BSI Group News

Anthony Smith, Managing Director of global fire and safety audio specialist - Vox Ignis, has been confirmed as Chair of BSI FSH/12/5, the committee responsible for codes of practice for the design, installation, servicing and maintenance of voice alarm evacuation systems and emergency communication systems in buildings. As Chair, he will also sit on FSH/12, the committee that co-ordinates the UK participation of the BS EN 54 series of standards. Over 30 years, Anthony Smith has become an exper...

Construction product regulations in the United Kingdom include equipment for fire prevention and repression. The emphasis is on fire testing of wall coverings and other products. Testing requirements complement the UK’s new Building Safety Act, covering wiring, ducting, pipes, etc.  British Standards Institute (BSI) is involved in writing standards covering how things are made and tested to ensure compliance with UK requirements. Among the products tested are control and indicating e...

BSI, the business improvement and standards company, has unveiled SCREEN News, a new service in the BSI Connect supply chain portfolio. Available as a monthly subscription service, SCREEN News offers unlimited access to supply chain intelligence articles, personalized daily email updates, and special risk reports. With the ability to sort by interactive news filters, the new service will provide organizations with the on-demand insight and visibility needed to better understand global threats a...

BSI, the business improvement and standards company, has announces the launch of a collaboration with the FIA (Fire Industry Association) at the fire safety exhibition, FIREX INTERNATIONAL on 17 May 2022. The partnership will provide members of the FIA with discounts on certification to the BSI Kitemark™ for IoT Devices, which is designed to help consumers confidently and easily identify the IoT devices they can trust to be safe, secure, and functional. As part of this launch and to provi...

A new code of practice for the fire risk appraisal of external walls and cladding of multi-occupancy residential buildings has been published by BSI. The code has been developed to support the changes to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 brought about by the Fire Safety Act 2021, which provides for the fire performance of exterior walls and cladding to be a material consideration. PAS 9980:2022 Fire risk appraisal The code, PAS 9980:2022 Fire risk appraisal of external wall...

BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, publishes a new code of practice for the fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing multistorey and multi-occupied residential buildings. It has primarily been developed to support the upcoming changes to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order which will confirm that the fire performance of external cladding systems is a material consideration. Fire risk appraisal code The code, PAS 9980:2021, Fir...

BSI, the business improvement and standards company, are to take a seat on the Fire Industry Association’s (FIA) forum to facilitate knowledge sharing and improve fire safety in the UK. The FIA’s Internet of Things (IoT) forum will facilitate the exchange of industry knowledge and remove barriers to the development and adoption of IoT products and services in the fire safety sector. Alongside FIA forum members BSI experts will work to improve fire safety provisions across the UK by...

With just days to go before World Mental Health Day, EMCOR UK has become the first organization globally to prove it prioritizes its people and be certified against BSI’s new scheme which is based on the international standard ISO 45003:2021 Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks. The new international standard, which was published earlier this year, provides guidelines on how to improve...

A game-changing moment for international standards will enable a real acceleration in government and industry transition to net zero. Led by BSI, and approved by the ISO members, the London Declaration is a commitment to ensure global standards will support climate action and advance international initiatives to achieve our global climate goals. Meeting climate change targets Following recent research that shows fewer than one in four of the world’s largest companies are on tr...

BSI Group (BSI), in its role as the UK National Standards Body, has published a new set of requirements for the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in development projects, including individual house-builds, large-scale developments and estate management. The loss of biodiversity as a result of human activity is having increasingly severe impacts. As a result, governments, businesses and organizations of all types are acting, not only to protect biodiversity, but to ensure it thrives....

A draft of PAS 8673 is available for public comment and contains competence requirements for the new role of Building Safety Manager. This PAS is based on the recommendations and core competence criteria set out in BSI Flex 8670. It supports the introduction of the Building Safety Manager that is contained in the Building Safety Bill currently going through Parliament. PAS 8673 The BSI has facilitated the development of PAS 8673 and it is sponsored by MHCLG. Brian Atkin is cited as the techni...

BSI launches consultation on PAS 9980, new guidance to help fire risk assessors assess the risk of fire spread over external walls of multistorey residential buildings to aid remediation. PAS 9980 PAS 9980 is available in draft and BSI is inviting public comment on this Publicly Available Specification. It has been sponsored jointly by MHCLG and the Home Office and was drafted by C.S. Todd & Associates and a team of experts. Members of the drafting steering group include the BRE, National...

BSI, the business improvement and standards company launches BSI Connect, an integrated platform supporting audit, risk governance, and supply chain services, for improved operational visibility, commercial efficiency, and organizational resilience. Organizations can choose from a range of tools to manage internal and supplier risk. Features include the ability to review audit findings, and performance analytics and manage information for their critical business functions and suppliers whilst o...

The BCI releases the 2021 BCI Horizon Scan Report, sponsored by BSI. Throughout the years, this report continues to demonstrate its value to business continuity and resilience professionals by providing trends on incidents faced by organizations over the past year; the top threats and their impacts to organizations according to professionals; the use of the ISO 22301 standard and the cost of disruptions to organizations. This year, the report also analyses the impact that COVID-19 has had on bu...

Despite the challenges of 2020, business leaders' confidence in the resilience of their organizations has risen, according to BSI’s fourth annual Organizational Resilience Index report, which surveyed 500 senior leaders across the globe. Report Findings The index found that leaders remain cautiously optimistic, with more than half (57%) of businesses in the UK, US, and India expecting their financial performance to improve in 2021. The concept of Organizational Resilience refers to an o...

New community face coverings standard has benefitted from public comments, it has been updated to include new environmental considerations as well as enhanced guidance on labeling, cleaning, fitting, fastening, and breathing resistance. The second version of the standard, called Community Face Coverings – Specification, is freely available for use to help UK manufacturers, test houses, retailers, and consumers to ensure single-use and re-usable face coverings are safe and fit for purpose....

BSI has been informed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that it is an Approved Body (0086) for the UKCA marking; this new marking is required for placing relevant regulated products on the market in England, Scotland and Wales from 1 January 2021. BSI will also continue to be a Notified Body for the Northern Ireland market. The UKCA mark replaces CE marking in Great Britain (GB) countries, although CE marking will continue to be recognized for products being...

PAS 79-1:2020 and PAS 79-2:2020 replace PAS 79:2012. Please note PAS 79:2012 has been withdrawn.  This has been superseded by two new documents: PAS 79-1:2020 Fire risk assessment. Premises other than housing. Code of practice (published December 2020). PAS 79-2:2020 Fire risk assessment. Housing. Code of practice (published December 2020). BAFE published information regarding the public consultation in April 2020. Generic fire risk assessment guidance The BSI website notes that t...

The BSI has made available a number of standards to help guide businesses through these difficult times. They have also a number of free to watch seminars. One can see the details of the standards available and the webinars on the company’s official website. “Following the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), BSI has examined how we can support the collective efforts to mitigate the risks to organizations, caused by this global health issue. After careful consideration, we have...

BAFE and BSI are pleased to announce that the first registration and Third Party Certification has been achieved for the new wet and dry riser service and maintenance scheme. A crucial service for high-rise buildings and the tall building environment to ensure these remain effective in the event of an emergency. Evidence Of Competency The Scheme, known as BAFE SP105 Service & Maintenance of Dry and Wet Riser/Falling Installations, offers evidence of competency for organizations who delive...

BAFE are an official supporting partner of the BSI virtual event. BSI will be hosting a one-day free virtual event that will be looking at “the rapidly growing fire safety market and answers key questions around what’s changing, the likely impacts, emerging trends, and how knowledge can be shared between the fire and construction sectors to help meet the new challenges.” The event has been created for multiple people with roles directly linked to fire safety within an organiza...

A draft of PAS 8672 is now available for public comment and contains competence requirements for the Principal Contractor, a role set out in the Building Safety Bill. The Principal Contractor is one of three roles with oversight of building safety at each stage of the building’s lifecycle. The Principal Contractor will be responsible for planning, managing, and monitoring the building work, and coordinating matters relating to the building work to ensure compliance with all relevant requi...

BAFE, British Approvals for Fire Equipment, the independent register of quality fire safety service providers, has announced their latest Scheme, BAFE SP207, currently in the final stages of development. BAFE SP207 Scheme BAFE SP207 covers the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of evacuation alert systems. These systems are used by fire and rescue services in buildings containing flats (including single-storey flats and maisonettes) across the UK. The Scheme has been develope...

In the BSI hosted webinar, recent Schemes launched by BAFE will be discussed, being BAFE SP206 (covering the Design, Installation, Commissioning, Recharge and Maintenance of kitchen fire protection/suppression systems) and BAFE’s latest Scheme made available, BAFE SP105 (covering the Service and Maintenance of Dry and Wet Riser/Falling Installations). Chris Auger, Head of Schemes of BAFE, will also provide an update on work continuing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and provide an explan...

FIA CEO Ian Moore has just discussed the release of the below statement with Susan Revell, Standards Development Manager at BSI, and would like to share the information, help, and guidance offered by BSI, “Following the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), BSI has examined how we can support the collective efforts to mitigate the risks to organizations, caused by this global health issue." 11 standards to help guide businesses "After careful consideration, we have made available 11...

BSI, the business improvement company announced the acquisition of Q-Audit, a JAS-ANZ accredited healthcare auditing body based in Sydney, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand. The deal will see Q-Audit become part of BSI’s assurance business and will operate under the BSI brand. healthcare services certification expansion The acquisition of Q-Audit strengthens BSI’s expansion of its healthcare services certification business in both the Australian and New Zealand market, supporti...

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) is slated to host a Midlands’ Seminar themed, ‘Building a Safer Future: A Call for Evidence’– an opportunity to discuss the government’s long awaited changes to fire safety regulations, including the Fire Safety Order, Call for Evidence and the Building Safety Consultation. Fire safety proposals Following a commitment to improve fire safety regulations within the built environment, 6th June 2019 saw the British Government prov...

Two psychological therapists from The Fire Fighters Charity will also be speaking on the the emotional impact of emergency medical response Responding to fires in tall buildings will be a key focus at this year’s Emergency Services Show which returns to Hall 5 at the NEC, Birmingham, UK from 20th to 21st September 2017. Russ Timpson, founder of the Tall Building Fire Safety Network will present a session in the Lessons Learnt seminar theatre (sponsored by UCLan) on tall...

The award recognises Advanced’s role in driving higher standards in the fire industry and its ongoing role in relevant fire standards committees Global fire systems manufacturer Advanced announces that it has received an award from BSI, the business standards company, for 10 years of standards excellence in fire systems. The award recognises Advanced’s role in driving higher standards in the fire industry and its ongoing role in relevant fire standards committees....

The schemes ensure that installers are appropriately trained and have necessary expertise to install or apply the product BRE Global has appointed Philip Brownhill to manage its LPCB approval schemes for installers of passive fire protection systems. The schemes ensure that installers are appropriately trained and have the necessary expertise to install or apply the product correctly in buildings and infrastructure. Previous roles and responsibilities Philip brings with...