Posted By shaun mckeever It depends David. What does your risk assesment say in terms of flow rate of occupants through the gap? Will you get queuing? Have you got disabled persons in wheelchairs who might need to access the gap? You can deviate from prescribed/recommended standards so long as you can justify what you are doing.

Posted By David c Wilson Thanks Shaun, The flowrate would be 20-30, minimal queuing with no disabled or young workers.The actual amount allowed is now upto 60 persons.I think its adequate if we established a designated route with tape etc? Any thoughts?

Posted By David c Wilson Dear All, Just to let you know how things are progressing.I have spoken to two fire safety officers with years & years of experience. One said 'he would issue an enforcememt notice', the other said like Shaun, if i can justify my decision with management controls - stick by it. However be prepared to stand up in court & justify it. I do personally feel it is sufficiant, but why put my head & reputation on the line for a company who are paying me a moderate fee for my opinion.The cost of alterations will only run into a few thousand pounds? The regulations are only guidance & it will be down to the judges interpretation on the day!

Posted By Gff just a though do the screens run end to end or parallel if end to end are the gaps between them, and how long are the panels Im trying to get a picture of what your describing

Posted By Steve Derby On a completely different line, what a pity this Company didn't ask your opinion before carrying out the work. Having experienced similar (albeit as an employed advisor) in the past, we introduced a policy that all capital expenditure project requests were accompanied by risk assessments. The effect was that project managers tended to come and see me before they submitted their requests to the powers that be. If they didn't, no matter because the risk assessments would come to me before the project was approved. Hard to tell but it probably saved a lot of money in avoiding further alterations; it's always cheaper to get it right first time. Just a thought, hope its useful Steve

Posted By Granville Jenkins If there is an accident/incident in the office space because the aisles were to narrow it will be for you and your client to prove in a court of law that the actions that have been either met or exceeded the relevant guidance/standards. If you and your client cannot prove that the recommended guidance has been met you will be found guilty under section 2 (safety of employees)and perhaps also section 3 (safety of others affected by their acts or omissions) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which carries a personal maximum fine of £20,000 and/or 2 years in prison, plus the company would be fined. I would therefore suggest that you and your client review their position, and you would be well advised to listen to the fire officer who has already forewarned you that they would issue an enforcement notice in such situations. On a personal note I have never seen a fire escape route as narrow as 450mm nor 600mm for that matter and would say that such widths are totally inappropriate. Regards Granville

Posted By GT David, In respect to your flow rate can I ask how you determined this? What is the occupant load factor for this floor you occupy? How many exit routes do you require? What number of exit widths would be required. These factors along with those stated by Shaun and yourself should answer your question. Hopes this helps GT

Posted By Ian P Depends on the layout of the room and where the flow of traffic would be directed by furnishings and other obstacles otherwise having 4 slightly narrower gaps rather than 2 regulation sized ones sounds safer to me.

Posted By David c Wilson To update you, i have decided to insist on two gaps with a minimum of 750mm and keep the other gaps. I feel there is no definite answer and reluctantly feel that i have to cover my back. We need 1 clear set of guidelines, instead of leaving it to the practioners interpretation.

Posted By Adrian Watson David, I think that 750 mm is the correct answer for the minimum width of escape routes. My reading of Table 4 is that the 530 mm reduction is only for gangways between racking in storerooms. Partitions are not racking! Regards Adrian

Posted By David c Wilson Thanks Adrian - that was how i interpreted the regs in the end. No Fire safety officer would say yes or no, but said i would have to justify my reasons in court. The company in question took my explanation well and are adjusting the premises this weekend. To answer GaryH - the brigade are putting massive rescourses into fire safety as they know most fire risk assessments will be far from adequate, so they will start with the higher risks and work their way around. Also if you had a fire or incident they will ask for the FRA and as mentioned the practioner will face upto a £20,000 fine or upto 2 years in prison. As for the company their fine could run into 6 figures.