We frequently get asked by new customers what a maintenance visit from a Colt engineer will look like when we come to inspect and test your smoke control systems. We’ve written this blog to give you an overview of what you can expect from each of your Colt maintenance visits.
We truly understand how valuable your time is. That’s why our smoke ventilation servicing process has been designed to ensure that your buildings are safe and legal. Knowing exactly what to expect before, during and after a visit will put your mind at ease and help you to plan your time accordingly.
What happens before a smoke ventilation maintenance visit?
Before our engineers perform any servicing or maintenance work, we will first provide a free site survey, offer you a quote and schedule a date for your visit.
- Book a free survey from us. During the survey, we will determine what your specific requirements are.
- After the site survey, we will summarise your building’s current system performance, and book a service visit (if needed) to resolve any issues and put in place an ongoing preventative maintenance schedule for your smoke ventilation systems. We will then produce a quote. Your quote will contain information on the work the engineers will carry out for you, along with other useful information such as an equipment schedule.
Once you have approved the quote you will need to confirm that any fall-resistant wires on your site are still in date and tagged and that you are happy with the site- specific RAMs (Risk Assessments & Method statements) we will produce.
Then we will assign one or two of our engineers (depending on the scope of work) to you, who will visit your site on the scheduled day.
What to expect during your visit?
Here is an overview of what to expect during a visit. For a more comprehensive explanation, visit this page.
- Once our engineers arrive on-site, they will confirm the work to be carried out
- The first job will be to consult the control panel and check for faults
- Then the engineer will make specific checks depending on your system type
- The engineers will then move on to the ventilators, dampers, doors controllers, charger panels, fan panels, fans and smoke curtains that may be installed and check the integrity of the fixed fusible link.
- We always check and log charging rates, battery life, fan motor currents / resistance/ drop load tests etc.
- Your engineer will time the opening and closing times of your vents and check if everything is weathertight.
After your smoke control maintenance visit
Depending on what the engineer discovers during your visit, we will forward a complete job sheet to the office that will provide you with one of the following:
- A pass certificate will be issued to you if everything is working as it should and no repair is needed.
- An At-Risk certificate will be issued and a report and cost of anything required to bring the system up to its full operation if anything is needed.
- A fail certificate will be issued with a report and cost of anything required to bring the system up to its full operation.
If you received a pass certificate, there is no need for you to do anything else. If you receive either an ‘At Risk’ or ‘Fail’ certificate, a return visit can be ordered and completed so your system is repaired to full legal standards.
Common mistakes our engineers find during their first site visits
When our engineers visit sites for the first time, they commonly encounter dangerous, installations and systems that have been neglected. These systems under-perform, which could have catastrophic consequences in the event of a fire.
Here’s an overview of some of the mistakes our engineers find during site visits. For a complete detailed list, read our page about your obligations.
- Magnets used instead of motors on smoke shafts
- Fusible Links with screws and bolts fitted to join them together
- Air leaks not fixed properly
- Other service providers that have closed vents down with concrete blocks as a temporary measure
If you discover any of these issues, give us a call immediately as these errors could be putting your building and its occupants at risk.
If a major non-conformance is identified and the system is inoperable or underperforming, it may affect your Fire Risk Assessment. Emergency measures maybe required to counteract the elevated risk.
Examples of smoke control products we service
If you are not sure whether Colt can help maintain your particular system type, have a look at the types of products we regularly service. This list is not exhaustive, so contact us to talk about your requirements if you don't see your system type listed below.
- Natural flap ventilators
- Natural louvred ventilators
- Mechanical smoke vents
- Heavy industry ventilators
- Car Park fans
- Smoke and fire curtains
- Pressurisation Stairwells
- Smoke & Fire Dampers
- Ventilation and weather louvre
- Evaporative cooling systems
Setting up a servicing contract with Colt
We are the UK’s only smoke control maintenance provider that is big enough to truly deliver a nationwide service. As our 60 engineers are stationed across the nation, you can expect a guaranteed response within 24 hours but we aim for a 4 hours response in emergencies.
To enquire about how we can help, simply book a free survey with us.
We will ensure that your life safety equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair, as required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.