Fire on construction sites and in buildings undergoing refurbishment is a risk that always exists and for which it will have a drastic impact on people and property. As a result of the fire, people are killed and injured, the property is irretrievably lost, and the project suffers severe disruption to the smooth running of the construction project activities. Therefore, all entities that are part of a project delivery should work together to ensure that adequate measures are introduced to ensure the maximum level of fire prevention for the people and the structure during the construction or refurbishment operations.
Using a Project Management Information System (PMIS) like PMWeb, organizations can create comprehensive checklists that will capture all items that need to be inspected to prevent fire risk. The PMWeb custom form builder will make the checklist, including the groups of things to be studied. Those would include Fire Protection Equipment, Compartmentation and Segmentation, Hot Work Management, Control of Combustible and Flammable Material in Work Areas, Fire Prevention for Storage Areas, Control of Heat and Ignition Sources, Personnel Actions, Fire Detection Alarm and Response, Site Security and Access Control and Damage Control in Case of Fire. The fire prevention checklist should also comply with the local fire and life safety code of practices and the project’s Construction Site Fire Prevention and Protection Plan and Combustible Materials Management.
Under each category, the Fire Prevention Checklist form will detail the items that need to be inspected weekly. For each item, there will be a status field to be filled by the inspector as “Yes” if it is compliant, “No” if it is not compliant, or “NA” if it is not applicable. For Non-Compliant items, the inspector will provide their observations in the comment field.
Like all other PMWeb records, the attachment tab will capture and upload pictures of any non-compliance fire prevention requirements sighted by the inspection team. This will help the section identify and document items that must be rectified immediately. Since PMWeb is a zero-footprint application, the Fire Prevention Checklist form can be accessed from any smart mobile device.
In addition, there will be an option of assigning a workflow to the inspection form if there is a requirement to submit the inspection form for review and approval. PMWeb visual workflow will be used to create this workflow. The workflow can also be aligned with inspection category tables should there be a requirement for different individuals to be involved in the inspection process.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM, is a Senior Project Management Consultant with over 35-year service record providing project management and controls services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education, and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, Telecommunication, and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in project management, including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for over six years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), an accredited Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), an Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE), and a Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Master’s in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation from George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – from Kuwait University, Kuwait, and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA, and London Business School, London, UK.