mechanical Engineer with notable experience and expertise in fire protection solutions and with a detailed understanding of building legislative requirements, building services and fire safety engineering. He is Engineering Services Manager for Walker Fire Protection, specialist providers of fire protection solutions for commercial and industrial buildings.