If you’re in the business of manufacturing plastic products or you are warehousing plastic products, you need to make sure you’re compliant with the NFPA 13 sprinkler regulations. You may find yourself with some significant insurance issues if you don’t meet the proper sprinkler regulations.
NFPA13 regulations have been around for a long time; however, the insurance industry is now taking a tougher stance and making it mandatory that plastics operations are compliant with all regulations around sprinklers.
In the past, insurance carriers only asked if there was a sprinkler system present and perhaps what the specifications were. That’s not enough anymore. If you cannot prove the sprinkler system meets your required specifications, insurance companies will not take on the risk of providing coverage for your business.
To satisfy the insurance company, you must provide far more detail about the building structure. All the details regarding the construction, distance to local fire departments must meet the insurance company’s requirements. Providing sprinkler system drawings or engineering reports would provide the data the insurance carriers need to complete their assessment.
NFPA 13 Regulations Affect Businesses Differently
How the regulation affects each business is different depending on the specific characteristics of that business. Every plastics operation is looked at differently and is rated explicitly based on their unique situation.
What Are Some Of The Main Characteristics That Affect System Compliance?
The overall construction type of the building is a crucial component. It would make sense that a solid concrete structure would be much safer than a brick veneer or frame structure.
The roof height is also a contributing factor if the storage of raw material or finished product is needed. The sprinklers must have enough room to spread if activated to have sufficient space to extinguish a fire.
The type of material you use in the manufacturing process also is significant. Whether you are using polypropylene or storing multiple types of engineering materials such as ABS, PVC makes a difference in how easily a fire can spread. Acetal and other types of high hazard group 2 or higher materials again change a sprinkler system’s impact.
Some other considerations are the type of equipment used as well as the storage of packaging material.
Our Company Is Going to Need Coverage. Where do We Start?
Businesses contact us when they have compliance sprinkler issues. With our expertise, we visit the location and complete a visual inspection. We provide our complete risk analysis and work with the sprinkler engineer to ascertain what adjustments are needed to make the system compliant.
Once this assessment is complete, we will put together a comprehensive insurance package designed for your business. We will tailor this to your needs, requirements and specifications.
To verify you are NFPA compliant, a certified sprinkler engineer will certify the system as compliant. In some cases, the insurance carrier will also send out their inspector to evaluate the sprinkler system.
Once these requirements are completed we can do a proper assessment of the coverage required.
These regulations are necessary to ensure that facilities are safe for workers and also for the environment. It makes sense to ensure your business meets these requirements for everyone’s benefit in the long run.
If you have specific questions about the NFPA 13 requirements, please get in touch with us, and we will provide our assessment.
