For my new year’s resolution should I tackle passive fire consensus or world peace?

Now 2023 is here, the team is back, recharged, and ready for a year of researching and sharing knowledge, more clarity, less angst, easy handovers, and pride in a job well done.

First on my agenda, is to raise and pursue an issue that has been on my frustration list for a while - the ‘who do I talk to?’, ‘where is the information?’ … there are just so many conflicting views on every topic and at every level.

Defects are under a whole new level of scrutiny, and just being compliant isn’t enough - you need the evidence to back it up. This has resulted in quite a few so-called BS “rectifications” that aren't needed, which cause rampant unnecessary expenses and delays.

Confusion is everywhere…

• Talk to several Building Certifiers /Surveyors and try and get a consensus on any requirements (even in the same office).
• Get 3 installers from different states and see how differently everything is done.
• Line up builder’s QA checklists - are they looking for the same thing? Rarely.
• The vast amount of manufacturer’s test reports that vary significantly on the same service (we have over 700 in our database ). Some installation guides are simply marketing and not a path to compliance.
• Details on drawings that have never been referenced to test reports.
• The vast difference in the interpretation of BCA requirements between many authorities and industry associations.

We are not the only ones that invest so much effort in researching, advising, and defending ourselves and our clients… Is the BCA that hard to interpret? Apparently yes.

Maybe we could consider performance again? Or apply some judgement or logic? Or has that all been lost in a world of compliance paranoia?

So, my idea is to create a collective voice, a panel of experts – manufacturing, testing, installation, legal, and code compliance to pool and assess industry information, debate the rights and wrongs, and then publish the findings.

In essence, we’ll develop a searchable reference source, a robust bank of knowledge, and the definitive independent 3rd party point of view, to advocate for change and maybe even get common sense back into the industry.

Our aim would be to resolve the simple, the complex, and the grey areas of passive fire… Yep, I’m an eternal optimist.

Is it a big task? Yes. Will it come with a cost? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

To kick off, we’ll be holding industry forums Australia-wide, gathering the brains trust together to discuss and debate all things new in passive fire, raise awareness, and maybe, who knows, reach a consensus. Look out for the invite.

World peace will have to wait!