Question 1

How often do fire dampers need to be tested?

Accepted Answer

BS 9999 expects fire and smoke dampers to be tested by a competent person at intervals not exceeding twelve months, and more frequently in dust-laden or grease-laden environments where they are likelier to seize. Newly installed dampers should be proven at commissioning and again within the first year. Testing means drop-testing the damper so the blade is seen to close and reset, not opening an access panel and looking at it. Where a damper cannot be reached, the honest answer is that it has not been tested, and the fix is an access panel rather than a caveat in the report. We drop-test, log every damper against a floor plan, and tell you which ones failed and what putting them right involves.

Question 2

What is TR/19, and does our ductwork actually need cleaning?

Accepted Answer

TR/19  is the BESA Guide to Good Practice on the internal cleanliness of ventilation systems, and it is the reference most insurers, auditors and fire risk assessors work from. It sets out how to measure whether a system is dirty (a recorded deposit measurement, not an opinion), how to clean it, and how to verify the result afterwards. Whether yours needs cleaning is therefore a question of measurement, not of the calendar, which is why we survey before we quote. Systems serving kitchens, healthcare, laboratories and food production reach the trigger far faster than an office does.

Question 3

Is kitchen extract covered by the same standard as the rest of our ductwork?

Accepted Answer

No, and the difference matters. Grease-laden kitchen extract is covered by TR19  Grease, a separate specification with its own cleanliness measurement and its own verification method, because the risk being managed is fire rather than air quality. Insurers frequently make a compliant kitchen extract clean a condition of cover and ask for the post-clean report by name. Frequency is driven by cooking hours and cooking type rather than a fixed interval. We survey, clean to the standard, and issue the record with photographs at every access point.

Question 4

Who is responsible for maintaining an AOV smoke extract system?

Accepted Answer

The responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which in practice means the building owner, the landlord or the managing agent. Smoke control is life-safety equipment and is maintained as such: brief function testing at short regular intervals by site staff, plus a full service by a competent specialist covering actuators, control panels, batteries, vents and the cause-and-effect behind them. What most often catches buildings out is the interface rather than the hardware: the vent that opens perfectly on its own test but never receives the signal from the fire alarm. We prove the whole chain, not the component.

Question 5

How often should AHUs and ventilation plant be serviced?

Accepted Answer

Most commercial air handling plant settles on a quarterly or six-monthly planned visit with filters changed on their own cycle, but the honest answer is that frequency should follow the plant, its duty and its environment rather than a rule of thumb. Belts, bearings, dampers, coils, drainage and controls all degrade at different rates, and a unit running continuously in a dusty environment needs more attention than one serving an office floor. We survey the estate, propose an interval per asset, and put the result on a planned schedule so that reactive callouts stop being the maintenance strategy.

Question 6

What is commissioning, and do we need it if the system already runs?

Accepted Answer

Running and performing are not the same thing. Commissioning proves that a system delivers its design air volumes to each terminal, that pressures and controls behave as intended, and that the result is measured and recorded. It follows CIBSE Commissioning Code A for air distribution, and it is what turns an installation into evidence. Where a system was never properly commissioned, or has been altered since, measured airflows are often nothing like the design intent, and that shows up as comfort complaints, wasted energy and handovers that will not close. We commission new systems and re-commission existing ones.

Question 7

What is air tightness testing and when is it required?

Accepted Answer

Air permeability testing measures how much air leaks through the building envelope, and it is required to demonstrate compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations on most new build and on many major refurbishments. The building is pressurised with calibrated fans and the leakage rate is measured against the design target. Failing late in a programme is expensive, so the useful time to test is early, while there is still access to seal whatever is leaking. We test, report, and advise on remediation rather than simply handing over a number.

Question 8

Can you take over an existing ventilation maintenance contract?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and the first job is establishing what you actually have. Ventilation assets are the ones most often missing from an estate s records: dampers hidden behind plasterboard, air handling units nobody has opened in years, kitchen extract with no cleaning history at all. Our takeover begins with an asset survey and a compliance gap analysis, so you can see the real position before committing, followed by a catch-up plan for anything already overdue. From there it runs as a planned contract with the statutory testing scheduled and certificated.

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