NFPA Journal - January/February 2018 - 39

the AHJ. The key AHJ for this issue is
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services. Additionally, the life safety
technical committee can work, during
the next revision cycle, to revise the
provisions of Chapter 19 of NFPA 101
to recognize continued use of a sprinklered building housing an existing
nursing home in what has traditionally
been a noncompliant building construction type. NFPA 101A can then be
revised, without technical compromise,
to reflect the NFPA 101 change.
Ron Coté is NFPA technical services lead for life
safety. NFPA members and AHJs can use the
Technical Questions tab to post queries on NFPA
101 at nfpa.org/101.

NFPA 13

Water-based fire
protection systems

Clarifying the scope of
NFPA 4 as it is referenced
in major codes

NFPA 4 was developed to address
a hole in the codes and standards
process dealing with confirmation of
system integration. While individual
system design and installation standards such as NFPA 13, NFPA 72, NFPA
14, and NFPA 96 have long provided
acceptance testing requirements that
these individual systems will perform as intended, there was no "code
mandated" test to confirm that these
systems will interact appropriately with
each other. Some states have required
this for buildings with smoke management systems through a "special
inspector" requirement, but this applies
only to a small percentage of buildings
in a limited number of jurisdictions.
NFPA 4 aims to fill this gap by providing the methodology for conducting a
test to address the performance of an
integrated network of systems.
The critical aspect of NFPA 4 that
should allow individual system designers and contractors to breathe easier
is that its scope focuses on the performance of the system integration,
not the performance of the individual
system. The standard is not reassigning

By Matt Klaus

xcitement, confusion,
fear-those are just a few
of the emotions experienced by people in the
sprinkler industry over
the news that the new editions of several major codes have added references
to NFPA 4, Integrated Fire Protection
and Life Safety System Testing. The
move comes following actions taken at
recent committee meetings and hearings for NFPA 1, Fire Code; NFPA 101®,
Life Safety Code®; NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code; the
International Building Code; and the
International Fire Code.
The catalyst for this welter of emotions is uncertainty over the scope of
NFPA 4 and how it will impact acceptance testing, budgeting time on site,
who will be responsible for what part of
which system, and project completion.
To understand the potential impact of
NFPA 4, it is important to understand
the origin and scope of the standard.

E

Contractors fear the
possibility that
the time associated
with integrated system
testing is not considered
in the fee for services.

acceptance testing requirements and
responsibilities to a new project entity,
known as the integrated testing agent,
or ITa. Individual system acceptance
testing will occur as it always has,
followed by a test to confirm that the
systems intended to be integrated-
whether physically wired connections
or wireless-perform as outlined in the
sequence of operations matrix.
To do this, the ITa is required to
create a test plan that may require
the sprinkler contractor to be on-site
for additional testing, which is where

some of the excitement and fear comes
in. Integrated system testing may ultimately increase the amount of time the
contractor is on-site before the building
is turned over to the owner. This can
result in additional hours on the job
site for contractors, meaning more revenue. The more complex the integrated
system is, the more testing that may be
required. This "found revenue" is exciting to contractors who understand how
this process works and who may have
been through an integrated system test
in the past.
At the same time, though, contractors fear the possibility that the time
associated with integrated system
testing is not considered in the fee
for services. This makes the contract
language for any project that will have
integrated system testing critically
important. Generic contract language
such as "includes all testing" could
increase the contractor's liability for
time on-site to complete integrated
system testing. Contractors should
break out fees for pre-functional testing, acceptance testing, and integrated
system testing so there is a clear delineation for the amount of time budgeted
for each activity.
In many cases, the integrated testing plan will not be available for the
contractor to budget against, so the individual system contractors may need to
address their fees for this service under
"additional services" in the contract. In
cases where the request for proposal
doesn't address integrated system testing, the contractor should confirm this
up front with their client or address this
under their limitation of services clause.
Whether you see NFPA 4 as a great
opportunity to increase revenue or
just another thing to worry about on
the job site, the key is to educate yourself on the purpose and scope of this
new document. Understanding the
hows and whys of NFPA 4 could be a
game changer and set you apart from
your competition if you are willing to
embrace it.
Matt Klaus is NFPA technical services lead for fire
protection engineering. NFPA members and AHJs
can use the Technical Questions tab to post queries
on NFPA 13 at nfpa.org/13.

N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2018
