Applus+ Laboratories has the requisite experience, equipment and qualified personnel to inspect and verify sprinkler systems in accordance with Spain’s updated fire-protection system regulations.
The latest version of the Regulation for Fire-Protection Systems (RIPCI) came into force in Spain on 12th December 2017, following its approval by Royal Decree 513/2017 and its publication in the official state gazette (the BOE) on 22nd May 2017. This new version of the regulation stipulates that the inspection and verification of automatic sprinkler systems in service for 25 years or more is now mandatory.
Applus+ Laboratories has been undertaking this kind of (hitherto voluntary) inspection and verification work for years, both for companies that install and maintain active fire-protection systems as well as for those that make use of such systems: large and small shopping centres; logistics warehouses; factories and industrial processes; car parks; and so on.
Inspection remains optional for sprinkler systems installed within the last 25 years, but periodic checks are advisable to ensure that they continue to function as they should.
Inspection, verification and evaluation of sprinklers in accordance with UNE-EN 12845:2016
The Applus+ Laboratories service includes inspecting, verifying and assessing automatic sprinkler system activation, operation, functions and flow rate in line with UNE-EN 12845:2016. Annex K of this standard also stipulates that this type of inspection must be carried out every 25 years.
This standard sets out requirements and recommendations for the design, installation and maintenance of fixed fire-fighting. As such, clients can feel safe in the knowledge that the passage of time and any potential exposure to adverse conditions or environments have not had a detrimental impact on system functions or design features.
Applus+ Laboratories has the equipment and qualified personnel required to assess these system functions as well as its own testing protocol that is based on the UNE-EN 12259-1:2002/A2:2005 testing methodology: Fire protection. Fixed firefighting systems. Components for sprinkler and water spray systems. Part 1: Sprinklers.
Periodic assessments of fire-safety systems in corrosive environments or environments containing solid particles
Applus+ can use the same protocol to assess the performance of automatic sprinkler systems that are subject to periodic review owing to the nature of the environment in which they are installed or the industrial process that is carried out there.
For safety reasons, it is highly recommended that the inspection and review of automatic sprinkler systems goes beyond what is strictly required by law when these systems are located in facilities with corrosive environments or those in which there is a presence of solid airborne particles that could hinder sprinkler activation and/or performance.
As set out in our protocol, the Applus+ Laboratories service includes a condition assessment of system piping to verify that any corrosion or solid particles to which the pipes may have been exposed have neither blocked nor damaged the pipes, thereby ensuring that their flow rate and design capabilities are maintained.
And finally, as a supplementary service, the Applus+ protocol includes the analysis of water/fluids in wet-pipe systems, providing information on their condition and quality as well as on the presence of any harmful substances that could have a negative impact on human health or the environment.