As 2024 rolls on, fire doors remain to be a constant talking point within the built environment and fire safety industry.

Knowledge within the built environment is on the increase. We have seen this knowledge increase first hand through our training sessions and even the sales calls we take. The industry is starting to see the importance of trained, competent fire door installers, maintainers and inspectors.

UK Fire Door Training is fully committed to ensuring that a path to proving competency is clear. We aim to support individuals and organisations acquire the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary to prove competency. Whether that be through regulated qualifications, assured courses and beyond.

Ultimately this is all about life safety. The more competent persons in the industry, the better.

What is Competency in Fire Safety?

First of all we need to understand what competency is. Article 18 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 has always stated that a ‘responsible person’ should …’appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the preventive and protective measures’.

However, proving that one is competent has always been difficult as it has always been vaguely defined.

What is a competent person? At UK Fire Door Training we have always focused on it being someone who possesses sufficient knowledge, qualifications, experience and relevant training.

However, in the wake of Grenfell we had the Hackitt Report. The Hackitt Report called for the development of a new regulatory framework to improve behaviours and drive culture change within the industry.

In April 2021 BSI Flex 8670 was released (however, it was withdrawn on May 30th 2024 as BSI Flex 8670 will begin transitioning into BS 8670), there is also a series of PAS standards:

·         PAS 8671 – Framework for Competence of Individual Principal Designers

·         Pas8672 – Framework for Competence of Individual Principal Contractors

·         PAS8673 – Competence Requirements for Safety in Residential Buildings

These all explain the core competencies that professionals need to possess within their respective field in the construction and fire safety sectors. The standards define competence as the consistent application of skill, knowledge, experience, and behaviours.

The Building Safety Act has also been amended and now defines competency requirements as ‘the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours of an individual’.

Notice the same four words coming up?

·         Skills

·         Knowledge

·         Experience

·         Behaviours

Thus, spelling the acronym SKEB.

Therefore, competency is more than just qualifications or relevant training. You must have sufficient SKEB. Having knowledge and experience is not enough, having a qualification is not enough.

Video below provided by ASFPTV

So What is SKEB?

Skills

Skills is the ability to perform a specific task or activity to achieve the desired outcome. In the fire door industry this means having the ability to carry out tasks such as installing fire doors, conducting fire door inspections, and performing maintenance accurately and efficiently.

Knowledge

Knowledge is the understanding of facts, theories and practices. In the fire door industry this should involve knowledge of laws, standards, regulations, timber properties and behaviours, certification, materials etc. Excellent knowledge contributes to ensuring that work is carried out professionally and complies with certification.

Experience

Experience is gained through direct observation or participation. Experienced individuals can solve problems and get the job done quicker and more efficiently. In the fire door industry, this would mean participating in real world installations, maintenance or inspections. It would also mean experience with different types of doors in different scenarios and different certificate data sheets. Having high quality and relevant experience helps professionals apply their knowledge and skills effectively in various scenarios.

Behaviours

Behaviours are actions that are observed in an individual. Key behaviours that are essential in the fire door industry are attention to detail, safety-conscious, professionalism, commitment to life-safety. These behaviours ensure that tasks are performed with precision and a strong focus on safety.

Future?

In the near future we expect that there will be a bespoke competency framework for staff in the fire door industry. We expect that specific skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours will be identified and a benchmark set so that we can tangibly define who and who is not competent.

We expect that the framework will contain activities rather than specific job roles.

It is clear that fire door professionals possess SKEB (skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours), not just qualifications and courses.

At UK Fire Door Training we are committed to safety and ensuring that workers within this industry are supported and able to acquire SKEB to work in the fire door industry. Our courses will focus on ensuring that the acquisition of SKEB is intuitive and effective.