Is It Time to Schedule a Fire Inspection? 7 Reasons to Work with CEC

Where do fire alarm and life safety inspections fall on your never-ending to-do list? While these systems are always waiting in the wings to alert you to a problem, they’re probably not something you think about every day. But if you forget about them, trouble may follow.

Regular testing and inspections keep your system fully operational so it responds like it should during a fire. They ensure that:

  • Building occupants are safe and receive early warning of potential fire threats
  • False alarms don’t waste city resources or cause alarm fatigue
  • You maintain compliance with National Fire Alarm Code (NFPA 72) and adhere to OSHA standards
  • You meet local building department and insurance carrier requirements
  • Insurance premiums are kept as low as possible
  • Liability for potential injuries is limited
  • Your assets—and your building—are protected

There are many options for fire alarm testing and inspection across Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, but CEC offers a few advantages that are difficult to find anywhere else.

  1. We Have a Dedicated Scheduling Team

Many companies put technicians in charge of scheduling testing and inspections for clients. Because technicians juggle so many other responsibilities, important dates or actions can be missed, which leads to noncompliance.

To avoid this, we established a dedicated scheduling team that works only with our test and inspection clients. They track your inspections, schedule them for you in accordance with requirements, and make sure they’re taken care of to ensure compliance.

  1. We Always Send Two Technicians

We always work in two-man crews. One technician conducts the field work (physically testing devices) while a second technician verifies signals and quickly pinpoints failed devices (and the reason they failed).

We prefer this approach to sending one technician to conduct a “walk test,” which places a panel in walk test mode and disables its latching-into-alarm function. From there, a technician can activate devices, which gives an indication at the fire alarm panel and may momentarily sound a signal; however, too many aspects of the system are disabled during a walk test to verify whether the entire system actually works like it should.

  1. We Have a 24/7 Online Platform

We have an easy-to-use online reporting platform. Once inspections are complete, you have 24/7 online access to the data—including information about your building’s sprinklers, fire detection and alarm systems, extinguishers, and exit/emergency lighting.

This helps you comply with necessary reporting for OSHA, Joint Commission, CMS, and NFPA, as well as local regulatory standards. 

  1. We Customize Your Reports

The inspection reports we provide are completely customizable based on your jurisdiction. We’re seeing an increase in cities and metropolitan areas requiring different information in their reports and taking on different compliance types.

On the fly, we’re able to make your report work for your specific location instead of providing a generic version. By creating a report that looks exactly the way your local jurisdiction wants it to look, you don’t have to worry about the hassle later.

  1. We Have a Highly Tenured Staff

In an environment that sometimes experiences high turnover, CEC’s testing and inspection team has decades of experience. You’ll see the same tenured staff year after year. They’ll get to know your buildings, your systems, and your team.

  1. We Follow the Rules

We follow only approved and compliant testing methods—which means we never use magnet tests.

Magnet tests don’t verify whether a smoke chamber can detect smoke or trigger a response to smoke—they simply set off detectors by closing a magnetic reed switch within the electronics. Be very leery of any inspector attempting to use this testing method. It’s not approved by NFPA or compliant with requirements.

  1. We’re a One-Stop Shop

We provide and support everything you need for your life safety systems. There’s no longer a need to partner with one company to manage fire extinguishers, a second company for your fire alarm system, a third for your sprinkler system, a fourth for kitchen hoods, etc. CEC’s experts know and understand end-to-end life safety systems.

Have questions about fire alarm testing and inspection? Think it’s time for your next one? Want to talk to one of our experts? Send us a note!

P.S. If you’re a hospital, you may want to think about regular tests and inspections for your nurse call systems, too.

   

 

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