FM Approvals
Member of the FM Global Group
THE APPROVAL OF FIRESTOP
CONTRACTORS
FM APPROVAL STANDARD 4991
By
Vidur Berry
Approvals Engineer – Middle East & India
2007 U.S. Respondents 2008 U.S. Respondents
Average Outstanding Average Outstanding
177+ Years of Experience
“It’s better to
prevent a loss
than recover
from it
afterwards.”
Who is FM Global?
Property Insurance Company – (largest in world)
• 177 year old company
• Commercial & Industrial Properties
• Headquartered in USA
• Typical policy coverage
– Property damage
– Business Interruption
FM Global
• Largest industrial and commercial insurance
company in the world
• 4,700+ employees, 1,600+ engineers
• 130,000+ insured locations in 120+ countries
• Insure 27% of the worlds commercial and
industrial facilities
• Recently Invested another $200 million in the
FM Global Research Campus – a world-
renown research and testing laboratory
FM Global – Unique Business Model
- Belief that loss is preventable through
engineering
- Mutual ownership: over $1 billion returned in
membership credits last 5 years
- Financial strength (549 in Fortune 1000)
- Underwriting Expertise (Bundled engineering
& underwriting)
- Bet on our engineering
FM Global’s Structure
Research Engineering
Research Campus
FM Global Research Campus
New Natural Hazards Laboratory - 2010
Who is FM Approvals?
FM Approvals
• 200+ employees, Offices worldwide
• Nationally Recognized Testing
Laboratory (NRTL)
• Notified Body (CE) and Member of EOTA
• Solely focused on Approving Products
that promote Property Loss Prevention
• Develops and publishes Approval
Standards
• 50,000+ products Approved
• Publish on-line in Approval Guide and
RoofNav
A long history of product testing
Once You Are FM Approved
Products and assemblies are added to
www.approvalguide.com
FM Approvals #4991 Approval Program
CO-OPERATIVE EFFORT
• FM APPROVALS
• FIRESTOP CONTRACTORS INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION
• YEAR 2000
PURPOSE
• IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE &
INSTALLATION OF FIRESTOP SYSTEMS AND
COMPONENTS
• ACCOMPLISH THAT BY EXAMINING &
QUALIFYING CONTRACTORS INVOLVED IN THE
INSTALLATION
FIRESTOP SYSTEMS
• DESIGNED TO PROTECT OPENINGS IN
–WALLS
–FLOORS
–CONSTRUCTION JOINTS
–FLOOR/WALL SLAB EDGE CONDITIONS
FIRESTOP SYSTEMS
• ONLY PRODUCTS SHOWN IN PUBLISHED
LISTINGS
• INSTALLED PER MANUFACTURER’S
INSTRUCTIONS & INDUSTRY PRACTICES
LABELLED <FM> APPROVED
FIRESTOP SYSTEMS
• ENTIRE SYSTEM IN JEOPARDY IF ANY
COMPONENT IS
– OMITTED
– IMPROPERLY INSTALLED
– UNAUTHORIZED SUBSTITUTION OF
COMPONENTS
APPROVAL STANDARD REQUIREMENTS
• MUST EMPLOY AT LEAST ONE (1) DESIGNATED
RESPONSIBLE PERSON (DRI)
– DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND
• APPROVAL STANDARD REQUIREMENTS
• FCIA MANUAL OF PRACTICE (MOP)
• Available on www.fmapprovals.com > Approval
Standards > 4991
APPROVAL STANDARD REQUIREMENTS
• WRITTEN QUALITY CONTROL MANUAL
• SUCCESSFUL AUDITS
– OFFICE
– JOB-SITE
APPROVAL STANDARD REQUIREMENTS
• MUST PASS TWO (2) WRITTEN EXAMS
• MINIMUM SCORE OF 80% ON EACH EXAM
– EXAM 1 GENERAL INFORMATION
– EXAM 2 DESIGN SELECTION
APPROVAL STANDARD REQUIREMENTS
• MAINTAIN APPROVAL
– CONTINUE TO EMPLOY A DRI
– SUCCESSFUL JOB-SITE AND OFFICE QUALITY
CONTROL AUDITS EACH YEAR
– PASS A WRITTEN RE-EXAM EVERY THREE (3)
YEARS
– OBTAIN 6 CEUs EVERY THREE (3) YEARS
Guard against being complacent!!
WRITTEN EXAMINATION TOPICS
• KNOWLEDGE OF
– CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
– LISTING AGENCIES & LISTED SYSTEMS
– T, F AND L RATINGS
– AUTHORITIES HAVING JURISDICTION
– NON-CONFORMANCES
WRITTEN EXAMINATION TOPICS
• KNOWLEDGE OF
– TERMINOLOGY
– HOURLY RATINGS
– TYPES OF SYSTEMS
– DEFINITIONS
– BUILDING CODES
– QUALITY CONTROL
WRITTEN EXAMINATION TOPICS
• CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
• APPROVAL MARKINGS
• FIRE RATED SYSTEM SELECTION
• ENGINEERING JUDGEMENTS
Example Question
• To properly select an appropriate design for an
insulated metallic pipe penetrant system, the following
must be considered.
• a) the insulation material type
• b) the insulation thickness
• c) neither a or b
• d) both a and b
Example Problem
• The concrete wall is 4 ½ inches thick.
The opening is 15 inches x 20 inches.
The penetrants consist of one (1) nominal
4 inch diameter PVC pipe and one (1)
nominal 8 inch diameter schedule 40
steel pipe. The penetrants are equally
spaced within the opening and meet all
annular space and distance requirements
between penetrants and the edge of the
opening. Glass fiber insulation, 1 ½ inch
thick, has been provided on the steel pipe.
The maximum hourly rating of the
assembly is
• a) ½ hour
• b) 1 ½ hours
• c) 2 hours
• d) The installation does not meet the
criteria and this design can not be used
• e) 1 hour
EXAMINATION RESULTS
• 1ST EXAMS – NOVEMBER 2000
• 53 PEOPLE TOOK THE EXAM
• MINIMUM SCORE OF 80% ON EACH OF TWO (2)
EXAMS
• ONLY 39 PEOPLE PASSED BOTH EXAMS
• STILL TODAY – ONLY 2 OUT OF 3
CONTRACTORS PASS BOTH TESTS ON 1ST TRY
Growth of the program
• 1st Exams – November 2000 Boston, MA
• Approval Guide No. of locations No. of DRIs
2001 0 0
2002 13 15
2003 16 17
2004 18 24
2005 33 41
2006 43 59
2007 41 53
2008 54 81
2009 65 96
2010 79 118
2012 100 148
FM APPROVED FIRESTOP CONTRACTORS
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
• Approval Guide No. of locations No. of DRIs
2001 0 0
2006 1 2
2007 2 3
2008 4 9
2009 5 13
2010 7 15
2011 10 19
2012 12 24
PLUS 4 COMPANIES ARE IN THE PROCESS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• Do I have to belong to the FCIA?
Answer – No, but we encourage it. They are a great
resource and can help you with things that we cannot help
you with – QA Manual, etc.
• Do I have to install all types of firestopping?
Answer – No but the written exams will cover all types of
firestopping
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• I’m not a contractor but I am an inspector. Can I take the
DRI exams?
Answer: Yes! You will technically not be a DRI but you will
receive a letter stating that you passed the test (if that
happens to be true!)
What do we need to make it work!!
Adequate Proper
Design Installation
Adequate Protection
Supervision, Maintenance and Testing
FM Approvals #4990 Approval Standard
Floor Slab with Opening Filled
Slab Placed Over Furnace
Slab Removed from Furnace
Openings Must Not Develop During Test
Example of Failure
Concrete Wall Assembly with 6 Openings
Wall Assembly Placed Against Furnace
“A perfection of means,
and confusion of aims,
seems to be our
main problem.”
Albert Einstein
WHO DO I CONTACT?
FM APPROVALS CONTACT:
VIDUR BERRY
Materials Group for Middle East & India
FM Approvals LLC a Member of the FM Global Group
Unit 902, 9nd Floor, The Millenia Tower 'B'
No. 1 & 2 Murphy Road, Ulsoor
Bangalore 560008
India
T: +91 80 6694 0200 M: +91 9632 222142
VIDUR.BERRY@FMAPPROVALS.COM
FCIA WEBSITE: FCIA.ORG
Thank You
Questions / Comments
