By Mark Scott, Business Development Manager, Thomas Bell-Wright Ltd
In construction and building safety, compliance with stringent standards is a cornerstone of responsible design and execution. One of the pivotal benchmarks in ensuring fire safety within the UK construction industry is BS 8414, a comprehensive testing method that evaluates the fire performance of external non load bearing cladding systems.
This method involves subjecting a full-scale facade system to a simulated fire to assess the speed of fire propagation on the whole system.
Passing BS 8414 and obtaining a classification as per BS 135 can greatly contribute to demonstrating compliance with Approved Document B, keeping in mind that additional factors may need to be addressed to fully meet all the requirements outlined in the document.
The significance of conducting BS 8414 testing cannot be overstated, especially when executed by a UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accredited laboratory. Accreditation by UKAS ensures that the laboratory has met rigorous international standards, demonstrating competence, impartiality, and reliability in conducting tests.
Through our UK-based company, Thomas Bell Wright Ltd, we provide BS8414 testing in addition to other Reaction to Fire Tests for building materials conducted at our Dubai location.
Thomas Bell Wright International Consultants are a UKAS accredited fire testing lab, well respected in the industry for their excellence in testing and certification. We have more than 27 years’ experience in the industry. Thomas Bell Wright International Consultants now has a UK office which also has UKAS accreditation, allowing us to provide the best service possible to UK clients for their fire testing needs.
To find out more about our UKAS-accredited lab and our scope of testing please contact Thomas Bell Wright via phone on 01869 629001 or email to mark.scott@bell-wright.com.
