Feature Article

Protecting your purpose through science and testing

How FM leads the way with innovative research


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Scientific research and testing are fundamental to the success of many industries. In the pharmaceutical sector, for instance, medicines rely on rigorous research and testing. Research fundamentally drives society forward, with revolutionised technology and innovation-enabling artificial intelligence (AI) making a transformative impact on our world.

Whether it’s existing risks, emerging risks, or complex risks, we believe research is vital for effective property protection. This is why FM puts science and research at the forefront of the guidance and solutions we provide to clients and partners, helping them future proof their businesses and protect their purpose.

Fire protection – sprinklers

We approach standards as if they are ever evolving, improving as new insights are uncovered to give our clients and the wider risk management community maximum protection, even for long-standing risks such as fire.

A great example of this continuous review process and providing updated guidance for clients and the wider risk community is fire protection in relation to ceiling vents. For years FM has held the belief that ceiling vents, particularly those used for routine ventilation or smoke vents that open during a fire, could interfere with sprinkler activation and hinder fire control. The issue: Ceiling vents may divert hot air and smoke away from the sprinkler heads, delaying their response to a fire. FM’s latest testing and research findings have provided new insights into this process and the interaction between vents and sprinklers:

  1. Key Research Findings: Tests at the FM Research Campus found that natural draft vents (gravity vents) pose less of a problem when used with wet type sprinklers, whereas mechanical or powered vents still require additional precautions to ensure effective fire control.
  2. Practical Solutions: Guided by the new research findings, FM recommends installing additional quick response sprinklers in mechanical vent inlets or arranging vents to shut down upon fire detection to ensure optimal sprinkler performance.
  3. Updated Standards: FM’s updated Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 2-0 Installation Guidelines for Automatic Sprinklers provides detailed guidelines for the installation of automatic sprinklers, improving fire risk management and ensuring compliance with the latest research findings.
Solar Panels

Beyond helping to bring new insights to mature risks, research is also vital when it comes to understanding and mitigating emerging risks, such as those linked to more sustainable forms of energy technology. For example, across the last decade, many organisations have started to embrace solar energy to support the expansion of renewable energy sources in line with their sustainability plans. But how do they know their solar panels are built to last?

In the face of increasingly severe climate events, it’s important to use technology that will last for the long term. FM’s research-based approvals process ensures that properly installed solutions will continually perform as expected under the toughest conditions. This is particularly the case for less mature forms of technology, like solar panels, which may not have been initially designed with resilience in mind.

Our engineers regularly test previously installed solar energy systems and advise on plans for replacements, if required. Through extensive research, FM engineers have identified and approved more resilient models, such as the first certification for a European-based roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) system, which was issued to Sika AG AG SolaRoof® after successful completion of the testing requirements of FM Approvals Standard 4478 for Roof-Mounted Rigid Photovoltaic Module Systems. These can help innovative loss-prevention solutions to be the foundation of your next renewable energy project.

Ignitable liquids

From fuels and process chemicals stored in single containers to food industry manufacturing sites with whole warehouses of vegetable oil, nearly every industry uses ignitable liquids. When working with ignitable liquids, proper storage is both a vitally important and complex task for manufacturers. Facilities that rely on ignitable liquids must balance the need to provide sufficient protection and confinement of ignitable liquids with the need to freely access and move those liquids as required by production processes.

Our engineers have set a progressive benchmark through their research into ignitable liquid storage solutions to advance property loss prevention practices. In assessing the potential risks of fire and explosion associated with storing liquids that burn in intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), we have valued the loss potential of ignitable liquids among clients to be upwards of US$155 billion. While the risk remains, by investing in FM Approved equipment, organisations can significantly mitigate the risk of uncontrolled fires that could overwhelm protection systems at existing, or future facilities.

For years, FM’s research teams have rigorously studied the fire hazards of IBCs, and two solutions have since earned FM Approval: The ECOBULK SX-D Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) and the Model BWCon 1.400 IBC fire protection containment units.

Watch this video to discover the dangers of intermediate bulk containers and see how FM Approved equipment can significantly reduce fire size and growth rate. This is just one of FM’s Know more risk video series, which along with our Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets, are publicly available and can help protect your business against risk to enable it to thrive.