APRIL 2018 Pioneer Valley Chapter 85 Join AFE Chapter 85 on Wednesday, April 25 th for a tour of 84 Westover Road, Ludlow, Massachusetts Duro-Last, a manufacturer of single-ply PVC commercial roof systems, recently opened a 6 th manufacturing facility in Ludlow, Massachusetts. This 60,000 square foot facility will service the northeast corridor from Virginia to Maine. THE DURO-LAST DIFFERENCE Prefabrication of Deck Sheets and Flashing Accessories Consequential Damages Warranty No Warranty Exclusion for Ponding Water One-Source Warranty -- Edge-to-Edge, Deck-to-Sky National Presence with Global Companies Meet at Duro-Last at 4:15 p.m. - Tour Begins at 4:30 p.m. Dinner to follow at Tony and Penny s Restaurant, 18 Canterbury St., Ludlow. COST: $25.00/member $30.00/non-member CASH BAR DINNER TO INCLUDE: Baked Haddock, Chicken Francaise, Pot Roast w/gravy, Vegetable Medley, Stuffed Manicotti, Oven Roasted Potatoes, Fresh Garden Salad, Rolls & butter, Coffee, and Tea RSVP BY FRIDAY, APRIL 20 th - CHRIS GLOSTER - CGloster@.com Cash or check at the door. Make check payable to AFE Chapter 85.
Duro-Last Company History After working as a lumberjack, carpenter, tool and die maker and soldier, among other jobs, John R. Burt got into the swimming pool business. After a liner he had purchased failed, he recognized the importance of vertical integration to control quality and founded Tri-City Vinyl to manufacture his own pool liners. One day it occurred to him: If his product could keep water in, it could keep water out. In 1978, that insight became the Duro- Last Roofing System. The majority of roofing system failures then (and still today) are not due to the product itself, but to workmanship on-site. To solve this problem, Duro- Last developed custom prefabrication methods and specialized equipment that allows us to complete nearly 100% of the difficult roof details and up to 85% of field seams under ideal factorycontrolled conditions. The result is lower on-site labor costs and better installation quality. Learn more about our prefabrication benefits at https:// duro-last.com. Duro-Last is now the world's largest manufacturer of custom-fabricated roofing systems. Duro-Last Roofing Systems, their contractor installation team, customer service and best-in-class warranties all set the quality standards for the roofing industry.
Failure to Launch Top 5 Reasons Fire Sprinkler Systems Fail to Operate When Needed By Jacqueline Wilmot When it comes to reducing fire s potentially devastating impact on people and property, there is simply no equal to fire sprinkler systems. Since the late 19th century, fire sprinkler systems have been utilized and continue to evolve as one of the most reliable fire protection systems available today. NFPA s most recent U.S. Experience with Sprinklers report shows that between 2007 and 2011 sprinklers operated in 91% of all reported structure fires large enough to activate them. Although this number excludes buildings under construction and buildings without sprinklers in the fire area, when the sprinklers operated, they were effective 96% of the time, resulting in a combined performance of operating effectively in 87% of reported fires where sprinklers were present in the fire area and the fire was large enough to activate them. This high rate of sprinkler activation success begs the question: What went wrong in the 9% of fires in which sprinklers should have operated but did not? In most cases, some type of human error was to blame. The following are the top five reasons for sprinkler failure and the NFPA standards that work to mitigate these issues: 1. System Shutoff Almost two-thirds (64%) of sprinkler failures occur because the equipment is shut off. This can happen when a building is vacant or under construction or when there are system problems involving leaks or other impairments. NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, establishes the minimum requirements for the periodic inspection, testing and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems, and addresses each of the leading causes of sprinkler failures. Closure of control valves is addressed in Chapter 13. An impairment program outlined in Chapter 15 minimizes the length of time a system is out of service, and establishes procedures that ensure systems and valves are properly returned to service upon the completion of all inspection, testing and/or maintenance activities. 2. Manual Intervention Manual intervention that defeats a fire sprinkler system accounts for 17% of related failure to operate and represents the second-leading cause of sprinkler failures. Either building staff or firefighters may shut off a system after the fire starts but before sprinklers operated. This may occur when the fire was not immediately visible or was assumed to have been already extinguished. Manual intervention also may occur when some type of obstruction is installed after the sprinkler system has already been installed and the obstruction prevents the fire s heat from activating the sprinkler system. It also can occur depending on how close the obstruction is to the sprinkler head, where the obstruction can prevent the water from reaching the hazard, or prevent the sprinkler water discharge pattern from developing properly. (continued on page 5)
A Look at the AFE Chapter 85 ENERGY CONSERVATION, INCENTIVES AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS EVENT The Energy Conservation, Incentives and Management Programs Event held on March 22 nd, at the Munich Haus was successful and very informative. The meeting included six knowledgeable Speakers representing, Columbia Gas, Eversource, Eversource Connecticut, Balanced Rock Energy and Compressed Air Technologies. We also had Attendees, representing Energy Engineers, Mechanical Equipment Suppliers, Compressed Air Representatives and Engineers, Environmental Engineers, and Representatives from Manufacturing and Business. Everyone enjoyed the good food, while they learned about energy conservation programs and incentives, and how to take advantage of them. The Pioneer Valley Chapter 85 would like to thank all whom attended, with a special thanks to the Guest Speakers.
Failure to Launch (continued ) Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low-Rise Residential Occupancies; and NFPA 25 all are written with the assumption the sprinkler system is designed to handle only a single fire at a time. None of these codes accounts for the severity of explosions or the collapse of structural components of the building. 4. Lack of Maintenance Six percent of sprinkler failure is due to a lack of maintenance. NFPA 4, Standard for Integrated Fire Protection and Life Safety System Testing, and NFPA 25 provide minimum requirements to confirm systems, if designed to function together, are operating appropriately and maintain the system to ensure proper function. Occupancy type, water supply, closure of valves and change in occupancy or commodity classification that render the installed sprinkler system unsuitable are just a few of the considerations that need to be reviewed before firefighting in a sprinklered building. NFPA 13E, Recommended Practice for Fire Department Operations in Properties Protected by Sprinkler and Standpipe Systems, provides guidance for buildings under construction, inspection and pre-incident planning; fire-ground operations; post-fire operations for properties protected by automatic sprinklers; properties protected by exterior sprinklers for protection against exposure fires; and properties protected by standpipe systems. 3. Damaged Components The one mostly nonhuman error for sprinkler system failure is damaged components, which contributes to 7% of sprinkler system failures. Component damage mainly consists of fires where automatic extinguishing equipment was damaged by explosions or by the collapse of a ceiling, roof or entire building. NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems; NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes; NFPA 13R, Standard for the NFPA 4 provides testing protocols for new or existing integrated fire protection and life-safety systems where such testing is required. An integrated system test confirms that operation, interaction and coordination of multiple individual systems perform their intended function. Many assume these tests are conducted before a certificate of occupancy is issued. Similarly, if a new system is added or a system is modified to existing integrated systems, there s sometimes the assumption that testing is being performed, which ensures the handshake between the systems has been met. This is not true. However, NFPA 4 provides requirements for members on the integrated testing team, writing test plans, developing test scenarios and frequencies, as well as documenting this information for the owner. NFPA 25 provides requirements to ensure a reasonable degree of protection for life and property from fire through minimum inspection, testing and maintenance methods for water-based fire protection systems. Known as the wear and tear document, NFPA 25 is not intended to evaluate a fire sprinkler system s design, but rather have the inspector visually inspect the system components. (continued on page 6)
NFPA 25 categorizes the level of impact for components not meeting the code into three terms: impairment, critical deficiency or noncritical deficiency. Although NFPA 25 does not specify a tagging structure for identifying these levels, many states have developed a series of different color tags to be placed on a system or components to the significance of the condition identified. Impairments include the highest priority problem and should be corrected as soon as possible. Deficiencies are defined as a condition that will or has the potential to adversely impact the performance of a system or portion thereof. Deficiencies should be corrected as soon as practical considering the severity of the risk. Critical deficiencies will still allow the system to perform, but its effectiveness could be impacted. Noncritical deficiencies do not impact system performance but should be corrected in a reasonable time. (Table A.3.3.7, Water-Based Fire Protection System Inspection and Testing Findings of the 2014 edition of NFPA25, features a list of examples and the associated deficiency/impairment.) 5. Inappropriate Systems for Hazard The fifth reason sprinklers fail to operate is because the system is inappropriate for hazard. Five percent of sprinkler system failures are caused by an improper design of the system, wrong type of agent or the wrong type of system for the agent. One of the most critical decisions in designing a sprinkler system is determining the occupancy classification or commodity type. This decision impacts design and installation considerations, including sprinkler discharge criteria, sprinkler spacing and water supply requirements.
Throughout the life of a building, the use and occupancy type may change. NFPA 1, Fire Code, requires the owner or occupant to evaluate the adequacy of the installed system if there are any changes in occupancy, user, process or materials. Among all the estimated sprinkler system failures that occurred between 2007 and 2011, only 7% were because of failing equipment (i.e., damaged components). This means if the four other humanerror-related causes of sprinkler failures (equipment being shut off, manual intervention defeated the equipment, lack of maintenance, equipment inappropriate for type of fire) could be eliminated, the sprinkler failure rate would drop from the estimated 9% to 0.6%. Addressing these issues also would improve the effectiveness of the vast majority of sprinklers that do operate. NFPA standards, such as NFPA 13, NFPA 13D, NFPA 13R, NFPA 25, as well as NFPA 4, each contribute valuable tools that building owners, insurers, homeowners and facility managers can implement to increase sprinkler operation while adequately protecting their facilities and the most important commodity of all the people inside them. Jacqueline Wilmot is a fire protection engineer at the National Fire Protection Association. She is the staff liaison for seven technical committees in the Fire Protection Systems and Public Fire Protection divisions.
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Single Point Lesson #320: KEEPING VENTS CLEAN VENT PORT DIAPHRAGM Dirt/crust can form here DIAPHRAGM VENT PORT Minimize the potential for crust/dirt to form here Pipe a 180 return here Gas Pressure Regulators used for heating and process combustion systems have a vent port that needs to be kept clean. Mount the unit with the port pointing downward, or pipe a 180 return to it so dust and humidity won t create a crust on the vent that will keep the regulator from operating properly.
LAWN CARE TIPS - SPRING HAS SPRUNG: Raking should be your first task of spring lawn care. You're likely saying, "But we already raked leaves in the fall!" Sorry, but raking is for more than just removing leaves: it's for controlling thatch, too. A thatch build-up of more than ½ inch is considered excessive.
Rybak Engineering, Inc. Fire Protection Consultants cck@rybak-fpc.com (413) 436-5500 x111 www.rybakengineering.com Fire Sprinkler and Fire Alarm Engineering Hydraulics analysis Firesafety planning Insurance Company compliance and upgrades Storage upgrades and in-rack sprinkler alternative designs New and Existing System Designs/Upgrades
We are always looking for new members to join our Pioneer Valley Chapter. Please contact Chris Gloster if you or someone you know would like to join. Our members tell us that one of the most valuable benefits of belonging to AFE is the ability to network with other professionals in the facilities industry. Becoming involved in AFE pays off when you need it most. As a member of AFE you'll be able to solve problems and find answers to technical problems through a number of networking avenues. Local chapters provide programming to specifically meet the local facilities communities' needs. Plant tours are frequently scheduled to view for yourself what others in your community are implementing as best practices. Speakers bring a local perspective to topics of interest in your area. And of course, by meeting with others in your area you'll build a personal and professional network of contacts and friends who will be there when you need help. T (413) 525-7600 F (413) 525-4247 Toll Free: (888) 775-7601 Email: ida.online@verizon.net 143 Shaker Road E. Longmeadow, MA 01028
Board of Director s - Contact Information PRESIDENT Kimberly Garcia SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE Mauro DeMaio SOCIAL MEDIA COMMITTEE Chris Gloster Cleaver Brooks Tel: (413) 687-3413 kgarcia@cleaverbrooks.com Smith & Wesson mxd23@msn.com Tel: (413) 744-6481 / Cell: (413) 272-9280 cgloster@massmutual.com VICE PRESIDENT Katherine Paul Lenox / Stanley Black & Decker Tel: (413) 526-5528 Dana.Bean@sbdinc.com Dana Bean, C.P.E. Tel: (413) 744-4960 / Cell: (413) 372-3692 kpaul@massmutual.com Chris Gloster TREASURER Ryan Neveu Tel: (413) 744-6481 / Cell: (413) 272-9280 cgloster@massmutual.com Notch Mechanical Tel: (413) 534-3400 ryanneveu@notch.com SOCIAL MEDIA COMMITTEE Kimberly Garcia SECRETARY Katherine Paul Cleaver Brooks Tel: (413) 687-3413 kgarcia@cleaverbrooks.com Tel: (413) 744-4960 / Cell: (413) 372-3692 kpaul@massmutual.com Katherine Paul Tel: (413) 744-4960 / Cell: (413) 372-3692 kpaul@massmutual.com MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN Chris Gloster Tel: (413) 744-6481 / Cell: (413) 272-9280 cgloster@massmutual.com Mauro DeMaio TABLE TOP COMMITTEE Katherine Paul Tel: (413) 744-4960 / Cell: (413) 372-3692 kpaul@massmutual.com Kimberly Garcia Cleaver Brooks Tel: (413) 687-3413 kgarcia@cleaverbrooks.com Chris Gloster Tel: (413) 744-6481 / Cell: (413) 272-9280 cgloster@massmutual.com Lee Thibodeau IDA, Inc. Tel: (413) 525-7600 lee.thibodeau@verizon.net Smith & Wesson mxd23@msn.com AFE Chapter 85 P.O. Box 0948 E. Longmeadow, Ma. 01028-0948 Don t forget to check us out on linked in... Follow Us http://www.linkedin.com/groups/afe-chapter-85-pioneer-valley-4486870/about About AFE: AFE is a professional organization of 10,000 members. We bring together professionals who ensure the optimal operation of plants, grounds and offices at Fortune 500 manufacturers, universities, medical centers, government agencies and innovative small firms from around the world. And, they all look to AFE as the leading technical resource on engineering issues. AFE's mission is to provide education, certification, technical information and other relevant resources to plant and facility engineering, operation and maintenance professionals worldwide. About AFE Chapter 85: We are a local chapter of AFE that represents the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. The Pioneer Valley Chapter 85 was founded on May 18, 1967, primarily through the efforts of Van S. Sellers. Board meetings will be in the 2nd Tuesday and General Membership meetings, tours, and events will be on the last Thursday of the month, unless otherwise noted.