24 fire stopping seals, all third-party certified, on a live fit-out

The problem

A fit-out was running new services through fire-resisting walls and floors: pipes, cables and cable trays, ducts and a damper. Every penetration had to be sealed to restore the fire resistance of the wall or floor. The scope kept moving:

• Services first, fire stopping second. Seals can only go in once the services through them are complete, and the electrical containment wasn't ready in time for the first visit.
• New openings from other trades. More penetrations were formed after the original scope was set. Some had been packed with filler or joint compound, which is not a fire stopping product.
• Seals disturbed after installation. Some completed seals were later opened up to run further services.
• A secure site. Every visit had to be arranged in advance through the site's access procedures.

The scope

• Priced openly. We priced the 14 openings in the original specification. From the start, we made clear the final account would follow the fire stopping actually required and verified on site.
• Phased around the other trades. The work ran over three visits, on 7 September, 28 September and 9 October, so seals went in once the services were ready for them.
• Changes in writing. Each change to the scope was set out in a written contract change notice, priced on the original rates. The final figure was confirmed against the quantities actually installed.
• The right system, the right installer. Each penetration was sealed with a tested system suited to the service: fire batt with an ablative coating, intumescent and graphite sealants, and continuous intumescent pipe wrap. The work was carried out by an installer accredited under the BM TRADA Q-Mark Fire Stopping Installation scheme.
• Every seal on record. Each seal was labelled, photographed before and after, and recorded on a job sheet in the installer's cloud-based records system.
• Planned safely. A site-specific risk assessment and method statement was in place before work started.

The outcome

• 24 penetration seals installed on the ground and first floors: 11 with an intended fire resistance of 60 minutes and 13 of 30 minutes.
• All 24 certified under the BM TRADA Q-Mark Fire Stopping Installation scheme.
• All 24 job sheets approved by the installer's project manager, with no further remedial works recommended.
• A complete handover pack: the completed works report, the approved job sheets with before-and-after photographs, and the manufacturer's standard details and safety data sheets.
• Ready for the Fire Risk Assessor. We recommended the pack goes to the client's Fire Risk Assessor, so the fire risk assessment can be updated to reflect the completed works.