The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is understood to be including a requirement for fire doors in all blocks of flats to be checked every three months in its upcoming Fire Safety Bill, according to a recent article published by Inside Housing. 

The requirements are one of the recommendations set out by Sir Martin Moore-Bick in phase one of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry which was published last year. Currently, providers are only required to ensure fire doors are maintained and there are no regulations specifying that they are checked within a timeframe. 

If implemented, these changes will have a huge impact on the sector and will increase the compliance workload for housing provides across the country.  At Gas Tag, we believe that updates to fire-safety regulations are welcome and we have developed a product to support the sector as it modernises. 

Is a three-month inspection programme needed?

The British Woodworking Federation Group (BWF) states that fire doors should be inspected regularly to ensure that they are in a fully working condition. It also recommends that periodic checks are carried out at least once every six months but that newly occupied buildings and doors where high traffic is likely are checked more frequently.

It is clear from both the BWF and the recommendations set out within the Grenfell Inquiry that a regular inspection program is needed. The three-month recommendation also appears to be a responsible time-frame based on the variable factors that might cause a fire door to fail. 

However, it is also clear that variables such as high traffic might cause a door to require more regular servicing. This is where a modernised process that uses high-quality data to inform a proactive risk-based approach to fire door management is needed. 

The granular data collected via our product Fire Door allows the user to run reports on servicing and inspection history. These reports can then show any particular trends that might require the provider to change its current inspection programme. For example, a housing provider might find that the fire doors in the communal areas of apartment block x are requiring minor repair work every five to six weeks due to usage. In this case, the provider can make an informed decision to implement a more regular inspection programme than every three-months. 

What does it mean for housing providers?

We have spoken to a number of providers across the country about their individual regimes and while some are already operating a three-month inspection regime, many others are working on a 12-month basis. 

If the MHCLG does make a three-month inspection programme a regulatory requirement then this is going to see a substantial increase in workload for many providers, and ultimately an increase in cost. 

Our product Fire Door supports housing providers to easily manage their individual inspection regimes. Compliance managers can simply switch to a three-month inspection programme at the touch of a button.

The product has been developed to simplify the management of the fire door process and allow housing providers to work efficiently, reducing costs while ensuring that all regulatory requirements are met.

Want to know more about Fire Door?

If you would like support with the management of your fire safety process, contact us for a free demo of Fire Door.