Approved, and audited on a schedule.
Two certifications, and the first is the reason we could apply for the second. This page says what each one actually buys you, rather than showing you a logo and leaving you to guess.
ISO 9001:2015
Certified by BRE Global, accredited by UKAS
An audited quality management system. It means the way a job is planned, recorded and signed off is itself inspected by somebody independent, on a schedule.
What this means for you
- Somebody independent audits how we plan, record and sign off a job, on a schedule, and can suspend the certificate if we stop doing it.
- It is the precondition for LPCB approval. You cannot hold the second without the first.
- For you it means the paperwork behind a certificate is itself part of an audited system, not a habit.
LPCB approved
Loss Prevention Certification Board
The approval UK insurers look for on sprinkler work. A system installed by an LPCB approved contractor counts as genuine risk mitigation on your policy; one installed by anybody else may not.
What this means for you
- UK insurers treat a sprinkler system installed by an LPCB approved contractor as genuine risk mitigation. One installed by anybody else may not count.
- It is the approval specifiers write into tender documents for sprinkler work.
- For you it means the system you are paying for is the one your policy will actually recognise.
Check these at the source
We would rather you verified this than believed it. These are the bodies behind the two marks above, from their own websites.
- ISO 9001ISO 9000 family: quality management
The quality management standard itself, from the body that publishes it.
International Organization for Standardization
- UKASUnited Kingdom Accreditation Service
The national accreditation body. It does not certify contractors; it accredits the certification bodies that do, which is the difference between a certificate that means something and a logo.
UKAS
- LPCBRedBookLive, the LPCB register of approved products and services
The public register behind the LPCB mark. Every LPCB approval is listed here and is searchable by anybody.
BRE Group
The standards we work to
A certification says who we are. These say what the work has to be. Every certificate we issue names the one it was tested against.
Fixed firefighting systems, automatic sprinkler systems
The standard your commercial or industrial sprinkler system is designed, installed and maintained to. It sets the weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual routines.
Fire sprinkler systems for domestic and residential occupancies
The residential equivalent: blocks of flats, care homes, student accommodation and houses.
Non-automatic fire-fighting systems in buildings
Dry and wet risers. Six-monthly visual inspection, annual pressure test at 12 bar for 15 minutes.
Loss Prevention Council Rules for Automatic Sprinkler Installations
The insurer-facing ruleset that sits alongside BS EN 12845 for risk-rated premises.
FM Global approved equipment
Where an insurer specifies FM Global, the sprinkler heads, valves and pipework used have to carry FM Approval. We work to that requirement and specify approved equipment for it.
National Fire Protection Association standards
The American standards, chiefly NFPA 13, that US-owned occupiers and their insurers often ask for alongside the British ones. We design and test to them where a client requires it.
If you are filling in a PQQ
Tender and pre-qualification questionnaires usually want the same eight things. We can send all of them in one email: certification numbers and expiry dates, insurance certificates, a method statement, a risk assessment, our quality policy, health and safety policy, references, and Companies House details.
Ask and it comes back the same working day. You should not have to chase a contractor for the documents that decide whether they are allowed on your site.
The full list, along with our site working arrangements and invoicing terms, is on the company information page. If your onboarding portal needs it uploaded rather than emailed, send the invitation and we will complete it ourselves.
Questions from procurement and insurers
The four we get asked most by the people who vet contractors before anybody is allowed on site.
Can you be added to our approved supplier list?
Usually yes, and the paperwork goes out the same working day. What a vetting team normally wants is the ISO 9001 and LPCB certificates, insurance schedules, a method statement, a risk assessment, our policies and the Companies House record. Tell us which portal you use and we will work to its format.
What happens if one of your certifications lapses during our contract?
You would be told, in writing, at the point it happened rather than at the next renewal. ISO 9001 is audited on a schedule and can be suspended if the system behind it slips, and pretending otherwise to a client whose insurer relies on it would be the end of the relationship anyway.
Does LPCB approval cover installation as well as servicing?
It is the approval UK insurers and specifiers look for on sprinkler work generally, which is why it appears in tender documents. What matters for your particular scheme is what the specification asks for by name, so send it to us and we will tell you plainly whether we meet it or not.
Our insurer has asked for evidence before they will accept the system. What do they need?
Normally the installer's approval status, the standard the system was designed and tested to, and the commissioning certificate. Where the policy specifies FM Global, they will also want confirmation that the heads, valves and pipework carry FM Approval. We put all of it in one place rather than making you assemble it.
Tell us the building. We will tell you what it is due.
No survey fee to find out where you stand. Describe the site and we will tell you which intervals apply and what the visit involves.