As demand for Grade A office space continues to outstrip supply in many major cities, organisations are frequently refurbishing existing premises to accommodate their evolving needs. However, many are neglecting to recalibrate their fire and lighting safety systems to suit the reconstituted environment, the study has found.
“While the construction industry works to meet a surge in demand for Grade A space in European cities such as London and Milan, businesses are understandably working with what they’ve got to accommodate their growth,” said Simon Massey, section leader of technical support/training at Hochiki Europe.”
“However, fire and lighting safety solutions are installed with the current use of space in mind so to disregard this when altering layout or function is a potentially fatal oversight.”
The study also found that 55% of fire and security system installers feel their customers are preoccupied with their initial financial outlay without considering the trade-off with the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) – ignoring the‘buy cheap, buy twice’(or rather, buy cheap, spend much more on maintenance), as the saying goes.
More than a fifth (22%) of installers surveyed think building managers tend to view maintenance as an unnecessary expense. And almost three quarters (74%) believe that maintenance is viewed dismissively as a ‘tick-box’ exercise.
Quizzed on how frequently they encounter particular problems hen checking fire-safety systems almost half (48%) of installers said businesses often had the wrong system installed for its environment, while 51% said detectors regularly need cleaning. As for emergency lighting systems, 57% found batteries in the units were frequently not charged, while over two fifths (44%) had inadequate lux levels.
Said Massey: “With European GDP set to rise by 1.7% this year alone, it’s likely that many businesses will be forced to continue adapting with what they have, but this shouldn’t be to the detriment of overall safety.
“Raising awareness of this issue, as well as overall maintenance, is reaching a critical point and it’s the responsibility of industry members to support businesses in regularly reviewing the status of their safety system to secure whatever form their building takes.”
Hochiki Europe, which develops fire detection and emergency lighting products and markets them from 32 sales offices and 18 subsidiaries around the world, has created a guide to simplify emergency lighting and fire safety installation and maintenance that you can download from its website.
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