Streamlining Fireproofing Maintenance: Tips for General Contractors

Although nec­es­sary, fire­proof­ing main­te­nance can be time-con­sum­ing and chal­leng­ing. This arti­cle will dis­cuss a few tips to stream­line this cru­cial yet tedious process and how Kaloutas makes this work eas­i­er for gen­er­al contractors.

Impor­tance of Fire­proof­ing Maintenance

Every build­ing must have a work­ing fire­proof­ing sys­tem. It’s a crit­i­cal life­line for pro­tect­ing peo­ple and prop­er­ty. Effec­tive fire­proof­ing can pre­vent or delay dam­age to the under­ly­ing struc­ture. This can give peo­ple more time to vacate to safety. 

So, it’s impor­tant to take fire­proof­ing seri­ous­ly. In addi­tion to ensur­ing prop­er instal­la­tion, keep­ing a fire­proof­ing sys­tem oper­a­tional is cru­cial. After all, fires can hap­pen any­time, anywhere.

Fire­proof­ing is only effec­tive if the sys­tem is in good work­ing order. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, dam­age can occur to fire­proof­ing sys­tems, no mat­ter their type or qual­i­ty, due to improp­er appli­ca­tion, incor­rect mate­ri­als, long-term weath­er­ing, acci­den­tal dam­age, and more.

Reg­u­lar main­te­nance allows experts to iden­ti­fy and rec­ti­fy issues before it’s too late. This is the key to ensur­ing fire pro­tec­tion sys­tems work as intend­ed should a fire ignite. It can give build­ing occu­pants peace of mind know­ing fire safe­ty mea­sures are in place.

Fail­ure to main­tain fire­proof­ing sys­tems can result in seri­ous con­se­quences. Even if the build­ing is for­tu­nate not to get burned to the ground, fire dam­age can still be cost­ly. Fire also caus­es seri­ous burns and oth­er injuries, even putting peo­ple’s lives at risk.

Fur­ther, neglect­ing fire­proof­ing main­te­nance can have legal reper­cus­sions. Reg­u­la­to­ry bod­ies like the U.S. Occu­pa­tion­al Safe­ty and Health Admin­is­tra­tion (OSHA) have enact­ed strict fire safe­ty codes. For exam­ple, they require the main­te­nance of fire retar­dant solu­tions or paints.

Non-com­pli­ance with rel­e­vant rules and reg­u­la­tions can result in finan­cial penal­ties. You’ll also need to deal with a lot of paperwork. 

Rou­tine fire­proof­ing main­te­nance indeed requires some leg­work. How­ev­er, it’s bet­ter to put in the effort toward pre­ven­tion than to deal with vio­la­tions. After all, you can­not put a price on peo­ple’s safe­ty and lives.

Best Prac­tices for Keep­ing Fire­proof­ing Sys­tems Operational

Unlike active sys­tems, pas­sive options don’t have mechan­i­cal com­po­nents that can fail at any time. Despite that, pas­sive fire pro­tec­tion sys­tems, like fire­proof­ing coat­ings, still require reg­u­lar main­te­nance. This is not only for com­pli­ance pur­pos­es but also for fire safety.

Here are some of the best prac­tices for keep­ing fire­proof­ing sys­tems operational:

Sched­ule Inspec­tions and Testing

Rou­tine inspec­tion and test­ing are crit­i­cal parts of fire­proof­ing main­te­nance. These process­es are fun­da­men­tal to iden­ti­fy­ing poten­tial issues before they become seri­ous. Besides ensur­ing the fire­proof­ing sys­tem works, fire­proof­ing checks are also nec­es­sary to remain com­pli­ant. A fire­proof­ing con­trac­tor must car­ry out these tasks at least once a year.

A fire safe­ty tech­ni­cian should also inspect fire-stop­ping sys­tems. Fur­ther, they should eval­u­ate fac­tors that affect the sys­tem’s per­for­mance. These vari­ables include build­ing ren­o­va­tions, HVAC sys­tem mod­i­fi­ca­tions, and mate­r­i­al changes.

Ensure Prop­er Patch­ing Using the Right Materials

When there are cracks or dam­age to the fire­proof coat­ing, fire­proof­ing experts must fix it imme­di­ate­ly. Fire­proof patch­ing is typ­i­cal­ly the most effi­cient repair method. This process is not com­pli­cat­ed, but mis­takes that can com­pro­mise the results com­mon­ly occur with this method. Some use the wrong prod­uct, while oth­ers don’t pre­pare the sur­face properly.

Choose a repair option that match­es the con­sis­ten­cy and look of the exist­ing fire­proof coat­ings. The repair work must also be up to code. A rep­utable fire­proof con­trac­tor can ensure the patch­ing is done right.

Keep Doc­u­men­ta­tion and Records Updated

Doc­u­ment fire­proof­ing inspec­tion, test­ing, and main­te­nance process­es and update all records. Doc­u­men­ta­tion makes it easy to track fire­proof­ing con­di­tions over time. Acces­si­ble updat­ed records enable tech­ni­cians to iden­ti­fy recur­ring con­di­tions. Keep­ing a record of all inspec­tions and repairs per­formed on a sys­tem also helps demon­strate compliance.

Con­sis­tent doc­u­men­ta­tion of fire­proof­ing main­te­nance takes a lot of time, espe­cial­ly when done man­u­al­ly. For­tu­nate­ly, advance­ments in tech­nol­o­gy have made soft­ware avail­able for this spe­cif­ic pur­pose. These solu­tions are packed with fea­tures that can stream­line the process. The right solu­tions can even pro­vide addi­tion­al ben­e­fits, like elim­i­nat­ing data silos and improv­ing communication.

Stay Updat­ed With Fire Safe­ty Regulations

Fire safe­ty laws and build­ing laws are not set in stone. They are occa­sion­al­ly updat­ed, and you must be aware of these changes to ensure the fire­proof­ing stays up to code. How­ev­er, reg­u­lar­ly review­ing updates from rel­e­vant reg­u­la­to­ry bod­ies can be a lot of work. This is espe­cial­ly true for gen­er­al con­trac­tors who often have their plates full.

You and your team don’t have to car­ry this bur­den. Fire­proof­ing experts like Kaloutas can lend their exper­tise so that you can focus on oth­er tasks. Trust­wor­thy fire­proof­ing con­trac­tors stay informed about the lat­est laws and build­ing codes to ensure safe­ty and compliance.

Edu­cate Build­ing Occupants

Con­trac­tors, facil­i­ty man­agers, and oth­er experts are respon­si­ble for imple­ment­ing and main­tain­ing fire­proof­ing. How­ev­er, build­ing occu­pants also play a cru­cial role in cre­at­ing a fire-safe envi­ron­ment. Hence, they should be aware of pas­sive fire­proof­ing sys­tems in their facil­i­ty. They should be equipped with knowl­edge about the sys­tem com­po­nents and their roles in con­tain­ing fires.

Kaloutas Fire­proof­ing Services

Fire­proof­ing main­te­nance is impor­tant, but it is not a walk in the park. If you need a part­ner to ensure your building’s fire safe­ty, con­tact Kaloutas. We have an expert team avail­able to han­dle the job.

Specif­i­cal­ly, we spe­cial­ize in pas­sive fire pro­tec­tion. We install cus­tomized fire-resis­tive coat­ings, ensur­ing they meet the facility’s needs and com­pli­ance requirements.

One coat­ing option is intu­mes­cent paint. This coat­ing is con­sid­ered the light­est but is effec­tive in pas­sive fire pro­tec­tion. It’s thin but can expand up to 100 times its orig­i­nal thick­ness when exposed to heat.

Spray-applied fire­proof­ing ser­vice is also avail­able. This option is for steel, allow­ing the mate­r­i­al to main­tain its integri­ty and ten­sile strength dur­ing a fire. Spray-applied fire­proof coat­ing acts as a phys­i­cal bar­ri­er between the steel and the fire, min­i­miz­ing dam­age to the struc­ture. So, if you’re look­ing for a spray fire­proof­ing con­trac­tor near you, search no fur­ther than Kaloutas.

Fire­proof­ing Main­te­nance You Can Trust

As effec­tive and durable as high-qual­i­ty fire­proof paint and coat­ings may be, they are not immune to dete­ri­o­ra­tion over time. Fire­proof­ing dam­age also occurs due to ren­o­va­tions and new struc­tures. That’s why it is crit­i­cal to be dili­gent with fire­proof­ing maintenance.

As a fire­proof­ing con­trac­tor, we under­stand that fire safe­ty is no laugh­ing mat­ter. The Kaloutas team works close­ly with clients to under­stand the unique needs of each facil­i­ty. We are also well-versed in the rules and reg­u­la­tions of var­i­ous indus­tries. Let us take care of fire­proof­ing main­te­nance so your team can focus on oth­er valu­able tasks. Con­tact our team to dis­cuss how we can sim­pli­fy your fire­proof­ing maintenance.