Smoke ventilation servicing: what to expect during a visit

In our last post, we outlined everything you need to know about smoke ventilation system maintenance. Now, we will explain what you can expect when you set up a service contract with Colt and call out our engineers for smoke ventilation servicing.

We truly understand how valuable your time is. That’s why our smoke ventilation servicing process has been designed to efficiently 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.

Firstly, we will outline some of the types of buildings and smoke control systems we maintain, then we will explain what to expect from a visit, and list some common issues we find during visits. Finally, we will explain how to set up a servicing contract with us.

Building types we maintain and service

The graphic below illustrates some examples of the types of buildings that we generally service. However, this is not an exhaustive list - we can provide maintenance for a wide range of building types. Speak with one of our service experts to see how we can help you.

Examples of smoke control systems that we service

Here are some examples of the products that our engineers perform smoke ventilation servicing on:

• 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

What happens before a smoke ventilation servicing 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.

1. Book a free survey from us. During the survey, we will determine what your specific requirements are.
2. After the site survey, we will summarise your building’s current system performance, and create a maintenance schedule to resolve any issues. 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 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.
• Time the opening and closing times and check if everything is weathertight.

After your visit

Depending on what the engineer discovers during your visit, we will forward a complete job sheet to the office, this will provide the following:

1. A pass certificate will be issued to you.
2. An At-Risk certificate will be issued and a report and cost of anything required to bring the system up to its full operation.
3. 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

Setting up a servicing contract with us

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 get the ball rolling, simply book a free survey with us.

Each of our 60 engineers has been trained and accredited with one aim in mind - to keep your buildings safe and legal.

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.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. Check out our other smoke control maintenance blog posts.