医疗保险中心 & 医疗补助服务(CMS), along with approved Accrediting Organizations like The Joint Commission, 要求 医疗保健 facilities for the proper inspection, 测试, and maintenance of fire and life safety systems.
Hospitals are extremely regulated by multiple authorities having jurisdiction and for good reason. Hospitals are not simply evacuated in a fire or other emergency like an office building. Fire codes require a “defend-in-place” philosophy that relies on staff response, 被动防火特性(如.g., fire barriers) and increasingly complex active fire protection systems (e.g., sprinklers, fire alarms, doors closing, smoke control). 因此, fire and life safety systems need to be 设计ed, 协调, 安装, 编程, tested and integrated to protect the entire 医疗保健 ecosystem, 满足整体的整体方法, and achieve the fire protection and life safety goals required for a defend-in-place strategy.
新的nfpa4综合测试标准
Requirements for 测试 end-to-end integration of fire and life safety systems can be found in NFPA 4, Standard for Integrated Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems Testing. NFPA 4 is applicable where the 2018 or 2021 editions of the International Building Code, 《彩宝网》, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code or NFPA 1 Fire Code is adopted. In many locations, this is already a requirement through the locally adopted 建筑或消防规范. The NFPA 4 Standard deals with new and existing buildings, including 医疗保健 facilities. 例如, 当一个司法管辖区采用NFPA 4时, retroactively there is a five-year window to develop your integrated 测试 plan for the existing facility.
集成测试代理的作用
NFPA 4 has identified the Integrated Testing Agent (ITa) as a new role to be held by a qualified individual. Ultimately, hospitals do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to fire and life safety. Different hospital areas need to meet fire and life safety goals specific to the various occupancies in the facility. 例如, 大厅, 重症监护病区, 产科病房, 麻醉后护理病房(PACU), and operating room have unique and specialized needs.
The ITa is a critical player in the coordination, 文档, and 测试 of the interfaces between a hospital's different fire and life safety systems. The ITa coordinates and develops 测试 scenarios in an Integrated Testing Plan to verify proper integration and programming and document that the various systems worked together to achieve the common fire life safety goals as intended.
集成测试面临的挑战
Because hospital facilities are occupied 24 hours a day, 一年365天, performing the required end-to-end compliance 测试 of fire and life safety systems - including fire alarm audibles/visuals, emergency lighting and systems on emergency generators, 这是一个现实世界的问题. 此外, stakeholder input is required to achieve agreement on the various integrated test scenarios for the hospital and the development of the Integrated Testing Plan for integrated 测试 of the fire and life safety systems. This is a long process due to the complexities and facility coordination needed to implement and document compliance successfully. These NFPA 4 integrated processes and tests are performed in addition to the fire and life safety system inspection, 测试, and maintenance required for CMS accreditation.
开始你的NFPA 4计划
If you don’t control and coordinate the process now, the process will control you. 问自己以下问题:
- Have you selected an NFPA 4 Integrated Testing Agent for your 医疗保健 facility?
- Have you started your preparation and coordination for NFPA 4?
了解更多 如何 彩宝网 can help with NFPA 4 planning and integrated fire and life safety systems 测试 in your facility.
