leading business standards company and respected international certification body, has held an informative launch event for a new Kitemark scheme, developed to offer organizations involved with the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection, fire alarm, and/or fixed gaseous suppression systems, the opportunity to become third party certified. The event, which took place last week, was led by Andy Packam, BSI Certification Manager, who has over 30 years' electrical and fire safety experience. His presentation gave an overview of the scheme, its specific modular requirements and the certification process. The scheme covers the design, installation, commissioning/initial verification and maintenance/servicing of fire detection, fire alarm, and/or fixed gaseous suppression systems. Companies are able to select all the modules or only the modules covered in their scope of work. The scheme can take from 1 to 2 months for organizations to achieve certification, this will depend upon the client's project availability and their preparedness. In the second session Bob Wells, Global Head of Personal Safety for BSI, delivered an insightful session on product certification opportunities under the BSI banner. Over 70 fire and safety professionals signed up to attend the event. As well as technical insight, the event was also designed to be a platform for peer networking with attendees ranging from director and general manager level to onsite installers, maintenance technicians and designers. BSI works with over 80,000 clients in 182 countries worldwide to help them adopt and cultivate the habits of best practice. Clients are trained and provided with practical guidance for implementation alongside a suite of compliance tools. "This Fire Alarm Installer Scheme has been running in the UK for eight years and has been adapted by BSI to specifically suit the requirements of the Middle East market. — SG
