FIA Guide to the UK Fire Safety Industry Competency & Training Feature
cases, display the logos of the scheme
and the certificating body.
For third party certification to have
value for both you and the end user, the
certification body and the scheme must
have a high degree of credibility. In the
UK, the United Kingdom Accreditation
Service (UKAS) validates the authority
of the certification body. It’s a recognised
organisation appointed by the
Government to accredit certification
bodies and the schemes they deliver.
Anyone can set up a certification body,
but only those accredited by UKAS have
proven credibility.
The schemes are written and
administered by recognised authorities.
These include standard-setting bodies
such as the British Standards Institution,
certification bodies such as the Loss
Prevention Certification Board (LPCB)
or independent organisations such as
BAFE. UKAS will only accredit a
certification body to deliver a scheme
where it’s absolutely satisfied that the
scheme itself complies with
international quality standards.
Available schemes
There’s a wide range of third party
certification schemes covering such
diverse areas as the design, installation,
commissioning and maintenance of fire
alarm systems, fire extinguishers, gas
suppression systems, sprinklers,
emergency lighting, fire risk
assessments, fire doors and passive fire
protection. The majority of fire safety-related
schemes are produced and
owned by the certification bodies. The
exceptions are those realised by national
and international standard-setting
bodies such as BS EN ISO 9001:2015
and those organised by independent
bodies (eg BAFE).
On first glance, some schemes may
look very similar. LPCB LPS 1014 and
BAFE SP203-1 both cover fire alarm
systems. However, on closer inspection
they’re very different schemes. LPS 1014
requires the certificated organisation to
provide design, installation,
commissioning and maintenance. It also
requires the organisation to be ISO
9001:2015 certificated, either
independently or through the LPCB.
The BAFE SP203-1 scheme is often
referred to as the modular scheme as the
supplier can be certificated for design,
installation, commissioning,
maintenance or, indeed, any
combination of these. While it does
require the certificated organisation to
have a quality management system (as
detailed in the scheme), it doesn’t
require it to have ISO 9001:2015.
There are a couple of schemes worthy
of closer examination: BAFE SP101 and
BAFE SP205. SP101 covers the
commissioning, installation and
maintenance of extinguishers. Like most
third party certification schemes, it
places great emphasis on the
competence of any individuals involved,
but takes this a step further.
The industry recognised that, with
extinguisher maintenance, the
competence of the technician is
paramount. In essence, SP101 is a
company scheme that also encompasses
the service technician’s competency.
For many years, it was known that
there was a problem with the quality of
fire risk assessments carried out by
commercial organisations for
compliance with fire safety regulations.
Now, several schemes have been set up,
but most are concerned with the
competence of the individual and not
the organisation as a whole.
Up until recently, SP205 was the only
UKAS accreditation scheme for fire risk
assessors. In parallel, the Fire Risk
Assessors Competency Council
developed a set of competency criteria
for fire risk assessors and subsequently
produced a user guide for selecting
competent organisations to carry out
assessments. This guide indicates,
among other schemes, SP205.
Help from the FIA
The FIA can provide information on
third party certification schemes and
give advice on which schemes would be
most appropriate to cover your areas of
work. We can also provide consultancy
services to businesses looking to achieve
third party certification, principally
through BAFE, in order to assist them in
working towards scheme requirements.
By meeting the requirements of a
given scheme relevant to your work in
the industry, you will then meet the
necessary criteria to become a member
of the Trade Association.
The FIA also has its own ‘Route to
Certification’ package that can assist
companies in achieving third party
certification. This is available to both
members and non-members alike. The
benefits of enrolling on one of the
available packages include shorter
timescales, assistance in attaining third
party certification, a set payment plan
and the first year of FIA membership.
Gaining third party certification
enables you to differentiate your
company from others, attract a better
quality of client and run your business
on a more efficient and effective basis. •
Chris Tilley is Commercial Manager at
the Fire Industry Association
(www.fia.uk.com)
In the UK, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service validates
the authority of the certification body. It’s a recognised
organisation appointed by the Government to accredit
certification bodies and the schemes they deliver
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