Early intervention the key to successful installation

Picture the scene: you arrive on site with the building plans in your hand, ready to install the smoke control and ventilation equipment that was ordered and specified months ago - only to find your plans don’t match up with reality! Shafts sizes can be different, locations changed and specifications not what you were expecting...

It can happen more easily than you might think, and not only does this add time and challenge to your work, but it can even impair on the life safety functionality of the products which you’ve been charged with successfully installing.

How does this situation arise? No-one is to blame, the issue is simple: specification is generally set at the early sales stage, and is often not formally amended before the final stages of a project, although architectural design changes and builders’ practical interpretations are bound to take place. By the time the smoke control installer arrives to find the site not as expected, he is often jostling for working space with the painters and decorators. By this time it’s far too late to make timely adjustments to the specification and ensure final sign-off.

The solution comes in the form of project management. A strong, experienced team is required to technically sell the correct solution, develop that solution through the life of the project, deliver it on site and commission it as a working system. The key is to not just turn up on site at the last minute and hope for the best – make site visits, take measurements, speak to other contractors and learn what important changes have been made to the building and why.

Smoke ventilation systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated and need to be integrated into the building design rather than applied at the final stages to meet legislation.

At commissioning and handover a thorough understanding of the legislation is necessary to make any modifications to cope with natural evolution in the build process. Airvent offers just such a solution, with advice and support at every step of the process and a sound project management structure which ensures practical results that meet legislative requirements.

Author: Ian Doncaster BTech(Hons) MPhil MBA CEng MIMechE