The design of industrial buildings usually incorporates a unique set of challenges. This can be driven by the functional and operational requirements for the building or by local council acts such as the Greater Manchester or Merseyside Act which may require reduced compartment sizes, which can restrict the function of the building, or smoke ventilation systems requiring dedicated smoke reservoirs and extract systems. Alternatively, industrial buildings have inherent benefits such as high pitch roof lines which would limit the potential smoke filling times or a life safety sprinkler system requested by the Insurers which would look to either suppress or severely limit any potential fires.
Our engineers have considered such benefits on schemes which have afforded greater freedom in their design. Travel distances of 220m (175m further than the Fire Regulations) were proposed on a car manufacturing plant which would effectively reduce the number of dedicated escape routes thus permitting greater utilisation of the space for manufacturing equipment. By using state of the art computer modelling, it was demonstrated and approved by the Local Authority that such distances would present no adverse risk for occupants evacuating the space. Additionally, as some of our engineers have served for a number of years within the Fire Service, it was understood how the Fire Service would approach and fight any potential fire in this form of building so adequate measures were considered within the design to ensure the Fire Service were in full agreement to the final design.
Industrial