BAFE SP101

BAFE SP101 is the management system specification for Contract Maintenance of Portable Fire Extinguishers.

It incorporates Registered Fire Extinguisher Service Technicians Scheme ST104. sap

The SP101 scheme is developed and is provided by BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Equipment).
BAFE’s objective is to bring a registration scheme for products and/or services within the fire protection industry, for which third party certification is applicable.

It is the aim of BAFE SP101 to enable those organisations requiring fire extinguisher maintenance work within the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 by employing a third party approved organisation and service personnel with proven competency in fire extinguisher service, maintenance and commissioning activities.

To enable an organisation to become BAFE registered it is necessary to meet all the requirements that are set out in the BAFE Scheme SP101 documentation.

There must also be a foundation from which the scheme is built, in this case ISO 9001:2008 is the required specification.

The BAFE SP101 scheme requirements and guidance are additional to the requirements of ISO 9001.

Other additional requirements within the scheme document include:

Siting and servicing is undertaken to the Codes of Practice of: BS 5306:8:2012 and BS 5306:3:2009 Fire Extinguishing installations and equipment on premises.
Fire Extinguishers that are manufactured to BS EN 3

BAFE scheme documents can be downloaded from their website.

BAFE SP101 Applicability

The purpose of BAFE SP101 is to enhance the requirements of ISO 9001 to the unique areas of the fire protection industry with regard to the maintenance of portable fire extinguishers and the technical competence of the service technicians undertaking the activities involved.
Within the SP101 scheme document there is a specific emphasis on the Technicians competence.

ST 104 – Is the part of the scheme that focuses on the individual technician rather than on the organisation registered to the scheme therefore SP101 and ST104 are incorporated into one scheme document and registration.

It is a scheme pre-requisite that the technician requiring registration should be employed by an organisation that operates an approved ISO 9001 Quality Management System and also meets the requirements of the BAFE SP101 scheme for the Maintenance of Portable Fire Extinguishers.

It must be pointed out that on successful registration to ISO9001 and BAFE SP101 all engineers involved the scope of registration for service & maintenance of PFE have up to 12 months to achieve ST104 Technician Diplomas.

Objectives of the scheme

The prime objectives of this scheme are to increase the competence of the service technicians working in the field thus providing the end user with an improved and safer service with appropriate cover primarily used as a means of escape from the building.

The main benefits are:

Independent overview of technicians

Ensuring correct protocols are followed
Consistent level of commissioning and service activities
Increased customer satisfaction
Recognised industry benchmark
UKAS Accredited Management System
Continual improvement

Knowledge Requirements

The essential areas of knowledge and focus that are required throughout the process of embracing the BAFE SP101 scheme and ST104 Technicians scheme prior to the assessment are:

Theory of Fire Types and of Fire risk
Commissioning process
Maintenance procedures
Provision and siting of equipment
Equipment type and function
Health and Safety specifically in relation to legal and regulatory requirements
Applicable British and International Standards
Any other Regulatory and legislative requirements

Benefits of Registration

It allows the organisation to be certified to ISO 9001 and BAFE Scheme SP101 and also achieve a BAFE listing on the BAFE register.

The continuing assessment activity ensures that the company maintains the system and processes in place to ensure ongoing compliance to the scheme requirements; this should also provide opportunities for business process improvement.

Most importantly, it provides the end user with the confidence that the maintenance work they are paying for is being undertaken in a professional and safe manner.

Registration Process

Certification International is the largest Certification Body in the UK providing Accredited UKAS registration to ISO9001 jointly with BAFE Scheme SP101.

The process of registration follows three simple steps:

Application for registration is made by completing the Certification Internationals questionnaire
Assessment to ISO 9001 and BAFE Scheme SP101 is undertaken by Certification International’s qualified Lead Auditors, the organisation must be able to demonstrate that its quality management system has been fully implemented and operative for a minimum of three months and has been subject to a full cycle of internal audits and engineers site audits.
Registration is granted subject to technical review of the Lead Auditors reports by Certification International and the BAFE register is updated to include the newly registered organisation. This will then be publicly available on the BAFE website ~ www.bafe.org.uk
Maintenance is confirmed through an ongoing programme of annual surveillance visits and a three yearly re-certification audit.

Initial Certification Audit

The assessment process for achieving certification consists of a two stages

Audit as follows:

Stage 1 – the purpose of this visit is to confirm the readiness of the organisation for full assessment.
The assessor will:

Clarify that the quality manual conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001 and BAFE SP101
Confirm the scope of certification
Confirm Staff & Engineers involved in the scope of registration
Clarify the implementation status
Review legislative compliance
Compile a report that identifies any observations or potential for non-compliance and agree a corrective action plan if required.
Produce an assessment plan and confirm a date for the Stage 2 assessment visit.

Stage 2 – the purpose of this visit is to confirm that the quality management system fully conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001 and BAFE SP101 in practice reviewing objective evidence, this will consist of a site visit too one or two of the applicants client’s to view on site service and maintenance activities.

The assessor will: