Emergency Lighting System - Kept in the Dark !!!!

[deaconj999]

Well, full details are not available at present but......

I have stumbled across a refurbished system slightly modified with a few spotlight units. Pretty Simple NM3. Here in lies the rub.

Company 1 has completed the work and issued a periodic inspection cert in Aug 10. Now another maintenance company has taken over the premises and their contractor has reported that 10 of the spotlight unit have failed their full rated discharge test.

Specific Q - during the installation and subsequent verification is a discharge test normally performed ? It seems that either company 1 installed a faulty unit or did something to the charging circuit during installation or the newly appointed contractor has been a bit ambitious with the extent of unit failure.

Any thoughts on this issue alone - required certificates is another time.

[kurnal]

BS5266-1 section 12 provides a model completion certificate for new installations and verification of existing installations. In respect of the installation, the declaration of conformity item V7 (verifiers responsibility) states "luminaires tested and found to operate for their full rated duration".

The company who refurbished and modified the system would be expected to provide this certificate.

When a new company takes over responsibility for maintenance of an existing system BS5266-10 Annex D provides a compliance checklist and report for use by companies as a tool to evaluate systems for which they take responsibility. The compliance checklist is particularly useful when no documentation on the system is available and provides an opportunity to review the duration period and whether it remains suitable.

So the duration test should have been carried out by both parties.
Does the occupancy warrant a three-hour duration?

[Graeme]

hazzard a guess installer did not do a duration test but a flick on and off job.

what's the new contractor's interpretation of failed-no light after 3hrs or too dull etc?

It's possible to get new units to fail but unlikely 10

[deaconj999]

Kurnal, Graeme,

Thanks, I have not heard the result yet other than the first ocomany now only installed 2 spotlights and issued a periodic inspection certificate. Now the new company is responsible fo rthe maintenance and have written a 'report' to the FM, when he showed it to me I nearly fell over - the report was a hand sketch which looked like it was drawn by a 3 year old, showing the rough location of the spotlights, very crudely drawn and with a big cross next to all ten of them.

I have yet to meet the FM face to face and discuss this very tardy mess he's getting himsefl into.....

[nearlythere]

Two surveys yesterday and in both, when checking emergency lighting in a stairway on isolation of lighting circuit for the area, it did not operate. Came on on interruption of mains so lights seem to be working.

Which part of this from BS5266 Pt8 are installers having trouble with?

5.2 Failure of normal supply to part of premisesEmergency escape lighting shall operate, in the event of failure of any part of the normal lighting supply.
Non-maintained and combined non-maintained emergency luminaires have to operate in the event of
failure of a normal lighting final circuit. In all cases, arrangements shall be made to ensure that local
emergency escape lighting will operate in the event of failure of normal supply to the corresponding local
area.

Now, to me that means that if I isolate the supply to a lighting circuit the EL for that area should come on.  So why do installers get the inevitable hump when I point out the obvious, especially in front of the client!

Have I got this all wrong?
Why do I feel that I might get an evening visit from the N.I. EL Installers Association with advice on how to "correctly" check systems, to their specific standard. ? Should I be scared, very scared?

[kurnal]

Couldn't agree more NT.
I reckon if you check any pub or club its 70% likely that the emergency lighting is wired back to a dedicated MCB and will NOT work unless there is a total power cut to the building.
Buildings where the EL was installed other than as part of the original construction I reckon its 80%.

But things have been much better in the last 10 years or so - probably co-inciding with the upgrade of BS5266 requiring he installation of test switches.

[Clevelandfire 3]

Have I got this all wrong?
Why do I feel that I might get an evening visit from the N.I. EL Installers Association with advice on how to "correctly" check systems, to their specific standard. ? Should I be scared, very scared?

Nope you havent got it wrong NT, emergency lighting should work not only on general mains failure, but also local sub curcuit failure too, and installers should know that by now

[nearlythere]

The second most important element of a fire safety strategy and the installers can't get it right and ther EAs don't make sure it's right.
Over here the F&RS almost never carried out a simple check for proper operation of EL when processing fire certificates. Reliance was placed on the installation certificate. 

I would nearly agree with your %s K but from my experience, so far, I would put it higher.