High-tech is helping to ensure that firewall constructions comply with regulatory requirements. The construction team for the new Nyt Hospital Nordsjaelland, near Copenhagen, has achieved remarkable results over the past 16-month period using Imerso technology. Emerson helped the team increase productivity and prevent delays and costs worth EUR 5.2 million in the construction of the superstructure.
The team, led by Project Manager Anders Kaas, has been inspired by the success of this technology and is eager to explore its potential in other areas. It was a great opportunity to tackle a subject that had traditionally been a major challenge and expense in many construction projects: ensuring regulatory compliance for fire barriers and firewalls.
The quality of work in the construction of firewalls is becoming more important.
Recent fires in the UK have prompted concern about fire protection compliance. This coincides with tighter regulations for the UK construction industry. Fire safety standards are important because they can prevent major societal projects from being completed, such as hospitals and airports.
The construction of the Niels Bohr University in Denmark is the most notorious case. In late 2021, the project met this fate when final inspections revealed 10,000 incorrect fire closures. The project was delayed indefinitely as a result of the unresolved issues.
The client, Vejdirektoratet director of construction Erik Stoklund Larsen, commented: “It’s extremely frustrating that we had to spend so many hours and resources in the last phase of the project correcting something that shouldn’t have been an issue, namely, the incorrectly constructed fire closures.” This case led the Roads Directorate to conduct additional investigations into other construction projects to prevent the same situation from occurring elsewhere.
The construction team at NHN was motivated to go beyond the norm and invested in Imerso’s AI job site supervisor to monitor the quality of construction proactively. It was decided to target the solution at reducing risks associated with fire safety compliance.
What does a firewall consist of?
Buildings that are critical infrastructure, such as the Nyt Hospital Nordsjaelland, must comply with hundreds of fire safety codes. Fire-blocking systems like passive and compartmentalized fire protection, such as fire barriers, fire-rated walls, and fire doors or fire-stopping materials, are used to stop or prevent the spread of smoke and gasses from one part to another.
Fire-safety interfaces are a common problem in construction, especially when there are openings that allow for the passage of technical services. Engineers can choose specific solutions to block fire, such as walls that are 2-hour fire-rated. These walls are designed to resist a fire for a specified amount of time.
Manufacturers such as Knauf test systems to determine performance and obtain an official fire rating score. The performance of the system depends on its exact assembly. The fire rating of the firestop system is compromised if it is not installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. These requirements are especially important in projects such as the Nyt Hospital Nordsjaelland. This complex project features multiple operating rooms with layers of interwoven technology, radiation-shielded walls, and strict fire-stopping rules.
Different types of passive fire protection systems used in construction
Common challenges in the construction of a firewall
Anders was able to prevent a number of potential problems from occurring within three months after targeting Imerso at fire-rated wall installation. For example, in the case of Fire Section and Fire Cell Walls, metal stud framings are required to be installed at minimum distances and without modification so as to maintain the intended fire rating.
After the metal studs are installed in fire partition walls, the next teams have difficulty installing planned technical equipment along the walls. This often leads them to cut through the metal studs and compromise the fire rating. It is not uncommon for this situation to arise: The exact position of metal wall studs is often not modeled in BIM as they are installed onsite according to the conditions that exist at the time. The role of MEP/HVAC technical installations is clearly defined in BIM. Construction teams are told not to deviate to avoid clashes later.
NYT Hospital Nordsjælland has several thousand metal studs of fire-rated walls per floor that must comply with fire safety regulations.
There is a typical sequence of conflict.
The onsite teams must install the metal framing correctly, according to the design specifications, while following the layout of the BIM models. In order to install the fire-rated wall framing, it is necessary to prepare encasing frames that frame the openings of the wall where the technical installations should be installed.
From the perspective of the onsite team, this process requires a coordinated approach in order to ensure that the layout for the technical MEP/HVAC is agreed upon prior to partition walls being erected. The openings should be prepared before the specialized services are installed. To do this, the service layouts must be accurately overlaid in advance on the partition drawings. This rarely happens. Even small changes in the forms of the services can affect the placement.
This sequence challenge is a significant risk to the project. Anders says, “The issue occurs when the fire partition wall is closed on both sides, and you cannot see inside.” If the MEP arrives with a drill later to install the wall, the wall studs may be damaged. This compromises the fire integrity of the wall.
Metal studs for fire-rated walls paired correctly with framed openings for technical services installations.
Emerson AI for checking the quality of work on fire-rated walls
Emerson allowed the Nyt Hospital Nordsjaelland construction management team to increase their site monitoring ability by 15 times. The team was able to perform 3D Scanning on the job site as part of their daily routine, a task that had previously been deemed too time-consuming or expensive and required expert surveyors.
Imerso’s platform analyses the As-built site environment against the BIM model of the project automatically. It reports on the work status as well as any deviations that may be problematic so they can be dealt with early. The Imerso platform enabled Project Manager Anders Kaas to avoid hundreds of costly issues in just a few months. This was far beyond their expectations. Click here to read about the results of the first 16-month period.
Emerson can compare the precise placement of metal stud framing on fire partition walls to the BIM plans. This allows Anders’s team to monitor the installation with millimeter accuracy. They can then quickly identify potential problems with planned openings and technical objects that may interfere with the current placement. The team then uses this information to identify early solutions and prevent any future issues. This is all done in just a few minutes. It’s a much faster and more efficient way to ensure that the building and its workers are safe.