FTT, experienced in fire laboratory design and installations, share a few best practices to remember for your fire testing lab:

FTT, established in 1989 and made up of a team of qualified electrical, mechanical and software engineers as well as production, installation and service engineers are internationally recognised as the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of fire testing instrumentation.

FTT have supplied the majority of leading fire research groups and testing laboratories around the world and participate in UK, ISO, CEN and ASTM standardisation committees. FTT not only manufacture, install and maintain instrumentation but also offer a wealth of experience and knowledge in the design and commissioning of fire testing laboratories.

Below is a list of a few best practices to remember when setting up or operating a fire testing laboratory;

Ensure you have enough room; equipment against a wall makes operation and routine maintenance difficult to achieve. Also remember to keep in mind that you require space to work in, while working with and preparing test samples.

Keep good records; although software does a lot of this for you, we recommend keeping a record of when components were calibrated or equipment was cleaned, as this can assist with troubleshooting later.

Reduce risk and ensure you have correctly trained lab technicians; proper training of operators is critical to ensure a sound understanding behind the principles of test methods and the design of equipment is achieved. Operators without this knowledge could fail to recognise issues and continue to run tests, providing incorrect data for weeks or even months, without even realising. Also remember to eliminate a single point of failure by having more than one operator trained, in case someone falls sick or leaves the company.

Ensure you have an appropriate room environment; temperature and humidity control are critical for any test lab as these will affect certain tests such as heat release testing.

Regularly test reference materials; this will help prevent producing erroneous data without realising. Reference materials are available for purchase from FTT. However, if you would like to test reference materials more frequently and at a lower cost, you could develop your own internal reference materials.

If you require any advice on design or installation of a fire laboratory or require training of your lab technicians, speak to FTT to see how a solution can be moulded to suit your requirements: sales@fire-testing.com