UPDATE ON STANDARDS IN DEVELOPMENT

Fire sprinkler systems for residential occupancies

Committee: P4515 Amendment
Project manager: Erin Alderton
Estimated publication date: November 2009
The Standard will be amended to clearly define a residential occupancy and any fire formal interpretations relating to NZS 4515 since its last edition in 2003 will be applied. The committee met in April to continue preparing the draft for public comment, which is due for release in mid June.

Fire sprinkler systems for houses

Committee: P4517 Amendment
Project manager: Erin Alderton
Estimated publication date: January 2010
Comments: The Standard will be amended to emphasise its application to domestic occupancies only and to address design and installation issues that have been identified since publication. Any fire formal interpretations relating to NZS 4517 since it was last amended in 2003 will be applied during this project. The committee meets again in May.

Automatic fire sprinkler systems correction amendment

Committee: P4541
Project manager: Vicki Allison
Estimated publication date: June 2009
Comments: The committee met in late March to discuss the small number of public comments received and to finalise the content of the correction amendment to NZS 4541. Members are now voting on the draft. The project is on target for publication in June.

Fire-resistant doorsets and smoke doors adoption

Committee: P4520
Project manager: Jono East
Estimated publication date: December 2009
Comments: A committee has been constituted with the purpose of adopting AS 1905.1:2005 and AS 6905:2007 as a New Zealand Standard. The adoption will enable Department of Building and Housing to reference the new Standard in Clause C of the Compliance Documents to the New Zealand Building Code. The format of the document will be agreed upon during the first committee meeting.

Interconnected smoke alarms for single household units

Committee: P4514
Project manager: Vicki Allison
Estimated publication date: September 2009
Comments: P4514 is being edited in preparation for public consultation, expected to start in late March. As part of the review of this Standard the committee noted the recent debate on ionisation vs photo-electric smoke alarms and noted that NZS 4514 does not recommend ionisation alarms over photo-electric alarms.

Determination of the extinction propensity of cigarettes (adoption)

Committee: P4830
Project manager: Erin Alderton
Estimated publication date: November 2009
Comments: The committee has concluded that AS 4830 is suitable for use in New Zealand and the next step is to invite feedback on the Standard and the intention to adopt it as a New Zealand Standard. Public comment on the draft is due to close on 22 June 2009.

DRAFT STANDARDS FOR COMMENT

DZ 4514 Interconnected smoke alarms for single household units

A partial technical revision of NZS 4514:2002. Maintenance requirements have been specified in more detail, and made mandatory. Additional guidance has been provided for the selection of smoke alarms and their location to avoid nuisance activations.

Public comment on this draft closes on 25 May 2009.

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DZ 4830 Determination of the extinction propensity of cigarettes

AS 4830:2007 Determination of the extinction propensity of cigarettes is a test method published by Standards Australia in 2007. The Standard was developed by an expert technical committee and is based on ASTM E2187-04 Standard test method for measuring the ignition strength of machine-made cigarettes. It enables comparison of the extinction propensity of different cigarette designs under standard laboratory conditions. The test method prescribes a repeatable, laboratory-based way of testing the capability of a machine-made cigarette, positioned on a standard substrate, to generate sufficient heat to continue burning. The Standard is intended for the testing of all machine-made cigarettes.

A New Zealand Standards development committee comprised of a range of key New Zealand stakeholders has been formed to assess the appropriateness of AS 4830-2007 for use by New Zealand. At this time, the intention is to adopt the Australian Standard with no alterations to the text.

Public comment on this draft closes on 22 June 2009.