ire Door Safety Week stands as an example of how an industry can and should unite to support a greater understanding and drive best practice in a marketplace. The British Woodworking Federation is keen to ensure that lessons learned from this week deliver tangible market improvement and it is for this reason that the British Woodworking Federation membership have decided to extend the scope of the BWF Certifire Scheme to embrace companies that achieve the necessary standard through the Certifire and Q-Mark Schemes.The new development will see those companies certifying product under the BWF Certifire process continuing unabated, those currently using the Q-Mark scheme will be able to join the Fire Door Alliance and work with the wider sector to effect much needed change. The new Fire Door Alliance will build on the core principles of the BWF Certifire scheme and all companies joining must complete and maintain a stringent training process, ensure traceability through the scheme labelling system and ensure that all doors manufactured are covered by certification (i.e. no doors are sold outside the scope of certification).
The BWF Fire Door Alliance is built on the principles of certification, effective training, clear traceability and continuous improvement and members will be actively engaged in both promoting and defining best practice.
The BWF Fire Door Alliance will provide:
- A United voice to lead change
- Active support for the Grenfell Review Process
- Maintaining pressure, spotlighting a legacy of neglect
- A united approach to continuous improvement
- A common approach to promoting certification
- A unified labelling system – full traceability
- A strategic approach to integrating the Construction Products Regulations
Commenting on this evolution, scheme Chairman David Oldfield said:
“It is today more than ever important that we stand together as an industry to ensure that we don’t just manufacture quality product, but that the Fire Door industry unites to ensure that all fire doors supplied in the UK meet the required standard and continue to meet this throughout their service life”.
What we see in Fire Door Safety Week is a very positive and proactive approach from an industry group – the focus is simply on safety and understanding. I applaud this work and it is great to see how the initiative is growing, linking up with Fire Kills and working with all those involved in Fire Safety to improve. Lessons learned from this week must be carried through into working practice.
BWF Members interested in getting involved are welcome to attend the next meeting of the BWF Fire Door Alliance and CPD training event at the Chesford Grange Hotel (Kenilworth, Warwick CV8 2LD) on the 17th May 2018 between 10:00 – 15:00.
If you wish to join the Fire Door Alliance, please contact Iain McIlwee via iain.mcilwee@bwf.org.uk of call 0844 209 2610
This website is currently in the process of being updated to reflect the changes. To find out more, have a look at the BWF Fire Door Alliance Manual here and a basic flyer promoting the BWF Fire Door Alliance here
Why not pledge to join as part of your commitment to Fire Door Safety Week (24th-30th September 2018) www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk?