Principles for testing and certification of fire extinguishing control systems with integrated safety functions – GS-IFA-M22

Status:

completed 08/2020

Aims:

Cooling lubricants and mixtures used in the metalworking industry give rise to an elevated risk of fire. Owing to the extinguishing gases used to displace oxygen, the extinguishing systems used for the control of fires present an additional hazard to operators. Control systems for fire extinguishing systems must therefore be regarded as safety components in the sense of the Machinery Directive. Before now, a summary test specification did not exist by means of which manufacturers of extinguishing systems could determine conformity of their control systems with the Machinery Directive. The existing standards are no longer fully consistent with the state of the art. The test principles are intended to identify and compile the requirements of the documents stated below that are relevant to assessment of the conformity of fire extinguishing systems:

• Existing fire safety standards and regulations
• BGHM informative publication FB HM-087
• GS ET-20 test principles
• new relevant requirements reflecting the state of the art, in particular those of the EN ISO 13849 international standard concerning control systems

Activities/Methods:

The GS-IFA M22 test principles were drawn up and published as part of the DGUV Test body of regulations.

The agreed test principles are employed in type examinations.

The content is updated and adapted in consideration of observations made during the type examinations.

Results:

In order to permit conformity assessment of fire extinguishing systems intended for the European market, the IFA has drawn up principles for the testing and certification of fire extinguishing control systems (GS-IFA-M22). The principles take account of the existing informative documents and standards, stated under the objectives, concerning protection against fires on machinery, and observations made during the testing of safety switchgear. The test principles have already been published and revised to reflect observations made during recent tests.

The requirements set out in the principles enable manufacturers to develop fire extinguishing systems in compliance with the codes. At the same time, they form the basis for current and future type examinations.

An example of a test conducted in accordance with the test principles is testing of the response time of the control system following detection of a fire. The functions with selectable parameters are for example also tested, and the selected parameters verified. The delay following detection of a fire, the requirement for a fire signal to be relayed only when more than one fire detection signal has been received, the selected temperature threshold for fire detection and the single-fault tolerance when fire detection sensors and signalling lines are deactivated were also tested.

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