Testing and Inspection
Only full-trip, witness testing can uncover deficiencies that could allow a catastrophic loss to occur, including a loss of life.
Many plant operators believe they have adequate fire protection systems in place, but rarely are these systems witness tested or inspected for adequacy in protecting against the current hazards present.
acensium’s expertise in understanding the special requirements of power generating facilities allows efficient inspection, recommendation and remediation of protection deficiencies.
Testing
Because maintenance and construction are performed year-round at power generators, fire protection systems are continually open to downtime and malfunction. Contractors and plant personnel can disrupt the performance of fire protection systems, though no trouble or alarm is currently present.
acensium performs testing with the latest testing equipment to minimize time on site and interruption to plant operations, utilizing Certified Fire Protection Specialists, Licensed Professional Engineers and NICET Certified technicians.
Inspection
Finding broken pipe hangers, damaged conduit, and compromised electrical cabinets is the easy part – unfortunately it is often overlooked.
acensium provides meticulous inspection of fire protection systems and then takes the physical inspection one step further.
Bringing engineering and consulting expertise to every inspection, acensium evaluates the existing protection systems against the hazard being protected. Recommendations for bringing these systems into compliance with industry best practices are documented to allow for long-range fire protection planning.
Reporting the Results
acensium’s comprehensive reporting offers plant managers a complete overview of areas of concern
These include:
- Records and References
- Procedures and Controls
- Piping and Distribution
- Basis of Design
- Life Safety
Our detailed reports offer specific information about findings, including:
- Requirements of NFPA standards
- An outline of each deficiency or impairment
- Specific recommendations to mitigate each deficiency or impairment
Using the Results
Until our testing results are used, we haven’t finished the job.
acensium will work with your team to establish consistent, thorough and compliant test and inspection procedures that allow you to gain confidence in the systems you own.
Following our testing and inspection, acensium will help you:
- Establish a database for tracking all recommendations to resolution
- Maintain mandatory management review of all results
- Explore design changes
acensium will also suggest ways to publicize your findings, including:
- Involving your insurer and reporting your progress
- Sharing information with personnel to build confidence in your systems
- Basing your emergency response plans and plant operations on actual performance and limitations of your systems.
- Preparing to augment systems with administrative controls for prevention
Reliance on Insurance Inspection Reports
Why not simply rely on your insurance inspection report?
These reports are written with the insurance broker and underwriter in mind, as those are the parties that have paid for this information.
Plant operators need to know the risk of loss below their current deductible – an area that may not be addressed by the insurance inspection.
More importantly, plant operators, especially those highly concerned with plant availability, need to know how to minimize risks to business interruption, an area not insured against and therefore possibly not covered in the insurance inspection report.
