ASTM Standard aids in qualifying firestop system inspectors.
Press Release Summary:
Proposed standard ASTM WK40836 will be used to assess credentials and qualifications of inspectors who routinely use ASTM firestop standards in their work, including ASTM E2174, Practice for OnSite Inspection of Installed Firestops, and ASTM E2393, Practice for OnSite Inspection of Installed Fire Resistive Joint Systems and Perimeter Fire Barriers. Standard will be directed toward building owners, developers, and design professionals as well as government agencies.
Original Press Release:
Proposed ASTM Standard Will Aid in Qualifying Firestop System Inspectors
A proposed new ASTM International standard will be used to assess the credentials and qualifications of inspectors who routinely use ASTM firestop standards in their work.
The proposed standard is ASTM WK40836, Practice for Credentials for Inspectors of Through Penetration Firestop Systems, Fire Resistive Joint Systems and Perimeter Fire Barriers.
ASTM WK40836 will provide the information necessary to qualify inspectors who work with ASTM standards ASTM E2174, Practice for OnSite Inspection of Installed Firestops, and ASTM E2393, Practice for OnSite Inspection of Installed Fire Resistive Joint Systems and Perimeter Fire Barriers.
Both ASTM E2174 and ASTM E2393 were adopted into the International Building Code 2012 for buildings 75 feet or taller, with Category 34 occupancies. The IBC adoption means that more jurisdictions from the local to federal level will need individuals qualified to do firestop inspections.
ASTM WK40836 will answer the need for a standard practice for assessing an inspector’s credentials and qualifications to assist an authority having jurisdiction and/or authorizing authority in determining what minimum information should be supplied.
According to ASTM member Patrick Tesche, managing director, Global Fire Protection Group and the International Firestop Council Inspector Committee chair, ASTM WK40836 would be used to test the knowledge of inspectors who wish to become qualified to conduct firestop inspections. The proposed standard will be directed toward building owners, developers and design professionals as well as government agencies.
“The standard that we are developing will help the authority having jurisdiction or authorizing authority to gauge the qualifications of a third party firestop inspector,” says Tesche. “The components included are education, experience and knowledge of installed firestop systems as well as understanding conflict of interest and other acceptance criteria.”
ASTM WK40836 is being developed by Subcommittee E06.21 on Serviceability, part of ASTM International Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings. E06.21 invites all parties with expertise in passive fire protection to participate in the development of ASTM WK40836 and other proposed standards. Tesche says the committee would particularly like to see increased participation from independent consulting and firestop inspection firms.
ASTM International welcomes participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, visit www.astm.org/JOIN.
For more news in this sector, visit www.astm.org/snconstruction or follow us on Twitter @ASTMBuildings.
ASTM Committee E06 Next Meeting: April 2629, 2015, April Committee Week, Anaheim, Calif.
Technical Contact:
Patrick Tesche
Global Fire Protection Group
Avondale, Pa.
Phone: 4847208080
pjtesche@comcast.net
ASTM Staff Contact:
Stephen Mawn
Phone: 6108329726
smawn@astm.org
ASTM PR Contact:
Barbara Schindler
Phone: 6108329603
bschindl@astm.org
