AS1851 Maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment
The Australian Standard AS1851-2005 contains requirements as a means of satisfying various state regulations including Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) regulations and the relevant building control and/or fire service provisions for maintenance of fire safety measures.
The standard may also form the basis for performance-based solutions for the standard of performance of fire safety measures. The combination of inspection, test, preventive maintenance and survey may form part of the design requirements for an alternative solution that complies with the performance requirements of the Building Code of Australia.
Objective of AS1851
The objective of AS1851 is to maximize the reliability of fire protection systems and equipment such that the systems and equipment meet the requirements of the relevant design, installation and commissioning Standards and are likely to continue to do so until the next scheduled activity.
This Standard is also intended to provide a systematic and uniform basis for building owners and managers, regulators, contractors, insurers and others to implement and administer inspection, test, preventive maintenance and survey programs applicable to fire protection systems and equipment.
History of AS1851
Previously, there existed a suite of 16 individual Australian Standards, all of which have been compiled into a single revised, amalgamated and redesignated standard.
The revised Standard AS1851:2005 including Amendment 1 replaces these previous individual standards as detailed in Table 1.
| Superseded AS 1851 | Parts AS 1851—2005 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard No. | Date published | Short title | Group | Section |
| AS 1851.1 | 1995 | Extinguishers and blankets | First aid | 15 and 16 |
| AS 1851.2 | 1995 | Hose reels | First aid | 14 |
| AS 1851.3 | 1997 | Sprinklers | Water-based | 2 |
| AS 1851.4 | 1992 | Hydrants | Water-based | 4 |
| AS 1851.5 | 1981 | Smoke/heat venting | HVAC | 18 |
| AS 1851.6 | 1997 | Fire and smoke management | HVAC | 18 |
| AS 1851.7 | 1984 | Fire doorsets | Passive | 17 |
| AS 1851.8 | 1987 | Detection alarms warning | Detection | 6 |
| AS 1851.9 | 1997 | Lay flat hose | Water-based | 5 |
| AS 1851.10 | 1989 | EWIS | Detection | 9 and 10 |
| AS 1851.11 | 1991 | Halon 1301 | Special hazards | Obsolete |
| AS 1851.12 | 1995 | Gaseous | Special hazards | 11 |
| AS/NZS 1851.13 | 1995 | Wheeled extinguishers | First aid | 15 |
| AS 1851.14 | 1996 | Pumpsets | Water-based | 3 |
| AS 1851.15 | 1997 | Local alarms | Detection | 7 |
| AS/NZS 1851.16 | 1997 | Pyrogen aerosols | Special Hazard | 12 |
| - | - | Fire monitoring systems (new) | Detection | 8 |
| - | - | Smoke alarms (new) | Detection | 7 |
| - | - | Water mist (new) | Special Hazard | 13 |
| - | - | Evacuation (new) | EVAC | 19 |
Standards Development
The Australian Standard AS1851 has been developed collaboratively through a committee called FP-001 - Maintenance of Fire Protection Equipment that is chaired by an independent chairperson. The committee represents building owners, fire authorities, government, insurance industry, unions and various industry associations.
There also exists a series of working-groups that work on sections of the overall standard. These working-groups discuss, deliberate and debate the intention, content and wording of each section.
Maintenance Process
AS1851 provides for a four-stage approach comprising an inspection, test, preventive maintenance and survey, coupled with records to be kept and reports to be made and culminating in the issue of a final condition report.
Stage 1
Stage 1 is a set of requirements included in the systems and equipment sections (Sections 2 to 19) which appear in schedules, referenced by clauses in this Standard. The preventive maintenance activities do not have pass/fail criteria because these activities are not required to satisfy an action.
Stage 2
Stage 2 covers the records that are required to be kept for each functional activity and the information to be recorded.
Stage 3
Stage 3 covers reporting and rectification. Where failures have been identified, they shall be reported to the owner or agent for rectification. Where the system or equipment is operational, an activity report shall be issued. This report may contain outstanding rectification work to be addressed, which will appear at the commencement of the next scheduled maintenance routine unless rectification has occurred.
Stage 4
Stage 4 is the result of all activities having been completed; the annual condition report can then be issued. The condition report may also contain acknowledgment of missed tests or outstanding rectification work and if, as a result of this, the fire protection system is no longer operational, then a failed condition report will result.
