10 Qualities of a Well-Protected Facility

Transcription

1 10 Qualities of a Well-Protected Facility

2 10 Cotets Property Loss Prevetio Commitmet 4 Suitable Costructio 5 Automatic Sprikler Protectio 6 Special Hazards Protectio 7 Adequate Water Supply 8 Ogoig Fire Prevetio Programs 9 Good Housekeepig 10 Buildigs ad Equipmet Maiteace 11 Emergecy Respose Team ad Public Fire Service 12 Natural Hazards Protectio 14 This brochure is made available for iformatioal purposes oly i support of the isurace relatioship betwee FM Global ad its cliets. This iformatio does ot chage or supplemet policy terms or coditios. The liability of FM Global is limited to that cotaied i its isurace policies. 10 Qualities of a Well-Protected Facility I today s highly competitive eviromet, compaies are strugglig to stay o top by fidig ways to both limit expeses ad icrease profits. No compay ca afford the loss of property ad productivity from destructio caused by fire, atural hazards or equipmet outage. Although isurace helps to alleviate some of the costs associated with property damage, itagible loss such as loss of time, customers, goodwill ad traied employees geerally is ot covered. Equipmet damaged withi miutes ca take moths to repair or replace. I the meatime, skilled employees fid ew jobs. If that happes, time must be take to trai ew persoel ad obtai ad set up ew equipmet. Key executives will sped their time dealig with the loss rather tha developig ext year s busiess plas. What s the impact? Market positio may be lost. Ad, iflatio ad material shortage may make rebuildig difficult ad costly. For these reasos, FM Global idetified 10 basic qualities to protect idustrial, commercial ad istitutioal properties. By commuicatig these qualities, we hope to ecourage you to carefully examie your ow facility. I areas where you fid deficiecies, you ca make chages that will protect your property agaist a major loss. This publicatio offers a light syopsis of the desired qualities. Each is further supported by FM Global Property Loss Prevetio Data Sheets ad other loss prevetio publicatios ad olie traiig courses that should be cosulted before developig or ehacig oe or more of these qualities. Visit fmglobal.com/datasheets or browse our Resource Catalog at fmglobal.com/catalog to lear more. No compay ca afford the loss of property ad productivity from destructio caused by fire, atural hazards or equipmet outage. 2 3

3 10 Property Loss Prevetio Commitmet Suitable Costructio The goal is for all employees to be able to react effectively to emergecies ad ay hazardous coditios they may ecouter. From the outset, maagemet must geuiely commit to property loss prevetio. Cocered maagemet, wishig to edorse a effective property loss prevetio ad cotrol program, should demostrate its support by puttig the objectives, procedures, resposibilities ad accoutabilities of such a program ito writig. A formal policy statemet coveys the compay s commitmet to property loss prevetio ad ecourages employee ivolvemet ad eforcemet of property loss prevetio measures. After edorsig the program, maagemet must esure it is implemeted. The goal is for all employees to be able to react effectively to emergecies ad ay hazardous coditios they may ecouter. Motivated employees who uderstad ad support property loss prevetio ad cotrol priciples are the key to buildig a cotiually improvig program aimed at reducig the frequecy ad severity of loss. Employees should kow that property loss prevetio ad cotrol is a permaet aspect of their jobs. They also should uderstad that the actios they take beefit everyoe: Property loss prevetio ad cotrol measures protect ot oly the compay, but their jobs as well. buildig s iheret costructio type plays a major A role i determiig the extet of fire exposure it ca withstad. The proposed cotet of a buildig is aother importat factor i determiig the buildig desig ad choosig costructio material. Whe a buildig cotais highly hazardous processes or is several stories high, fire-resistat material, such as reiforced cocrete or a protected steel frame, is desirable. Reduce the possibility of property loss by subdividig large areas of your buildig with fire walls. Igitable liquid, combustible dust ad other material presetig a explosio hazard should be stored i detached buildigs, if possible. If these items must be kept i mai buildigs, eclose them with a combiatio of pressureresistat ad pressure-relievig costructio. The proper desig of damage-limitig costructio ca vet the force of a explosio i the least destructive directio. Desig roofs to withstad loadig from sow, ice ad raifall. Also, desig mai roofs ad their coverigs to resist wid uplift. Adhere to seismic details foud i your local buildig code if buildigs are located i a earthquake area. Select appropriate buildig material to resist deterioratio where processes ca produce a corrosive atmosphere. Take ote of earby facilities that may house highly combustible occupacies. If such facilities exist, desig your structure to resist this exposure. As the cost of fuel for processes ad area heatig cotiues to icrease, the desig of buildigs ad processes to coserve eergy becomes more critical. It s best to use isulatio material that does ot itroduce fire hazards. If you must use combustible isulatio, protect it with ocombustible barriers ad automatic spriklers. Whe plaig costructio, give preferece to a site that has a ample ad reliable public water supply, ad is located earer to the public fire service. Cosider the site s flood, earthquake ad widstorm history as well. 4 5

4 Automatic Sprikler Protectio Special Hazards Protectio Spriklers offer the best automatic, always-o-duty fire cotrol system o the market today. The backboe of a workable property loss prevetio ad cotrol program is recogizig the eed for automatic sprikler protectio. Automatic spriklers are eeded wherever you have combustible costructio, material or processes related to the type of occupacy. Spriklers offer the best automatic, alwayso-duty fire cotrol system o the market today. They ca mea the differece betwee a mior busiess iterruptio ad a prologed or permaet shutdow. I additio to automatically detectig ad cotrollig or extiguishig a fire, spriklers also ca iitiate ad trasmit a alarm. A properly desiged system elimiates excessive water damage. A sprikler system attacks fire where it starts, with spriklers operatig directly over the fire area. If this is ot sufficiet to cotrol the blaze, eighborig spriklers will the activate as eeded. Hece, water damage is miimized. I today s facilities, there are relatively few locatios where spriklers are ot eeded. Automatic sprikler protectio is appropriate for every area where material ad processes have the potetial to start a fire, cotribute fuel to a fire, help fire to spread or where fire damage is a threat. May idustrial operatios ivolve special hazards that require additioal safeguards beyod sprikler protectio ad ormal costructio features. Igitable liquid, combustible dust ad flammable gas, for example, each deserve special attetio. Hadled carelessly, igitable liquid is oe of the most isidious threats to idustry. At room temperature, a liquid gives off vapor that flows through a area, formig a easily igited flammable vapor-air mixture. Combustio is extremely rapid, ad far greater heat is released tha with a fire that ivolves ordiary combustible material. There are several basic safeguards for the storage, hadlig ad use of igitable liquid. Isolate igitable liquid by distace or costructio. A detached locatio is preferred. Otherwise, use a carefully located ad desigated cutoff area withi a mai buildig. Cofie igitable liquid with curbs or dikes to avoid cotact with ay igitio sources. Use appropriate passive physical cotrols, such as safety cas, groudig straps, safety bugs or iterlocks. Provide adequate atural or forced mechaical vetilatio i cofied areas ivolvig igitable liquid to elimiate cocetratios of flammable vapor. Provide employees with procedural traiig o igitable liquid hazards, ad foster safe-hadlig awareess with strict reiforcemet of procedures. It s also wise to have a adequate spill respose program i place. Still other steps iclude elimiatig igitio sources, such as ope flames, smokig, static, electrical sparks ad hot surfaces, ad usig specially desiged electrical equipmet. Dust-producig processes require may of the same safeguards used for igitable liquid. Cofie dust withi well-desiged process ad trasfer equipmet to miimize leakage. Do ot allow dust that escapes to accumulate. Clea process ad storage areas periodically. As with igitable liquid, maitai strict cotrol of igitio sources. Ad, if possible, isolate dust-producig processes by locatig major equipmet outdoors. Flammable gas also requires special attetio. Agai, isolate its storage ad cofie it to properly desiged process ad storage equipmet to prevet leakage. Avoid physical damage, overheatig ad overpressure. You will eed spriklers ad/or water spray protectio or fire-resistive isulatio for may tak istallatios. Also cosider emergecy shutoff valves. The type of valve required ad the umber ad locatio of each deped o what you are storig, the quatity beig used, the type of storage tak used ad the umber of storage taks i the area. Esure that emergecy shutoff valves are easily accessible so you ca isolate ad stop the flow of flammable gas or igitable liquid i a emergecy

5 Adequate Water Supply Ogoig Fire Prevetio Programs To be effective, spriklers always must be supplied by water, adequate both i volume ad pressure. To be effective, spriklers always must be supplied by water, adequate both i volume ad pressure. Possible sources iclude public water mais, a gravity tak, fire pump ad suctio tak, a atural body of water, or a suitable combiatio. Pumper coectios are desirable, allowig the public fire service to reiforce the system further. Keep i mid that occupacy chages, addig ew buildigs or extesios, as well as the itroductio of more hazardous processes or storage arragemets i existig buildigs, may icrease your water supply requiremets. Also take ote of ay ew eighborig facilities i your area. A icrease i demad o the public water supply may ecessitate improvemets i your ow fire protectio water supply system. Aother step toward a well-protected property is to establish regular, recorded ispectios of fire protectio equipmet. Physically tryig locked or sealed valves periodically is essetial. Locked valves should be physically tried at least mothly ad visually checked weekly. Valve ispectio schedules should iclude all valves ad allow ample time for the careful examiatio of each. List ad umber every valve i the order i which you examie it. Ispectios also should iclude housekeepig, igitable liquid hadlig ad cotrol of smokig. Assure that basic igitable liquid safeguards, such as vetilatio, dikig ad cotaimet, are i place. Esure that smokig material is cofied ad cotaied. (It s up to maagemet to commuicate the orgaizatio s smokig policy to all employees.) Also, make certai your facility is protected agaist arsoists. Key safeguards iclude the provisio of security measures ad idetificatio of vulerabilities. Durig ispectios, you also should check the coditio of extiguishers, fire hoses, hydrats, sprikler alarms, fire pumps, water supply taks ad fire doors. Occasioally, sprikler system cotrol valves must be closed for repair or maiteace. Do this cautiously! This type of impairmet leaves your property i jeopardy of fire because its pricipal meas of protectio is out of service. Obtai authorizatio from the fire-safety supervisor before closig a sprikler system cotrol valve. Follow FM Global s Maagig Fire Protectio System Impairmet (P9006), which outlies ecessary steps to take before, durig ad after impairmet. Remember, have everythig i place to do scheduled work o sprikler systems before the valves are closed. Hot work operatios impose fire hazards from sparks that fly log distaces ad stay hot log after they slip out of sight ito holes or cracks. FM Global ecourages the use of its Hot Work Permit (F2630) for cotrollig these operatios. Usig the permit, a fire-safety supervisor authorizes hot work oly uder specific firesafe coditios. This permit has proved to be a ivaluable tool for maagig hot work. Aother way to protect agaist hot work hazards is to esure employees ad outside cotractors use proper procedures ad observe appropriate precautios. Cotiuously moitor areas for up to four hours followig hot work. Also, be sure employees take resposibility for requirig outside cotractors to coform to your policies. Fially, esure your emergecy respose team (ERT) is made aware of ad istructed i the compay s hot work procedures. 8 9

6 Good Housekeepig Buildigs ad Equipmet Maiteace Good housekeepig sets the toe for all property loss prevetio ad cotrol efforts. Oe key compoet i ay property loss prevetio program is good housekeepig, which ivolves all employees. Persoal pride ad commo sese motivate persoel to keep their work areas clea, ad help keep them aware of possible hazards. Good housekeepig is more tha just lookig eat. Besides frequet cleaig, some basic steps employees ca take to esure good housekeepig iclude prompt waste disposal ad proper material-hadlig practices especially i large storage areas. Special care should be take to avoid the buildup of combustible waste ad deposits such as dust from floors, ceiligs, structural members, machiery ad equipmet. A effective housekeepig program also icludes a formal system for employees to report potetial problems. Good housekeepig sets the toe for all property loss prevetio ad cotrol efforts. Ispectig fire protectio equipmet is ot eough. Istitute a regular prevetive maiteace program for buildigs ad equipmet. Prevetive maiteace will ot oly prolog the life of valuable equipmet, but also it ca prevet uaticipated equipmet breakdow, savig moey i replacemet costs ad busiess iterruptio. Some basic safeguards agaist electrical system failure iclude checkig electrical coectios for tightess ad ispectig electrical equipmet for sigs of overheatig. Be sure that electrical systems are adequately sized, properly maitaied ad protected, ad appropriate to your occupacy. The physical operatig eviromet should keep electrical equipmet clea, cool ad dry. Employees should be traied to operate electrical equipmet properly, especially i emergecies. You ca avoid machiery breakdow by periodic or cotiuous moitorig ad timely repair whe distress is evidet. Prevetive maiteace will ot oly prolog the life of valuable equipmet, but also it ca prevet uaticipated equipmet breakdow, savig moey i replacemet costs ad busiess iterruptio. Boilers ad process furaces preset special problems. I the case of boilers ad pressure vessels, istall, test ad maitai recommeded safety cotrols. Clealiess, above all, is a major factor i the maiteace of most equipmet. I geeral, it s good practice to avoid grease, oil or dust accumulatios o all types of equipmet ad machiery

7 Emergecy Respose Team ad Public Fire Service A effective, traied emergecy respose team (ERT) that comprises those most familiar with your facility ad its operatios ca respod quickly to a emergecy ad help your compay recover with a miimum of damage ad disruptio. A effective, traied emergecy respose team (ERT) that comprises those most familiar with your facility ad its operatios ca respod quickly to a emergecy ad help your compay recover with a miimum of damage ad disruptio. Emergecies ru the gamut from fire, explosio, hazardous material spillage or a uclear accidet, to atural hazards such as hurricae, freeze, earthquake ad flood. A ERT ca iclude eight or more key fuctios, depedig o the size ad type of locatio, for which facility employees should be traied. The most commo are as follows: Perso i charge Fire squad Notifier Pipe fitter Sprikler cotrol valve operator Electricia Fire pump operator Salvage squad Every locatio should have a ERT tailored to its idividual size ad eeds. FM Global has idetified low, moderate ad high levels of competecy for each of these fuctios ad for ERT traiig ad fire service/ert plaig. By workig with FM Global, you ca decide how best to customize these fuctios to desig a ERT that s right for your facility. For a fire emergecy, here are some basic skills your ERT members should have: The perso i charge must develop ad maitai a writte pla, be familiar with all facilities ad ay iheret special hazards, kow the care ad operatio of all protectio systems ad have proper traiig ad experiece i firefightig. Whe a fire emergecy occurs, the perso i charge must direct all emergecy actios util the public fire service arrives. Your desigated otifier reports a fire to the local fire service ad provides prelimiary iformatio about the fire s locatio. (Your compay should be sure there is a local fire service that will respod promptly to a fire at your facility, ad that firefighters have a adequate available water supply to use.) The sprikler cotrol valve operator kows where, whe ad how fire cotrol equipmet is to be hadled to esure it operates i a fire situatio. Likewise, the fire pump operator verifies the fire pump is operatig, ad shuts it off whe istructed to do so by the perso i charge or the fire chief. Your fire squad should kow the locatio of, ad be traied to use, fire extiguishers to cotrol a icipiet fire. The pipe fitter has access to exteral sources that ca shut off gas, water ad steam; the electricia has similar access related to electricity. Both of these ERT members also should have 24-hour access to those who may provide these services o a retaier basis. Your salvage squad, which should have access to decisio-makig maagemet, ca evaluate the eed for salvage operatios ad establish cotigecy plas ad a retaier schedule with the vedor, depedig o the ature of the occupacy. ERT traiig also caot be overlooked. It s essetial to update ERT positios ad resposibilities ad provide traiig for ew members at quarterly meetigs. Employees who are ot directly ivolved i the ERT still play a role i property loss prevetio ad cotrol. Trai key persoel i all departmets to use portable fire extiguishers. Give special attetio to equipmet, processes ad material that have uusual fire or explosio hazards. Emphasize proper operatig procedures ad maiteace. Prefire plaig with the public fire service is desirable whe settig up a ERT. A compay represetative should make a complete ispectio of the premises with a member of the local fire service. Firefighters will wat to ote a variety of factors, icludig the umber of buildigs ivolved, umber of stories i each, costructio ad ay special structures, equipmet i the buildig ad sprikler protectio. Oce you ve compiled a prefire pla (you ad the fire service should retai copies), your ERT ad the fire service will be able to work together more effectively i the evet of a emergecy. Eve after a prefire pla has bee draw up, it s importat that the fire service visit your facility at least aually to keep abreast of ay chages that may have occurred

8 10 Qualities of a Well-Protected Facility Natural Hazards Protectio 1. Property Loss Prevetio Commitmet 2. Suitable Costructio 3. Automatic Sprikler Protectio 4. Special Hazards Protectio 5. Adequate Water Supply 6. Ogoig Fire Prevetio Programs 7. Good Housekeepig 8. Buildigs ad Equipmet Maiteace 9. Emergecy Respose Team ad Public Fire Service 10. Natural Hazards Protectio A complete property loss prevetio ad cotrol program should also take ito cosideratio hazards posed by coditios outside the facility. complete property loss prevetio ad cotrol program should also A take ito cosideratio hazards posed by coditios outside the facility. The recet rise i global atural disasters, as well as exposure hazards created by earby buildigs or outside storage, make the case for icreased physical improvemets to key busiess facilities. The degree of exposure hazard may also call for exterior fire doors, wired glass widows with or without outside spriklers, or the elimiatio of opeigs by brickig them up. Combustible material stored outside should be located at a adequate distace from mai buildigs. Widstorm damage also ca cause a severe productio iterruptio. A commo rule of thumb is to desig ad build your buildig to withstad widstorms ormally expected i your geographic area. This icludes properly achored roof framigs ad decks, adequate adhesio or fasteig of roof coverigs (particularly at corers ad perimeters), ad adequate fasteig of perimeter flashig. Proper maiteace of roof deckig, coverig ad flashig will help miimize wid damage. Safeguards agaist flood are especially importat for properties located i flood-proe regios. I additio to the expected damage to equipmet ad storage from water ad mud eterig a buildig, cosider that floatig debris ca batter walls ad equipmet, rupturig pipelies that carry hazardous material. Automatic sprikler system risers may be broke. Iadequately achored taks holdig igitable liquid may break away from their foudatios ad float, evetually strikig other objects, rupturig ad dischargig their cotets. I high-risk areas, you should provide permaet flood protectio such as dikes, flood shields for doorways ad special achorig of taks. It is advisable to seal uecessary exterior opeigs as well. I areas susceptible to earthquake, buildigs should be desiged ad costructed i accordace with seismic details specified i local buildig codes. Miimize the possibility of topplig ad slidig by bracig ad achorig storage racks, boilers, trasformers, taks ad other large equipmet. Use special istallatio techiques to protect sprikler ad process pipig. Providig protectio agaist roof collapse also is vital. Depedig o the climate, roofs may be subject to excessive loadig from poded raiwater, accumulatios of sow, or both. While local codes may specify that roof desig be adequate for uiformly distributed sow depths, the roof may ot be able to withstad excessive loadig over a relatively small area. I this case, it is importat to desig these areas to withstad aticipated loads from drifted sow. Quick sow removal will help you avoid additioal loadig from ice, sow ad water i the evet aother storm should follow. Prevet overloadig from podig water by usig adequately sized ad properly located drais of sufficiet umber. A well-traied ERT, ofte aided by other employees, is key i dealig with hazards that origiate outside the facility. The ERT ca ispect ad expedite repairs to damaged fire protectio systems, provide temporary fire protectio as eeded, restore process ad power equipmet, salvage storage of raw stock ad fiished product, make temporary buildig repairs as eeded ad, i geeral, expedite a retur to ormal operatios. A property damaged by oe peril is usually more vulerable to fire tha oe free from icidet. Visit our NatHaz toolkit olie at fmglobal.com/athaz for more iformatio ad available resources. Remember these qualities, ad icorporate them ito your daily risk maagemet fuctios. They are the result of more tha 175 years of experiece, which has taught us ad our cliets that property loss prevetio ad cotrol is a costat cocer. A property loss prevetio program ca help protect your compay s competitiveess, lower busiess costs ad improve efficiecy ad effectiveess. It also could mea the differece betwee beig i busiess today ad facig a lastig shutdow tomorrow. If you do ot already have a property loss prevetio program at your compay, cotact your FM Global egieer ad/or cliet service team for additioal guidace

9 P FM Global All rights reserved. (Rev. 01/2013) I the Uited Kigdom: FM Isurace Compay Limited 1 Widsor Dials, Widsor, Berkshire, SL4 1RS Regulated by the Fiacial Services Authority. For additioal copies of this publicatio or other FM Global resources, order olie 24 hours a day, seve days a week at Or, for persoal assistace worldwide, cotact our U.S.-based customer services team: Toll-free: (1) (Caada ad the Uited States) Phoe: +1 (1) Fax: +1 (1) customerservices@fmglobal.com