FIS launches fire engineering advisory service for finishes and interiors members

FIS, the representative body for the UK finishes and interiors sector, has launched a Fire Engineering Advisory Service that gives its members early, structured access to specialist fire engineering advice.

The trade body said the service is intended to help members manage regulatory, contractual and professional risk, and to assist with legacy or live design issues. It is available to members immediately.

Why FIS has set it up

According to FIS, the service responds to pressures on specialist contractors. It lists these as the transfer of design responsibility, ambiguity in compliance expectations, inconsistent use of test evidence and challenges surrounding legacy projects.

Iain McIlwee, Chief Executive of FIS, said: "Our members are increasingly being drawn into the design process and asked to make complex fire safety decisions without clear boundaries, information or adequate support."

FIS's member page describes the service as exclusive to members and aimed at managing risk before they commit to installation or design decisions.

How the service works

At the centre of the service is a Fire Engineering Advisory Helpline. FIS said the helpline is time-bound and advisory, and supports risk triage. The service is modelled on the existing FIS Legal Helpline.

Where a query needs more input, FIS said members can move on to discounted support packages. These include fire engineering assessments, technical reviews and, where justified, bespoke fire testing.

FIS said these further services are contracted directly between the member and the provider, which it said gives clarity on responsibility, liability and professional scope. Its member page adds that help beyond the helpline's scope is managed by direct appointment between the member and the fire engineering provider, independent of FIS.

Delivery partner

The service launches with PartB as delivery partner. FIS said PartB brings multidisciplinary fire engineering expertise and specialist materials engineering capability. PartB describes itself as a team of fire engineering specialists working across the UK, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Andy Gordon, Director of Fire, PartB, said: "We are seeing increasing demand across the sector for clear, proportionate fire engineering input at the right time in the decision-making process."

Sector-wide intelligence

Beyond individual enquiries, FIS said the service will act as a source of sector-wide intelligence, helping to identify recurring technical challenges. Where appropriate, it may also support collaborative approaches to testing and evidence generation.

McIlwee said a consolidated approach should help avoid repetition, so that time and resource are not wasted dealing with the same issues across multiple projects.

About FIS

FIS says it is the not-for-profit representative body for a finishes and interiors sector it values at £12 billion, with a workforce of 250,000 people and accounting for approximately 10% of all construction works. It says it has over 600 members, drawn from contractors, manufacturers and distributors of ceilings, steel framing systems, operable walls, partitions, plastering, drylining and specialist interior fit-out.

The organisation was formed as FIS in 2015 from the merger of the Association of Interior Specialists and the Federation of Plastering and Drywall Contractors. It says it co-chairs the Passive Fire Knowledge Group.

What happens next

FIS said further details of the service will be shared at the FIS Conference on 22 October.