Building for the future: How technology is revolutionising Fire Safety

Building fire regulations are evolving to meet the changing needs of society, such as the increasing complexity of buildings, as well as the growing threat of fires. As the government tightens up legislation, what role can technology play in improving building fire safety and what benefits can it bring?

Upholding standards

Fire safety technology can play a key role in helping the industry comply with increasingly stringent standards, such as BS 8644-1, the new British Standard for digital management of fire safety information. Going hand in hand with the Building Safety Act 2022, BS 8644-1 requires ‘dutyholders’ such as building owners and facility managers to implement digital systems for record keeping, information monitoring, sharing and compliance. 

As such, BS 8644-1 is a major facilitator of the ‘Golden Thread’ of information and a more joined-up approach to regulatory compliance in which all the partners in a supply chain take accountability for building safety.

Why is BS 8644-1 so important and how is fire safety technology helping to deliver it?

Prior to the introduction of BS 8644-1, fire safety information was often conducted in silos, by organisations working independently of each other rather than together. It was also managed manually, using spreadsheets or paper-based processes. As a result, there was no guarantee the right people had access to the right information at the right time. BS 8644-1 aims to put a stop to that.

Building on its long-standing commitment to improving fire safety in buildings, Halspan has developed a technological solution, Halspan® Tracker, which provides a complete digital record of inspection and maintenance, in accordance with BS 8644-1. 

The simple way to ensure door systems and other fire safety assets comply with tightening building safety regulations, Halspan® Tracker helps maintain the Golden Thread through the use of innovative technology.

Enabling a joined-up approach

Fire safety technology lies at the heart of another kind of joined-up approach too: the joining up of existing and new smart fire alarm systems using cloud computing, leading to more secure and compliant fire system management.

Using cloud-hosted software, the accumulated data from the systems can be monitored in real time. On a day-to-day basis, this allows responsible persons/people such as facility managers to easily see which devices are activated, identify false alarms and diagnose any potential problems before they arise. In an emergency, it can help to pinpoint exactly where a fire is, as well as the nature of the fire, so emergency services can go in prepared and with a tailored response.

Smart fire systems can also send notifications directly to the user in an emergency, buying precious time and helping responsible persons to fulfil their obligations.

This use of technology extends to passive fire protection measures too, such as fire doors. Take Halspan® Smart Tags. Fitted to a building’s door systems and other fire safety assets, a record of each unique Smart Tag is created on an online asset management system and updated whenever the item is inspected or maintenance work is carried out. This builds up a complete digital record of the asset’s quality assurance journey, from fabrication and installation right the way through to inspection and ongoing maintenance.

Using Halspan® Tracker, facility managers and building owners can view all their fire safety assets’ quality assurance data in one place, enabling them to see at a glance which assets are compliant, which aren’t and what corrective action needs to be taken.

Increasing efficiencies

As well as making it more secure and compliant, technology is also helping to increase efficiencies within fire system management. 

By automating routine tasks, such as testing and maintenance reports, the technology in smart fire systems can significantly reduce workloads, saving both time and money compared to traditional methods. Again, this supersedes conventional pen and paper methods of logging results, just like BS 8644-1 is doing with fire safety information.

By providing remote access to the data anywhere, anytime, through a mobile app or web browser, connected fire systems can also increase accessibility and enable facility management teams to achieve more with fewer resources. 

Utilising new technologies

What about some of the other uses of emerging new technology revolutionising fire safety? 

One of the most exciting prospects is virtual fire safety training. Used to simulate a variety of life-threatening situations, VR-based programmes can provide valuable training without exposing participants to toxic pollutants, physical stress or potential injuries. Compared with the operational and logistical costs associated with traditional fire safety training programmes, the VR alternative also involves minimal set-up time and costs.

Moving from virtual to real firefighting, drones now offer a comprehensive overview of fire scenes, protecting firefighters while improving their situational awareness. 

At Halspan, meanwhile, we’ve developed several new technologies of our own, including Halspan® Verified, a ground-breaking new quality assurance scheme. Using Halspan® Verified, specifiers choose from a range of exemplar door systems configured to their exact specifications or customise their own, using Halspan’s proprietary 3D Product Selector tool, safe in the knowledge the door systems they’re specifying are fully compliant. 

A key component of our Halspan® Tracker system, once the Halspan® Tracker app has been installed on a user’s smart device, it can be used to scan and identify individual Smart Tags, enabling users to update an asset’s quality assurance record or check it for compliance.

And then there’s the Halspan® Store. Using custom-built software, this one stop online shop enables fabricators and installers to purchase fully-compliant door systems and components at the touch of a button.Along with hundreds of quality products, Halspan® Store offers other benefits too, like easier estimating, improved stock control and cashflow. (Check out the video below).

Revolutionising every aspect of building fire safety 

Technology is playing a significant role in revolutionising and improving fire safety. From ensuring that only fully compliant fire door systems are specified, inspected and maintained correctly, to facilitating the all-important Golden Thread of information, technology has a vital role to play in the future of fire safety.

Improving the security, compliance and efficiency of fire system management, as well as fire safety training and firefighting itself, technology is revolutionising fire safety in a million and one different ways, helping to build a safer future.

A key player in the fire safety revolution, find out more about Halspan’s products and services or visit the Halspan® Store.