Ensuring cable management systems are fit for purpose

Regulations tend to move forward fastest in the period following a disaster. In the years since the Grenfell Tower fire, with ever greater scrutiny on the fire safety of building materials, Legrand’s cable management team has frequently dealt with questions about the fire rating of our cable management systems. Rapidly implemented regulatory change in response to deadly fires, to ensure that areas of concern or weakness in the existing regulatory framework are erased quickly to avoid any repetition, is important, and to be welcomed. New regulations can, however, introduce new concepts, be hard to navigate and, until clarity is restored through future amendments and training, may result in confusion and anxiety within the affected industry — especially when they involve fire safety.

One safe way forward for those looking after electrical design is to ensure that the cable management systems they deploy are tested to the highest standards possible. This means that contractors need to have a thorough understanding of fire safety, the reasoning behind the updated regulations and standards, and why the premature failure of a cable management system in a fire should be avoided.

The manufacturer’s role

It is important that we, as manufacturers, can offer proof of our products’ ability to withstand fire damage, despite the lack of a UK standard and legal obligations related to cable management products. When manufacturers provide that proof, contractors can work with confidence, knowing that their project will provide high levels of safety for a building’s owners and occupiers.

Without a British Standard in place, looking abroad for an appropriate benchmark can be helpful. There is a standard test in Germany, for example, for circuit integrity cabling that allows cable management manufacturers to fire test their products in a true-to-life installation. The DIN 4102-12 standard, Fire behaviour of building materials and elements — Fire resistance of electric cable systems required to maintain circuit integrity — Requirements and testing, exposes building components, such as cable management systems, to fire for over 90 minutes, eventually reaching 1000 °C by the end of the test. Swifts cable trays and ladders, as well as Salamandre distribution trunking from Legrand, are examples of solutions that have been subjected to testing under DIN 4102-12 conditions.

Assuming that a project is taking place in the UK, it is important to adhere to the UK standards — BS 8519:2020: Selection and installation of fire-resistant power and control cable systems for life safety, fire-fighting and other critical applications — code of practice, for circuit integrity cabling, and BS 7671:2018, Requirements for Electrical Installations, for all other types of cabling. If, however, a stakeholder enquires about fire testing standards, or says they require it, neither of these require the product to have undergone an actual fire test. In this case, those with concerns can be reassured by the evidential proof that products have been fire tested to the DIN 4102-12 standard offer via published declarations of performance.

Flexible design for passive fire protection

The Grenfell Tower fire and subsequent enquiry have also been responsible for significant changes for the passive fire protection industry, with new regulations, standards, and legislation, being introduced over the past three years. While many of these only apply to buildings designated as HRBs (Higher Risk Buildings), the construction industry is questioning whether it is feasible, both financially and technically, to run two different design criteria simultaneously.

Although it is well recognised that through effective building compartmentation, and the correct implementation of passive fire protection measures, the spread of fire can be contained, a survey by the Royal Town Planning Institute after the Grenfell Tower fire highlighted that most decisions about fire stopping in England were made at the building control phase — where price, the cost of product, and the cost of installation, are the key drivers. Those installing passive fire stopping have little or no knowledge of the design intentions of the electrical designer, or how the cable management pathway has been envisioned to function as the building developed. For example, most IT specifications require the contractor to leave 30% of the installed cable management empty for future expansion, but the traditional passive fire protection products being used to fire stop this cable pathway are designed to offer a permanent solution. This means when the empty part of the tray reaches a fire-rated barrier, the required 30% expansion designed into the tray is not repeated in the barrier itself.

A potential obstacle created

Against the backdrop of today’s connected society — where the demand for access to data and mobile services in public buildings means the addition of new cables can be an almost daily occurrence, these permanent fire-rated barriers can create an obstacle. Not being able to easily add additional cabling can hinder not only the desired flexibility of the IT designer/specifier, but may also be putting at risk the effectiveness of the fire strategy, by adding an ongoing non-compliance issue to the workload of the building’s responsible person as these future cables are added. The ongoing repair, re-certification, and processes required to ensure that these breaches are repaired in a timely manner also adds significantly to the annual operating cost of the organisation, reducing the amount of money available for other projects.

Technological advances, replacement of obsolete equipment, and increasing data capacity, are common issues within the health sector. These issues are compounded by the fact that older buildings were simply not designed to accommodate today’s cabling and data requirements, while newer ones are often designed and built around traditionally inflexible solutions. This poses a real headache for those responsible for the day-to-day facilities management at healthcare organisations.

Fire risks during construction / cable installation

The healthcare sector is at the cutting edge of new technology and medical advancements; their successful integration is vital to ensuring that patients have access to the latest treatments. The ability to integrate new technology and cabling, while minimising disruption to the operation of the premises, poses a challenge due to the risks associated with retrofitting. Noise, dust, infection control, and the impact of closure, are all major concerns during any works. However, cable installations also present the additional problem of needing to remove fire-stopping materials while the work takes place. Data and telecom requirements can change frequently, and it is very likely that the routes these cables take will pass through a fire-resistant wall or floor. These additional cables are often added to the existing cable management system with oversized holes cut or drilled into the fire-rated walls or floors, or the removal of fire-stopping materials. While the contractor may repair these breaches when the project is complete, critically, while the work is taking place, the passive fire protection is no longer in place or compliant. In the event of a fire occurring while the work is being undertaken, it will be able to spread quickly along the pathway, with the cables acting as a source of fuel for the fire.

What can you do?

So, what action can you take?

1. You can, of course, continue as at present, removing existing fire-stopping to allow new cables to pass through, and then repairing the fire-stopping when the cabling work is completed. However, both the building and its occupants will remain at risk until the seal is repaired, either at the end of the works, or until a breach is discovered during an audit. Every time you penetrate a fire-rated barrier you will encounter a cost for repair and re-certification.

2. Look for an innovative alternative solution which retains compliance both during and post-cable addition, without the need for re-certification. A potential solution is Legrand’s EZ-Path, a factory-manufactured cable penetration pathway which complies to BS 1366-3 and guarantees fire protection during and after the installation of new cables, while eliminating the need for any remedial works. In short, using the system will see an end to the dust, mess, and noise associated with new cabling installations, as well as removing the need to handle fire-stopping materials or apply for re-certification after each installation.

Containing factory-fitted intumescent material within a metal container, EZ-Path is unique, in that cables can be added or taken away without the need to remove the factory-fitted material. This ensures that fire protection is maintained at all times. Crucially, EZ-Path remains compliant regardless of whether the device is empty, or 100% visibly full. In the event of a fire, the intumescent material reacts to direct contact with a flame or heat (at 177 °C), by expanding by 800%, closing the pathway.

Standards and regulations are often driven by lessons learned, and once we are aware of the changes and the reasons for them, then regardless of whether the site is old or new, we should look to adopt them as quickly as possible. Ensuring there is confidence that cabling is contained on metallic cable management systems, proven by fire testing to have withstood premature collapse for a defined amount of time, offers reassurance that both those escaping a building, and those entering it to extinguish a fire, can do so safely.

Additionally, introducing the use of innovative fire-stopping solutions, which allow future cabling needs to be designed in much earlier, offers a fire-rated cable pathway through the fire-rated barrier 
for future cabling from day one. Not 
only does this allow all future cables to 
be added without compromising the passive fire protection during the installation process, but it also eliminates the need for risk assessment, and 
the significant costs of repairing and 
re-certifying the fire-rated barriers.

The learning opportunity

Those working within healthcare estates are encouraged to be proactive about fire safety, staying on top of changes by taking advantage of the training and education opportunities available. Legrand is supporting the industry by offering several CPDs on fire safety, covering cable pathways, compliance, and containment, that can be completed free of charge via Legrand’s Training Academy. Along with CPDs, there are other resources freely available too, including Legrand’s guide: Creating Cable Pathways — an explainer on ensuring cable management will not contribute to the spread of fire or premature collapse, and the Fire Safety and Cable Management white paper.

One of the CPDs covering the latest regulations is the Premature collapse and fire rated containment seminar, recently launched to evaluate the UK standards landscape as it applies to cable management systems. Discussing fire prevention, construction product regulations, and wiring regulations, it can be completed virtually, or at Legrand’s training facilities in London or Birmingham. Regulatory change can occur at a fast pace, so it is vital that all stakeholders in the healthcare estates arena stay abreast of fire safety issues. Time must be taken to get to grips with the standards they need to meet, the products available to them, and the tests those products have to pass.