23/5/2024
The Region of Madrid has just published the new Guide for the Review of Performance-Based Fire Protection Projects in Industrial Establishments (https://gestiona3.madrid.org/bvirtual/BVCM051239.pdf).
Efectis would like to thank the Industrial Installations Service for allowing us to participate in its preparation.
In Spain, industrial building projects, including warehouses, must comply with the RSCIEI (RD 2267/2004: Fire Safety Regulations for Industrial Establishments). In its article 1, the RSCIEI gives the option to apply, for particular cases, equivalent technical safety solutions. This approach is based on the justification of the fulfilment of safety objectives by means of fire safety engineering methods. This makes it possible to define protection solutions adapted to the real risk of the establishment and to create more efficient spaces for the development of the different industrial activities.
It is usual in Spain for such performance-based projects to be reviewed by a third party before being reviewed by the regional authorities. In the case of Madrid, the reviewers are accredited Control Bodies and the competent authority is the Dirección General de Promoción Económica e Industrial de la Comunidad de Madrid.
One of the major difficulties of these projects is how to demonstrate the equivalence between the level of security achieved by a purely prescriptive approach and a performance-based approach.
The new guide analyses the safety objectives implicit in the RSCIEI and aims to clarify and set out in a clear and structured way the methodology and criteria that can be used by the authorities for the assessment of performance-based projects. This will make it easier for engineers and reviewers to work with a unified approach.
Since the RSCIEI is a national regulatory text, it would be desirable to have a single revision guide for the whole of Spain. We hope that this new Madrid guide will help to achieve this and that Efectis can also contribute to its development and diffusion!
For more information, please contact Mercedes Lago