Role of the Integrated Testing Coordinator
The role of the Integrated Testing Coordinator (ITC) is a multi step approach to ensuring the interconnections are installed and operating as per their design criteria.
Planning – The ITC shall review all integrations of fire protection and life safety systems, prepared by the design professionals.
The ITC will use this documentation to prepare a project specific written Integrated Testing plan (ITP), which includes function statements, integration matrix, testing procedures and protocols, and testing forms.
The ITP will become a live document turned over to the building owner for future use. Design documentation may include sequence of operations, cause and effect matrix, operating instructions, interconnection details, etc….
Implementation – Once
- The design professionals have accepted the Integrated Testing Plan (ITP).
- The AHJ has reviewed ITP.
- The ITC received the installation, verifications, and necessary inspections certificates and reports from the installing parties.
- Design professionalsâ acceptance test are satisfied and complete.
The implementation process may commence. The ITC will coordinate the participants to attend, and function test the respective fire protection and life safety systems.
All respective parties will witness and initial each result as an integrated test.
The test results will be prepared into an Integrated Test Report (ITR) and upon successful completion the ITR shall be turned over to the Building Owner and AHJ.â
As per UL Certification Bulletin 2020-08 the ITC can NOT be the same company that performs the fire alarm verification on the building, under the ULC listing program.
INTEGRATED TESTING
Overall fire protection for a building is a holistic approach to reach the goal of life safety, Integrated testing provides verification, documentation, and functional end-to-end testing to confirm that the various active & passive fire and life safety systems work in concert together to protect people and property.Â
If the NBC, NFC 2015 editions, or new superseded revisions of the same or are adopted for a regulatory enforcement in any relevant jurisdiction, compliance with the applicable provisions of these legally adopted Codes is mandatory in new and existing buildings, and integrated testing of fire protection and life safety systems to ULC Standard S1001 would be required, as this ULC standard is referenced in the following indicated provisions of the legally adopted NBC and NFC.
NBC:
Requirements for testing of integrated fire protection and life safety systems are provided in Part 3 and Part 9 of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC 2015, and NBC 2020), and in respect to newly constructed buildings (or in respect to renovation of, or addition to, existing buildings) as follows
â3.2.9.1. Testing:
1) Where fire protection and life safety systems and systems with fire protection and life safety functions are integrated with each other, they shall be tested as a whole in accordance with CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems,â to verify that they have been properly integrated. [See Note A-3.2.9.1.(1).]â A-3.2.9.1.(1) Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems. Building owners should verify that fire protection and life safety systems and their components (i.e. fire alarm systems, sprinklers, standpipes, smoke control, ventilation, pressurization, door hold-open devices, elevator recalls, smoke and fire shutters and dampers, emergency power, emergency lighting, fire pumps, generators, etc.), including their interconnections with other building systems, are functioning according to the intent of their design. CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems,â provides the methodology for verifying and documenting that interconnections between building systems satisfy the intent of their design and that the systems function as intended by the Code.â
âClause 6.1.5 of CAN/ULC-S1001 allows the Integrated Testing Coordinator to accept documented evidence of any tests that have been performed on a system as part of its acceptance testing for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with the integrated testing requirements of that standard, so as to avoid duplication of work â
NFC:
Requirements for testing of interconnections between fire protection and life safety systems in existing operational buildings also exists in the National Fire Code of Canada (NFC 2015, and NFC 2020)
as follows [see below Article 6.8.1.1. of the NFC and Appendix A note in this article]:
â6.8.1.1. Testing and Maintenance
â1) Interconnections between fire protection and life safety systems shall be tested and maintained in conformance with CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems.â [See Note A-6.8.1.1.(1).]â
âA-6.8.1.1.(1) Building owners must ensure that fire protection and life safety systems and their components (i.e. fire alarm systems, sprinklers, standpipes, smoke control, ventilation, pressurization, door hold-open devices, elevator recalls, smoke and fire shutters and dampers, emergency power, emergency lighting, fire pumps, generators, etc.), including their interconnections with other building systems, are functioning according to the intent of their design. CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems,â provides the methodology for verifying and documenting that interconnections between building systems satisfy the intent of their design and that the systems function as intended by the Code. â
âClause 6.1.5 of CAN/ULC-S1001 allows the Integrated Testing Coordinator to accept documented evidence of any tests that have been performed on a system as part of its acceptance testing for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with the integrated testing requirements of that standard, so as to avoid duplication of workâ
BCBCÂ :
Requirements for testing of integrated fire protection and life safety systems are also provided in Part 3 of the BCBC 2018, and in respect to newly constructed buildings (or in respect to renovation of, or addition to, existing buildings) as follows
â3.2.9.1. Testing
1) Where fire protection and life safety systems and systems with fire protection and life safety functions are
integrated with each other, they shall be tested as a whole in accordance with CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems
Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems,â to verify that they have been properly integrated.
(See Note A-3.2.9.1.(1).)
âA-3.2.9.1.(1) Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems. Building owners should verify that fire protection
and life safety systems and their components (i.e. fire alarm systems, sprinklers, standpipes, smoke control, ventilation, pressurization,
door hold-open devices, elevator recalls, smoke and fire shutters and dampers, emergency power, emergency lighting, fire pumps,
generators, etc.), including their interconnections with other building systems, are functioning according to the intent of their design.
CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems,â provides the methodology for verifying
and documenting that interconnections between building systems satisfy the intent of their design and that the systems function as
intended by the Code.â
âClause 6.1.5 of CAN/ULC-S1001 allows the Integrated Testing Coordinator to accept documented evidence of any tests that have
been performed on a system as part of its acceptance testing for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with the integrated testing
requirements of that standard, so as to avoid duplication of workâ
BCFC:
Requirements for testing of interconnections between fire protection and life safety systems in existing operational buildings also exists in the British Colombia Fire Code 2018 (BCFC 2018)
as follows [see below Article 6.8.1.1. of the NFC and Appendix A note in this article]:
Â
6.8.1.1. Testing and Maintenance 1) Interconnections between fire protection and life safety systems shall be tested and maintained in conformance with CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems.â (See Note A-6.8.1.1.(1).)
A-6.8.1.1.(1) Building owners must ensure that fire protection and life safety systems and their components (i.e. fire alarm systems,
sprinklers, standpipes, smoke control, ventilation, pressurization, door hold-open devices, elevator recalls, smoke and fire shutters and
dampers, emergency power, emergency lighting, fire pumps, generators, etc.), including their interconnections with other building
systems, are functioning according to the intent of their design. CAN/ULC-S1001, âIntegrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and
Life Safety Systems,â provides the methodology for verifying and documenting that interconnections between building systems satisfy
the intent of their design and that the systems function as intended by the Code.
Clause 6.1.5 of CAN/ULC-S1001 allows the Integrated Testing Coordinator to accept documented evidence of any tests that have
been performed on a system as part of its acceptance testing for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with the integrated testing
requirements of that standard, so as to avoid duplication of work.
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