Smoke exhaust – it’s serious
RON BURNS
Ron Burns is currently employed at QFire. Engineering in Johannesburg. He has been actively involved in
the air-conditioning industry since 1987 until he found his passion for smoke and heat exhaust systems in
2000. For the last 15 years he has embarked on a process to demystify the application of the building code
and prevent the unnecessary loss of life. He has been a member of SAIRAC for 29 years and served on the
KZN committee as chairman for 7.5 years.
POWER SUPPLIES
FOR SHEVS
By Ron Burns
When technical and/or sales advice is given, particularly regarding
smoke and heat exhaust ventilation systems (SHEVS), how diligently is
that information checked?
W
hen is a door not a door? I suggest we explore that a
little later …
The manner in which suppliers present information into
the market comes in many shapes and forms, in an attempt
to gain and enjoy market share.
What if I were to extend an open invitation to any reader
to join me for a ride in my car, promising that it would
be a once-in-a-lifetime experience? I wonder how many
volunteers I would have. Having read Lewis Hamilton’s
book on how to drive a racing car at high speed, I think my
credentials are great for this endeavour. I would offer one
lucky person the opportunity to be my passenger as I drive
my car at 237km/h in accordance with Hamilton’s book. I have
read the book, checked the oil levels and tyre pressure, and I
imagine the queue is forming to take me up on this.
Then I step up to my Atos 1 100cc and suddenly, I am met
with many a puzzled look. The first question is: how is he
going to get that car to 237km/h? Not a problem, I say; we
are going to drive down a mine shaft, cornering won’t be an
issue, and there will only be one bump, right at the end. The
car is specifically prepared: airbags removed to lighten the
load and to increase the possibility of reaching the desired
speed. At this point, I imagine there is a lot of head-shaking
and mutterings that cannot be put into print. The fact is, what
I do ‘in accordance with’ anything, is useless. Who is really
interested in ‘according to’ when an independently tested
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RACA Journal I January 2019
and certified component exists? (I do like my car and I am
holding thumbs no one wants the driving experience.)
When technical and/or sales advice is given, how diligently is
that information checked?
I am currently inundated with quotations claiming that
control panels are ‘certified EN 12101-9 control panels’. My
search on the BSI website returns a message informing
me they are unable to match my search — the code has
not been promulgated. I had a discussion with this specific
contractor four weeks ago; he asked for the weekend to get
me the information. Weekends have come and gone, and a
certificate is yet to be produced. Shall I use the panel on the
strength of the quotation? Would I be able to explain away a
failure should the system experience one when required
to operate?
A door is not a door when it is ajar. Would the control
panel offered be a jar? An empty vessel when I require
performance? Most definitely a childish approach, carefully
playing on words. However, this practice is rife in our industry
with many customers happily purchasing components that
have been marketed as ‘certified’, ‘in accordance with’, or
(in this instance) without the code referred to even being
promulgated.
Over the past five years, the SHEVS ventilators have
received the lion’s share of the scrutiny while other system
components have sailed under the radar. I would like to start
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