Ensuring Effective Inspection Frequency and Record Management for Fire Safety Equipment

Inspections are basic examination procedures of fire safety equipment to ensure they are in prime working condition. Fire safety equipment involves many components working together to protect people from fire hazards. Here is a list of fire safety equipment and their uses,

• Fire Alarms: Devices emitting loud noise indicating that danger is near and that building evacuation should commence.

• Smoke & Heat Detectors: Devices that detect the accumulation of smoke or high temperatures in an environment due to overpowering fires.

• Fire Extinguishers: Extinguishers are devices that carry agents that can instantly put out small fires, such as water, foam, carbon dioxide, and other inert, dry chemicals.

• Sprinkler Systems: Fire sprinklers are devices with detectors connected that immediately spray large amounts of compressed materials to put out fires after detecting high temperatures or smoke.

• Fire Blankets: Large blankets made of fire-resistant materials, like wool or fiberglass, can immediately smother small fires.

• Emergency Lighting: Lighting that indicates an emergency and properly lights the path to safety exit routes.

• Escape Ladders: Fire escape ladders provide an immediate exit for people in a building where exit routes may be blocked.

• Fire Signage: Signs indicating exit paths, exit doors, location of fire equipment, fire safety signs, manual point locations, and evacuation assembly locations.

• First Aid Kits: These kits contain resources to help immediately address injuries that may occur during a fire, such as burn bandages, antiseptic creams, and more.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Fire-resistant clothing, like safety jackets, gloves, helmets, masks, and goggles that can protect from the heat and smoke of the fire.

With so many components (and more) involved in fire safety, it becomes challenging to keep track of all your equipment, not knowing when you might need it. This is why equipment inspection is essential and advantageous. 

You don’t need to keep checking your equipment because fire inspectors and technicians do it for you through inspections. This can give you both the advantages of keeping your equipment up-to-date and not having to do any laborious work. The materials will still be functionally perfect only if they’re done at the correct times.

Here are a few more reasons why inspections must be frequent and why records need to be managed for every inspection,

Malfunctions & Issues

After you install your fire safety equipment, external factors can cause it to grow old and start having issues with its functions. Initially, this may not seem like a big issue, but over time, these issues can turn into mechanical malfunctions when you need the system to work.

Fire safety equipment issues due to corroding and aging can include false alarms, blocked suppression system pipes, insufficient pressure levels, rusting and eroding, malfunctioning control panels, and sensor sensitivity issues.

Inspections are the best solution to prevent these malfunctions and any issues in your system. They can indicate any faults or issues during maintenance and testing, which can be resolved simultaneously and bring your system back to full power.

Compliance

According to governmental organizations like the NFPA and OSHA, specific rules and regulations are in place that are mandated by the law to be followed by all American business owners and citizens. Inspections of fire safety equipment must be done at regular intervals to ensure compliance and conditioning of the equipment.

These regulations have been put down after a detailed analysis of situational fires and the best way to protect yourself from any hazards that may bring harm. They encompass everything about fire safety, from correctly placing fire equipment in buildings to constructing any building architecture according to fire protection clauses.

Not following protocol and abiding by these fire codes can cause a business a lot of trouble. These protocols are guidelines for fire safety and actual legislative laws, meaning not following them can have legal implications. Not complying with safety regulations can also increase the value of your insurance premiums due to a higher level of risk.

Violations can lead to significant penalties and fines on the business and even the discontinuation of your operations until compliance is followed. Inspections can help avoid any of these problems and bring to your attention what needs to be done to establish compliance in your environment.

Optimal Operation

Even after using the same equipment for years, it might still be relatively usable and efficient in its performance; that’s what these components are built for. But after some time, it can become a situation where you start sacrificing efficiency for unnecessary repair and replacement expenses.

No matter how long you’ve had your equipment, it needs to work in dangerous situations, and there’s a higher probability of equipment issues the older it is. Inspections can help test the equipment for efficiency and effectiveness, communicating whether you need to go ahead and repair your components or go for a complete replacement.

With the technological advancements we see today, even if your system works fine, it is guaranteed that a better system can better protect your environment if you invest in it. These systems cost less for overall maintenance and are worth looking at to improve your security against fire and peace of mind.

Documentation

Another aspect of laws and regulations from the fire codes is documenting your fire safety equipment and inspections. Documentation is the only evidence you may have to represent your history of equipment and inspections and that you are following compliance.

Documentation allows the transfer of information about each inspection done to the next person so that the condition of your system is continuously monitored and updated. It also provides officials with a vessel to communicate corrective actions that can be taken to make your system overall safer and more effective.

With technology and software, you can digitally store all your information, access it anytime and anywhere, and restrict access to only those needing it. You can implement standard checklists and forms for different types of inspections and not have to create new files for every inspection.