Fact File 48 Guide to BS EN 54-13:2017 Fire Detection and alarm systems: Compatibility and connectivity assessment of system components
Guide to BS EN 54-13:2017 Fire Detection and alarm systems: Compatibility and connectivity assessment of system components INTRODUCTION... 3 GENERAL... 3 CLAUSE 4.3 TRANSMISSION PATHS... 4 ANNEX A. EXAMPLE OF LEVELS USED IN FIRE DETECTION AND ALARM SYSTEMS... 4 ANNEX D. SOFTWARE DESIGN DOCUMENTATION... 4 ANNEX E. FLOWCHART FOR ASSESSMENT... 5 DETAILED SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM EN 54-13:2005 TO EN 54-13:2017... 5 2 of 7
INTRODUCTION EN 54-13 can cause some confusion in the UK, where its purpose has been unclear. However, in some countries, such as Germany, it is normal practice during certification of an installation, that part of the documentation should include evidence that the combination of the components of the installation comply with EN 54-13. The intention of this, is that manufacturers should be able to demonstrate that the components will operate as expected when assembled into a system. This could be of particular concern when the components are produced by different manufacturers. Since 2013 BS 5839-1 has acknowledged the use of EN 54-13: In the commentary for section 11, System Components, we have the following statement: Conformity of an individual component to a recognised standard does not necessarily ensure that it will operate satisfactorily in conjunction with another component that conforms to the relevant standard for that component. It is essential that compatibility between components is taken into account by the designer of the system. BS EN 54-13 can be used to confirm system compatibility. Commentary is not an auditable recommendation of BS 5839-1 and so is advisory only. EN 54-13 has been updated and was released on 22 February 2017. The forward in the standard includes the following summary statement: EN 54-13 has been revised to update the standard by taking into account new techniques of Communication and new technologies available on the market. It includes new Clauses and Annexes as follows: Clause 4.3. Transmission paths. Annex A. Example of levels used in fire detection and alarm systems. Annex D. Software design documentation. Annex E. Flowchart for assessment. The main technical changes are the following: The standard is applicable to electrical wires, optical fibre or radio frequency connections. The previous edition was only applicable to electrical wires. EN 54-1: 2011 was used as the basis for an update of terms and concepts. Introduction of levels (field, control and management) and network transmission path for the basis of system configuration. Transfer of product requirements, covering partial open and partial short circuits to an optional Clause included in a future release of EN 54-2. GENERAL There is now greater use of the functional descriptions used in EN 54-1, A, B, C, D, M, N, O etc. This has removed the need for the Normative Annex A to describe the functions of fire detection and alarm system (FDAS) components, which has now been deleted. (In any case, it is not clear how this Annex could be Normative.) EN 54-13 divides components into Type 1, (those performing a function for fire detection and fire alarms as defined in EN 54-1) and Type 2, (other devices connected to Type 1). Type 2 devices should not interfere with the safe operation of Type 1 devices. The standard now recognises that novel components may be declared as a Type 1 component in advance of an applicable EN 54 Series product standard being available. Moreover, it is now recognised that some approved devices (such as aspirating smoke detectors, optical beam smoke detectors, voice alarm control and indicating equipment (VACIE) etc) which are connected into a fire detection and alarm system (FD&A) through 3 of 7
a simple interface, are not required to be uniquely identified in the listed components, as long as an interface specification is provided. It is the responsibility of the applicant for EN 54-13 compatibility assessment of a system, to clearly identify which are Type 1 and which are Type 2 components. The revised standard adds detail and clarifies the requirements for networked systems. Rather than referring to hierarchical systems, EN 54-13 now defines three levels of control; field level, control level and management level, and these are described in Annex A. EN 54-13 only provides assessment of field and control levels, as the management level is not expected to affect critical FDAS operations. It has been clarified that compliance with EN 54-13 is largely based on a theoretical assessment and a limited set of tests to confirm this analysis. To enable this independent assessment, a manufacturer submits documentary information and evidence to support its case. The previous version of the standard included physical tests to confirm the system s resilience to partial short circuit and partial open circuit faults on transmission paths (primarily wired TP). It has now been recognised that this is a product requirement that is largely a function of the control and indicating equipment (CIE). These requirements and tests have been reduced to a short and an open circuit test, (including open and short to earth). This is on the understanding that monitoring for partial short circuit and partial open circuit will be added to the EN 54 2 product standard for CIE, (probably as an optional function). However, it should be noted that draft EN 54-2 is experiencing considerable delays during redrafting and is not expected to be released as an update for some considerable time. This will cause a problem for manufacturers wishing to demonstrate this feature in their products, as there is now no current standard calling for this test. CLAUSE 4.3 TRANSMISSION PATHS The section, covering transmission paths (previously 4.5), has been significantly redrafted to better describe the different types of transmission path: TP using wires. TP using radio frequency link. TP using optical fibre. Network TP. The maximum response time to respond to TP faults has been removed, as this is already described in component standards. ANNEX A. EXAMPLE OF LEVELS USED IN FIRE DETECTION AND ALARM SYSTEMS EN 54-13 has introduced three levels of control that are used in FDAS and this is explained in Annex A, including a diagram that illustrates the distribution of EN 54-1 functions A, B, C, D, M, N, O etc between the three levels. O is defined as an ancillary management function. Previously, the distribution was described by component definitions, rather than functional definitions. ANNEX D. SOFTWARE DESIGN DOCUMENTATION The requirements for software documentation have been collected in a new, separate Annex, and considerably expanded and clarified to better describe recent software development techniques. It has been recognised that it is now common to use third party operating systems and that these may not be under the direct control of the component manufacturer. The manufacturer must provide a detailed in-depth list of the software version numbers of any sub component or module of S/W that are subject to separate development control. It should be noted that EN 54-13 is only an assessment at a particular stage of development, and that future software development and enhancements may introduce changes that will affect the performance of a product. 4 of 7
ANNEX E. FLOWCHART FOR ASSESSMENT Finally, in Annex E, a flowchart is provided to explain the process for the assessment of system compatibility for a series of components. It has been clarified that most of the assessment is a theoretical assessment of documentary evidence, that is then verified by a limited set of specific tests that have been identified from this analysis as a representative worst case set of demonstrations. This flowchart can also be used by manufacturers of a novel Type 1 component that is not yet defined by an EN 54 Series product standard. DETAILED SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM EN 54-13:2005 TO EN 54-13:2017 This is a summary of the significant changes between EN 54-13:2005 and the current edition. The headings in bold nominally refer to Clauses in EN 54-13. Scope (Clause 1) Change: Applies only to fire detection and fire alarm systems (including voice alarms systems when a sub-system of the FDAS). Addition: A statement has been added to make it clear that system requirements are only included when these are necessary for compatibility assessment. Addition: A statement has been added to make it clear that the standard specifies requirements related to compatibility and connectability assessment methods and tests, for the components belonging to a FDAS or connecting to a FDAS. It also states that the document does not cover components or functions which are not included in a FDAS. This does not mean that such components, if connected to a TP, are excluded from connectability assessment/tests (refer to Clause 3.1.5). The requirements for devices connected to a fire protection system have been removed (EN 54-13:2005 Clause 4.6), there is however, mention of this function in informative Annex B. It has been clarified that the transmission path(s) between distributed components of a single function, eg EN 54-2 CIE are not covered by EN 54-13. Terms definitions and abbreviations (Clause 3) Definitions that had been copied from other documents, eg EN 54-1, have been removed. Applicant: This term has been introduced to make the distinction between the manufacturer(s) of the components of the system and the organisation or other such body requiring an assessment of the compatibility and connectability of system components. Post publication: CEN have proposed a change to the published standard to remove the definition for testing authority and replace with applicant under Clause 3. The scope of component Type 1 has been reduced, so that it is now only for EN 54 product series devices or for devices declared as Type 1. Component Type 2 has been redefined as any other component connected to a FDAS which is not Type 1. The inclusion of a control level allows the possibility of multiple control units within a FDAS, eg VACIE and CIE within a single FDAS. The term hierarchical system has been dropped, as this is just an example of a networked system of CIE. Requirements (Clause 4) The term System requirements * (EN 54-13:2005 Clause 4.2) has been removed because, as specified in Clause 1, Scope, this document only covers system compatibility assessment for components. * The exception is a networked system, as there is no current standard, refer to EN 54-13:2017 Clause 4.3. 5 of 7
The standard now permits devices to be declared as Type 1 when a product standard does not exist, provided that they meet minimum environmental and EMC immunity requirements. The Clause for components (EN 54-13:2005 Clause 4.4) has been removed, as it is covered by the Scope. Transmission paths (new Clause 4.3) This has been expanded to cover wired, wireless, optical and network TP. The response time for TP faults has been deleted, as it is covered by the product standards. New requirements for earth fault monitoring has been added. FDAS using network (new Clause 4.3.5) This Clause permits components, both Type 1 and Type 2, to be interconnected via a network. The Clause permits FDAS to be interconnected by a network and sets response times between FDAS. The implication is that, within a single FDAS, the response times specified in EN 54-2 apply. References to hierarchical systems are no longer made, as it is a specific configuration of a network. Documentation for compatibility (Clause 4.4.2) This Clause has been augmented with practical information and examples. In particular, the onerous requirement to list each and every Type 1 component (with software version) has been relaxed, and it is now possible to describe general interfaces which pick up alarms and faults from Type 1 approved devices, such as ASD, OBSD and VACIE etc. Assessment methods and tests (Clause 5) At least one system configuration shall be provided for physical testing. Equipment supplied must include all the interfaces for which connectability and compatibility is requested; simulation of loads is permitted provided the test authority agrees. Considered configurations (Clause 5.3) This Clause requires representative configuration(s) and maximum loading of the various types of TPs. Clause 5.3.2 for networked CIE or FDAS all (viz worst case) configurations have to be covered by the application. Functional test field level (Clause 5.5 new) Interruption or short circuit on a transmission path (Clause 5.5.3.3.). This Clause replaces the partial short and partial open circuit faults, which are considered to be functional requirements of the components, eg EN 54-2 for TPs of the CIE. Earth fault on a TP (Clause 5.5.3.3.3 new) This Clause adds test procedures for TP earth faults. Reduction of power supply voltage (Clause 5.5.3.5) The interruption of mains power supply has been renamed. There is also a new requirement to check that the system does not enter the fire alarm condition during power up. Example of network levels (Annex A new) The old Annex A has been removed, as latest version of EN 54-1 now refers to functions and not components. Software design documentation (Annex D) This has been added to cover the situation of a component being declared Type 1 by the applicant, for which a product standard does not exist. The documentation requirement is derived from EN 54-2 CIE. 6 of 7
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