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Posted By N Smith
I am trying to put together a tender document for the annual service contract for our fire extinguishers. Having never written one before I'm a little stuck on the wording for the "specification" section.
Has anyone prepared one and would they be willing to let me have a look at this section please?
Thanks
Neil
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Posted By Crim
My first thought is does this have to be so formal? Can't you just phone around a few companies and see what they have to offer, then take it from there.
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Posted By Penfold
Why not do it yourself. That's what we did, saved us a fortune. I did a FETA course across 3 days. Simplist course I ever done. At least you know the job is done properly and no-one will try to sell you extinguishers you don't need.
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Posted By jervis
Totally agree with Penfold D.I.Y
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Posted By SBH
The BAFE - Service & Maintenance of Portable Fire Extinguishers training course states that Qualified technicians will hold demonstrable training competence for ongoing submission to third party certification schemes - does this mean that anyone can do the course and then on completion service extinguishers, or is a third party certification scheme still beyond them
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Posted By nim
"Posted by N Smith on Tuesday, 10 February 2009 at 11:44
I am trying to put together a tender document for the annual service contract for our fire extinguishers.............
Has anyone prepared one and would they be willing to let me have a look at this section please?"
I have half a dozen tender documents.
With regards to DIY extinguisher maintenance. It is very easy to maintain fire extinguishers. It is even easier to mess up.
Doing the BAFE/FETA course does not make you a competent person because you must also have the qualifications, training, experience, information, manuals and knowledge of any special procedures recommended by the manufacturer of an extinguisher, to carry out the relevant maintenance procedures.
Plus if/when things go tits up do you have efficacy insurance?
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Posted By andrew morris
Hi Neil,
I have been trying to get involved with my employers tendering for a while.
You should specify exactly what you want -
- inspection only/survey of premises as well?
- how do you want a report back (just sticker on side of extinguisher or report at end specifying what was done and what needs to be done
- competancy of engineers (FETA, etc)
- verification of engineers visits (% of reaudits done by engineers employer, etc)
- I'd also be looking for ISO standards for the engineers company to ensure they have good inspection management systems.
- turn around time for repairs/replacement if they are doing that as well - so they don't condem & leave you without for 12 months!
Hope this helps!
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Posted By duotone
It takes a lot more than 3 days training to do the job properly.
Alot of extinguishers have specific things which need to be looked at, old service bulletins from manufacturers regarding faults which go back years are essential for proper maintenance, and just plain experience on the job will dictate how you service different makes of extinguisher.
Add to this the significant liability insurance you will need, and a source of spares and refill contents (powder/foam etc) for all the different types/makes of equipment on your site suddenly makes the diy option a bit less appealing.
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Posted By nim
Doing a BAFE/FETA course does not make you competent.
Duotones response was identical to mine a couple of days ago but the moderators decided to delete it for what I thought was a totally innocuous comment.
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Posted By TBC
and make sure they dust them off just to prove they've been in.
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Posted By nim
Apart from removing the dust what else does 'dusting off' prove?
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Posted By TBC
Dusting off only proves that they actually found them. I've known one servicing company who only did dust them off and they got dusted off too.
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Posted By Phil Rose
While I am sure that it isn't exactly 'rocket science' I think I have to agree with Duotone - can't see that a 3 day course would ensure competency.
Phil
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Posted By Penfold
Don't agree with Duotone. This is not DIY. I service around 2000 extinguishers a year, and do it properly!!. With the money we've saved, we've replaced most of our extinguishers with low maintenance ones (stored pressure). Buying in bulk, we save a fortune. At the end of their life, we just recycle them back through our supplier.
How much do contractors charge for an "O" ring???
Servicing a portable fire extinguisher is not rocket science. 3 days is plenty. Only 1 day was covering the practical. The rest was theory. I know one of the major companies do it in 2.
It all depends on how many you have, 1 or 2, you might as well get a contractor
I get fed up when I hear "training does not ensure competance". If I'd listened to you lot, I would not have got a job in H&S when I passed my NGC. Someone told me in this forum that I should not carry out a worplace assessment. Now I do 5 or 6 a week.
With a good employer who supports CPD, you become competant, but you have to start somewhere.
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Posted By Richard Hammer
Must admit my course was 4 days with the old FETA chaps. They advise refreshers every 3 years. Must admit I found it harder than say the First Aid At Work course.
You did the course and do 3000 a year with a programme of stored pressure and replace with redundant seems more then enough to be competent mate.
Not as if your are going into suppression systems.
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Posted By nim
TBC.
First you say "and make sure they dust them off just to prove they've been in."
Then you say "Dusting off only proves that they actually found them. I've known one servicing company who only did dust them off and they got dusted off too."
So what is the point of looking to see if the dust has been removed. It doesn't prove anything.
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Posted By TBC
Exactly - it only proves they found them. It doesn't mean they did anything with them.
Is it me?
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Posted By peterlee
I have my own company and I service about 7000 extinguishers a year, the training was hard but getting to know the job and all the types of extinguishers was harder. Yes anybody can sit an exam and pass, only working in the field can get you the knowledge u need and no I dont just dust them off - to pass a car through it's MOT does this mean that the car is just dusted down??? Same appiles to an extinguisher - by the way I dont charge extra for O'rings like some companies, this industry is riddled with rip of compnaies and I wish the govenment would do something about it, we deal in poples lives.
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Posted By A2ZFire
I would always recommend getting an experienced person to service the extinguishers (annual inspection). If they have lost pressure and need refilling or are damaged you really need an expert to deal with that.
It should not be too expensive to get them serviced and any good engineer should not try and upsell products you do not need. Remember, you are not obliged to buy extinguishers from the service company. It can work out much cheaper to purchase online. Any reputable service engineer can deal with any major make.
The BAFE can supply a list of recognised service companies in your area.
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Posted By nim
"Posted by A2ZFire on Sunday, 26 April 2009 at 12:27
It can work out much cheaper to purchase online. "
When BS5306 Part 2:2009 is released buying extinguishers Online or from a catalogue will not be an option on it's own.
Any new extinguisher will have to be commissioned by a competent person otherwise you will have a very expensive doorstop.
And where is the guarantee that the extinguisher that was bought online is a working extinguisher when installed by an incompetent end user?
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