National Security Inspectorate (NSI) is pleased to announce it has been granted UKAS Accreditation to deliver BAFE’s Emergency Lighting Scheme (SP203-4).
Organisations applying to NSI for this Scheme will now have the added advantage of becoming both NSI and BAFE approved.
SP203-4 is a modular scheme allowing companies to be approved by NSI for the module(s) of work which they provide, recognising that a number of installations are designed, installed, commissioned and maintained by different companies. Companies are able to be approved by NSI for one or more of these modules.
By becoming approved by NSI, organisations can prove their competence to undertake the relevant scopes of work, providing clients with certificates of compliance to show their insurance companies and enforcing authorities (such as fire and rescue services and building control) that the work has been undertaken correctly.
Organisations wishing to apply to NSI for Emergency Lighting have two Scheme options: Fire Gold and Fire Silver; Gold being available to those companies that operate a quality management system in accordance with BS EN ISO 9001.
Emergency lighting is now fitted in virtually all industrial, commercial and high occupancy residential buildings. Such lights play a crucial role in the event of power failures – the systems are often called egress lighting and enable occupants to find their way out of a building in the event of a failure of the normal illumination.
There are various regulations that need to be considered for emergency lighting systems. In new buildings and those buildings undergoing “material alterations” emergency lighting should be installed in accordance with the requirements of Approved Document B of The Building Regulations and any emergency lighting installation should meet the recommendations of BS 5266-1:2011 and be designed, installed, commissioned and maintained by “competent persons”.
Emergency lighting may also be required to meet the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It is also a requirement of the Fire Safety Order that in order to safeguard the safety of people within the building emergency lighting systems must be subject to a suitable system of maintenance.
Jeff Little, NSI CEO commented “We are delighted to add this life critical scope to our array of fire and safety related audits. End users will now be able to select their emergency lighting contractor with confidence that their supplier meets the requirements of the BAFE SP 203-4 scheme”.
Stephen Adams, General Manager of BAFE, commented “I am delighted to hear that NSI has been granted UKAS accreditation for the SP203-4 Scheme for Emergency Lighting. I would encourage those companies who design, install, commission or maintain emergency lighting systems to seek third party certification through a UKAS accredited body such as NSI. NSI provides a comprehensive auditing solution for fire protection providers and they should be congratulated on this achievement.
