Fire door Safety
Week (FDSW) stands as an example of how an industry can and should unite to
support a greater understanding and drive best practice in a marketplace.
The British
Woodworking Federation (BWF) is keen to ensure that lessons learned from FDSW
deliver tangible market improvement.
The BWF membership
have therefore decided to extend the scope of the BWF Certifire Scheme to
embrace companies that achieve the necessary standard through the Certifire and
Q-Mark Schemes.
The new Fire Door
Alliance will see companies certifying product under the BWF Certifire process
continuing unabated, while those currently using the Q-Mark scheme will be able
to join the alliance and work with the wider sector to effect much needed change.
The development will build on the core principles of the BWF Certifire scheme –
namely that all doors manufactured are covered by certification (i.e. no fire
doors are sold outside the scope of certification), companies joining must
complete and maintain a stringent training process and ensure traceability
through a consistent scheme labelling system.
Members of the fire
door alliance also gain access to a resource bank of information and toolkits
including; promotional assets, guidance and training manuals and updates on the
latest industry developments.
Commenting on this
evolution, scheme Chairman David Oldfield said: “In the wake of the Hackitt
Review, it is more important than ever that we stand together as an industry to
ensure that all fire doors supplied in the UK meet the required standard and continue
to meet this throughout their service life.
“What we have seen
in Fire Door Safety Week is a very positive and proactive approach from an
industry – a clear focus on delivering safety and improving
understanding. It is vital that this collaborative working spills into
our wider work to ensure that we focus together on how we can embrace and build
on the principles set down in the Hackitt review, how we deal with the looming
challenge of CE Marking and work with our supply chain to ensure all products
meet and continue to meet the required performance standards throughout their
service life.”
