National Security Inspectorate Sentinel House, 5 Reform Road, Maidenhead, SL6 8BY E: nsi@nsi.org.uk | W: nsi.org.uk NSF 722 Issue 1 June 2017 Page 1 of 7 © NSI 2017 D ate : 02 January 2018 To: All NSI Fire Gold and Fire Silver BAFE SP101 approved companies and applicants TECHNICAL BULLETIN No: 0042 Revision of BS 5306-3 BS 5306-3:2017 has a publication date of 31 October 2017 and is available through licensed outlets including NSI who can supply copies at a discounted rate. Implementation timescale for Applicant Companies Applicant Companies will be audited against BS 5306-3:2017 with immediate effect and any Improvement Needs recorded against clauses of the Standard will have to be satisfactorily addressed before approval can be granted. Implementation timescale for existing Approved Companies Existing NSI approved companies will be audited against BS 5306-3:2017 with immediate effect. Where companies are found to be non-compliant with the recommendations of the new standard Improvement Observation or Improvement Need reports will be raised accordingly. Note regarding the status of BS 5306-3:2017 Although issued as a code of practice by the British Standards Institution, it is important to note that compliance with the recommendations given in BS 5306-3:2017 is regarded as mandatory for all companies wishing to maintain an NSI approval; subject to any additional clarifications and guidance included within this Technical Bulletin or issued subsequently. The recommendations given in BS5306-3:2017 must therefore be regarded as requirements in relation to NSI approval for Fire Gold and Fire Silver BAFE SP101 scheme. Details of the changes Where the actual wording of the standard is quoted, it is reproduced in bold text. Technical Bulletin No: 0042 NSF 722 Issue 1 June 2017 Page 2 of 7 © NSI 2017 Where it is considered relevant to further clarify the specified requirement, additional guidance is included in italics. We will consider alternative methods of achieving compliance with specified requirements where these can be demonstrated to be equivalent. Foreword Publishing information This part of BS 5306 is published by BSI Standards Limited, under licence from The British Standards Institution, and came into effect on 31 October 2017. It was prepared by Technical Committee FSH/2, Fire extinguishers. A list of organisations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary. Supersession This part of BS 5306 supersedes BS 5306-3:2009, which is withdrawn. BRITISH STANDARD BS 5306-3:2017 Information about this document This is a full revision of the standard and introduces the following principal changes: greater clarification given of the procedures; improvement of the layout of the standard to improve ease of reading and interpretation; recognition of changes in relevant legislation; reference to fire risk assessments; clarification of linkage to BS 5306-8; inclusion of references to BS 5306-9; addition of fire safety logbooks; reordering of annexes as follows: o Annex A – commissioning; o Annex B – basic service; o Annex C – extended service; o Annex D – recharge; Technical Bulletin No: 0042 NSF 722 Issue 1 June 2017 Page 3 of 7 © NSI 2017 o Annex E – overhaul; o Annex F – halon extinguishers; o Annex G – examples of labels; o Annex H – extinguishers conforming to withdrawn British Standards; o Annex I – training of the competent person. The Foreword clarifies that the 2017 edition is a full revision of the Standard , and that it supersedes BS 5306-3:2009, which is withdrawn . 1 Scope There have been no changes to the scope covered by BS 5306-3:2017. 2 Normative references Additional Normative references have been added and existing ones have been updated. 3 Terms and definitions 3.3 body cover non-pressure-bearing outer case of an extinguisher. This is a new definition not included in previous revisions of the standard. Definitions of “body shell” (old Clause 3.4) and “test discharge” (old Clause 3.17) have been removed from the new standard. 4 Safety precautions for extinguishers This is a new clause giving guidance on safety precautions for the opening of different types of extinguishers and the charging of powder extinguishers. 5 Installation This clause replaces the old Clause 4 and has been re titled “Installation”. The clause gives recommendations for the commissioning and mounting of new extinguishers and includes additional guidance. Technical Bulletin No: 0042 NSF 722 Issue 1 June 2017 Page 4 of 7 © NSI 2017 Note: the recommendations given in the old Clause 5 “Visual Inspection By The Responsible Person” are now incl uded in BS 5306-3:2017, Clause 11.2. 6 Maintenance intervals This clause has been retitled. It has also been reworded and extended for clarification. 7 Labelling This clause includes recommendations which were contained previously in BS 5306-3:2009, Clause 6.2. 7.1 Application of labelling This clause contains new recommendations and a note on the application of service labels. 7.2 Maintenance label The recommendation of Clause 7.2(e ) has been amended so the measured mass of the extinguisher at the time of maintenance, in kilograms should be recorded on the maintenance label. BS 5306-3:2009, Clause 6.2.2(e2) allowed for the difference between the measured mass at the time of service and the initial recorded mass at commissioning to be recorded on the maintenance label. This is no longer permitted. 7.3 Corrective action label This is a new clause requiring the type of corrective action required to be marked on the maintenance label as well as a “caution” or “warning label” to be applied to the extinguisher informing the prospective operator of potentially non-conforming equipment. 8 Recharging of extinguishers This was the “old” Clause 7 of BS 5306-3:2009. References to BS 6643-1 have been updated to BS 5306-9 . Recommendations for the recharging of halon, clean agent and CO 2 extinguishers have been updated and clarified. Technical Bulletin No: 0042 NSF 722 Issue 1 June 2017 Page 5 of 7 © NSI 2017 9 Replacement of components This was the “old” Clause 8 of BS 5306-3:2009. Reference to BS 5306-9 has now been included and recommendations have been updated and extended. A recommendation has been included stating that where the extinguishing media is found to be below the mass or volume specified then additional media should not be added to that already contained within the extinguisher (i.e. “topping up” of media is not allowed). 10 Evaluation of fitness for service of extinguishers and actions to be taken This was the “old” Clause 9 of BS 5306-3:2009. Clause 10.2.2 contains additional conditions which may indicate that an extinguisher is unsafe for use. Clause 10.2.3 is a new clause which includes recommendations contained in BS 5306-3:2009, Clause 9.2.2 (points 1 – 4). Clause 10.2.4 is a new clause giving recommendations for obsolete extinguishers. Clause 10.3 is a new clause giving recommendations for extinguishers which require corrective action. 11 Information to be provided to the responsible person 11.1 Provision of a written report This was the “old” Clause 9.4.1.1 of BS 5306-3:2009. The new clause has been extended to include additional recommendations regarding information that is to be contained within the written report provided to the responsible person. 11.2 Instructions for visual inspection Clause 11.2 includes the recommendations previously contained in BS 5396-3:2009, Clause 5. Clause 11.2(b) item 5 has been reworded. Clause 11.2(b) item 6 is a new recommendation. Clause 11.2(b) item 7 has been reworded. Technical Bulletin No: 0042 NSF 722 Issue 1 June 2017 Page 6 of 7 © NSI 2017 11.3 Fire risk assessment Clause 11.3 is a new clause giving recommendations on information relating to the provision of fire extinguishers that should be included in a fire risk assessment. It recommends: “ The competent person should advise the responsible person that the fire risk assessment in respect of the requirement for extinguishers should cover at least the following: a) any potential fire hazard; b) any requirements over and above the minimum scale of provision in BS 5306-8; c) any specified minimum numbers of spare extinguishers. The “competent person” should advise the “responsible person” of these recommendations. It also recommends “the competent person should obtain, wherever practicable, the fire risk assessment for the premises at the time of maintenance.” Clause 11.4 is a new clause giving recommendations the “competent person” should advise the “responsible person” to record information in the fire logbook in relation to any events that occur in respect of the extinguishers . Annex A – Commissioning service procedures This was Annex B in BS 5306-3:2009. The commissioning schedule has been updated and reformatted for clarity. Annex B – Basic service procedures This was Annex D in BS 5306-3:2009. The basic servicing schedule has been updated and reformatted for clarity. Annex C – Extended service procedures This was Annex E in BS 5306-3:2009. The extended servicing schedule has been updated and reformatted for clarity. Technical Bulletin No: 0042 NSF 722 Issue 1 June 2017 Page 7 of 7 © NSI 2017 Annex D – Recharge service procedures This is a new annex detailing the procedures to be followed when recharging portable fire extinguishers. Annex E – Overhaul, including periodic inspection and test procedures for CO2, clean agent and halon extinguishers This was Annex F in BS 5306-3:2009. The annex has been reworded for clarity. Annex F – Halon extinguishers This was Annex E in BS 5306-3:2009. Annex G – Examples of labels This is a new annex giving examples of labels that may be used by a fire extinguisher servicing organisation. Annex H- Extinguishers manufactured in accordance with withdrawn British Standards The text is this annex has been updated. Annex I – Training of competent persons This was Annex A in BS 5306-3:2009. The recommendations for initial theoretical training have been updated to include the provisions of BS 5306-9. The recommendations for refresher training have been updated to include recharging.