Revised FTP Code improves ship safety
Revisions to the Fire Test Procedures (FTP) Code will have an important impact on the marine industry and manufacturers who supply it. That is the view of Janet Murrell, technical manager at Warrington Certification Limited, part of Exova Warringtonfire. An expert in the marine sector, she has been participating in the group tasked with rewriting the FTP Code within the International Maritime Organisation. In this article, she outlines the main changes, which include a set time limit on the validity of test reports and revisions to the test methods undertaken.
‘Work to revise the FTP Code began in 2006. It is envisaged that the finished document will be implemented next year and will come into force by 2012. This has been a major exercise in order to ensure that robust and up to date test methods, to give clear guidance to product manufacturers supplying the marine industry and to fire testing laboratories. It has taken time to ensure the revised Code is correct as within IMO there is no easy facility for amendments to be issued.
‘The FTP Code provides international requirements for laboratory testing and type approval by detailing test procedures for:
– Non combustibility
– Smoke & Toxicity
– Surface flammability
– Vertically supported textiles and films
– Upholstered furniture
– Bedding components
‘There will be a number of changes to the way in which a laboratory will carry out a test. Notable changes will include the use of FTIR analysis for toxicity of lining materials such as floorcoverings and wallcoverings and the change to an impinging pilot flame in the surface flammability test.
‘A further change affects the upholstered furniture manufacturer. It is currently the finished product manufacturer that is responsible for the testing and approval of upholstered product however the changes will mean that the foam and fabric can now be tested separately, without the need for a composite test. This is very similar to current rules for upholstery furniture used in buildings in the UK.
‘Additional parts have been added to the revised FTP Code to evaluate the performance of fire restricting materials used in the construction of High Speed Craft. This is due to the use of lightweight construction materials which need to be tested and assessed in a different manner to traditional shipping vessels.
‘However the most significant change that has been implemented will be to limit the use of ‘old’ fire test data. The validity of test reports for all products (structural and decorative) is now limited to 15 years. At present type approvals are valid for five years and will continue to be so. After five years the product test results are reviewed and sometimes additional tests are conducted but in some cases, they are not. It is generally at the discretion of the Approval body as to what is required. Revisions in the FTP Code stipulate that no test evidence can be any more than 15 years old for type approvals so this means that ‘old’ test data is no longer sufficient and that more testing is required.
‘To date, the FTP Code with its various amendments and interpretations has not been any easy document for a test laboratory to work from. The revised Code, with its clear guidance and at a glance, tabulated test protocol, will make it far easier to ensure that the relevant fire tests are undertaken and the customer is given the correct result. We very much welcome its introduction’, concludes Janet Murrell.
Exova Warringtonfire was involved in the revision of the FTP Code in its capacity as fire safety advisors to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The company is a Marine Notified Body and an IMO test laboratory.
