The FAS engineer stated that they would need replacing this time next year, as they would be 10 years old, and therefore out of date and not compliant.
From the information I've received here so far, it looks like they may be just going on the 10 year manufacturers warranty angle, as all units have previously (and as of last week) been given a clean bill of health.
The only issue is that our company has taken over, and combined, three separate work units over the years, with individual alarm systems (albeit the same type) in each one.
An independent fire risk assessment carried out earlier this year specified that these must now be linked in order to sound across all three units art the same time, although the open plan nature of the subsequent layout means that any one of the systems can be heard across the whole site when activated.
If this is the case, then I understand the need to upgrade, rather than replace, the existing equipment. As the alarm sounders/klaxons themselves have also been in place for 10 years, would these need to be upgraded as well to meet current legislative requirements?