University compliance part 2: Healthy ventilation by degrees
There are several aspects of ventilation hygiene that should be addressed, especially in a university campus, where clean, fresh air helps students and lecturers to concentrate and study, and also helps provide healthy living accommodation. Several ventilation maintenance disciplines also form part of essential fire safety measures, as Gary Nicholls, Managing Director of ductwork and Legionella risk experts, Swiftclean, explains.
A key compliance area for universities is the kitchen extract system, where grease deposits collect during cooking to form a serious potential fire hazard. Despite the trend towards healthier menus, fat, oil and grease particles naturally result from cooking, and, as airborne particles, they enter the kitchen extraction system, where the exhaust stream cools, depositing grease on the inside of the ductwork and forming a grease layer. It is a legal requirement, as part of fire prevention measures, to clean the entire extract system, comprising ductwork, canopy, plenum and fan, in accordance with TR19® Grease, to remove all traces of grease.
The grease layer does not have to be very thick to create a potential fire risk; TR19® Grease specifies that the grease layer must be controlled to within an average of 200 microns – about half the thickness of an average business card. Should a fire start in the kitchen and spread to a grease-laden extract system, the grease provides fuel for the fire, while ductwork can act as a chimney through which fire can spread to other parts of the building. Extract ductwork is typically routed upwards and uncleaned ductwork can spread fire to the roof, and upper floors, frequently with catastrophic results.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, a Responsible Person must be appointed. It is their responsibility to ensure that regular kitchen extract cleaning is carried out and compliance is maintained. The Responsible Person must be able to demonstrate compliance, or they could be liable to prosecution, especially if there is a serious injury or fatality. A conviction for negligence can carry a custodial sentence.
Cleaning should be carried out by a member of the Ventilation Hygiene Register (VHR), which is overseen by BESCA (the Building Engineering Services Competence Assessment Ltd) part of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). Only VHR members are able to issue BESCA post-clean certification, which is widely recognised and provides robust evidence of compliance with TR19® Grease. Choosing VHR members for kitchen extract cleaning should now be viewed in the same light as using only Gas Safe registered heating engineers.
You may also need this BESCA certification to demonstrate compliance to a buildings insurance provider when making a claim following a fire. Insurance providers may refuse to pay out if the grease layer in non-compliant ductwork is found to be a contributory factor in fire damage. Increasingly, the insurer expects ductwork to be cleaned and compliant with TR19® Grease. BESCA certification provides clear evidence of this.
Fresh, clean air is essential to maintaining good health, and has also been shown to contribute to a good learning environment, helping to promote alertness and concentration. The cleanliness of ventilation systems is a key factor in good indoor air quality (IAQ). TR19®, the guide from which the TR19® Grease specification was developed, lays down the intervals at which ventilation systems should be cleaned in order to help maintain good IAQ. Ventilation systems should be classified as high, medium or low, according to the usage of the area of the property which it serves. In universities, most areas would be designated as medium, although a research laboratory or clean room will probably be designated as high. TR19® includes tables that set out the intervals at which ventilation systems should be cleaned to achieve and maintain compliance. In a laboratory, you may also have a local exhaust ventilation system, which also requires regular cleaning to protect those using the lab.
The cleanliness of ventilation systems has been under review recently, and we expect the publication of TR19® Air, which will form the latest revision to TR19®, in 2024. This has been inspired by better recognition of the impact of good indoor air quality on the health, well-being and even the alertness and education of building occupants.
Indoor air quality can be tested, in order to detect any concerning levels of indoor air pollutants such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which can be given off by office equipment – for example, photocopiers, and materials such as laminate flooring: as well as dust particles, bacteria, or, in some parts of the UK, Radon gas. The results from this are usually immediately available, enabling you to take action promptly to address any issues.
In halls of residence, laundry extract cleaning may also be a priority. Dust, lint and fibres from drying sheets, towels and clothing can build up in the extract system of a tumble drier, causing an often neglected fire risk. Tumble drier fires are surprisingly common, the fibre deposits being highly flammable and the extract ductwork serving as a channel through which fire may spread. Fibre deposits should, therefore, be removed regularly to minimise the risk of fire.
Another often neglected area is the regular testing of fire dampers, which are steel louvres, installed into the ventilation ductwork which passes through an internal fire-resistant wall. Should a fire break out, the louvres will close to re-establish the fire wall’s barrier, helping to delay or prevent the spread of fire through the ventilation system. You are required to have fire dampers tested annually in accordance with BS:9999 to ensure that they will perform correctly in the event of a fire.
Carrying out this type of maintenance at university campuses can cause complications. Some of these include organising maintenance around lectures and examinations or during reading weeks; considering laboratories where scientific experiments are taking place; or accommodation blocks with vulnerable people in residence. These are but a few of the complications that can be found on campus. Fortunately, Swiftclean has a wealth of experience in organising their work to minimise disruption, producing solutions and working with our clients by creating a flexible program of works, considering multiple contingency plans.
With several areas in which ductwork compliance is necessary, another way in which we aim to minimise disruption is to recommend purchasing our services as packages which can address all maintenance compliance issues; as well as Legionella prevention and water system hygiene in general. Several ductwork services can be carried out in a single visit, saving costs compared to purchasing single services individually. Similarly, Legionella prevention has several aspects, including tank cleaning, which must be maintained; again, these can be scheduled and packaged to help reduce costs.
Purchasing a package also allows us to work with your facilities management team to ensure that maintenance is carried out regularly to safeguard your compliance.
With student safety in mind, all our technicians must pass an enhanced DBS check, which we apply for as soon as they are appointed in order to speed up the process. Often, the check is completed and clearance is obtained by the time they start their new role with us.
