Influence of Construction-Related Quality Controls on the Operational Quality of Fire Alarm Systems

Abstract

Fire alarm systems play a central role in fire protection in modern buildings. High demands are placed on reliability so that these systems can fulfill their protection goals. In addition to the building products used, a key quality factor in guaranteeing this is the planning and installation of the systems themselves. Independent testing service providers offer third-party inspections during planning and construction. These construction quality control measures are intended to detect defects at an early stage and thus improve the quality of newly constructed systems. This paper examines the influence of quality control measures on the subsequent occurrence of defects in the operation of fire alarm systems. For this purpose, a comparison is made between the frequency of occurrence of defects in systems for which corresponding quality assurance measures were carried out during the planning and nstallation phases and the general frequency of occurrence of defects in corresponding systems. Distinctions are drawn between the defect categories in which system assembly defects occur. In addition, the criticality of the individual defects is classified as a violation of the protection objective of the systems. This serves to classify the defects presented and is carried out using a fault tree analysis. From the results, it can be concluded that construction quality control can significantly contribute to the operational quality of fire alarm systems. These results can serve as a basis for the investigation of risk-based maintenance approaches.