Fire, life safety in government, military facilities

Half of respondents to the Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016 Fire and Life Safety Study specify, design, or make product selections for government buildings and military facilities—and 86% of these engineers are responsible for determining requirements/writing specifications for these projects. Below are five fire and life safety findings as they relate to government and military projects:

1. Annual specified systems value: The average engineering firm specifies $2.4 million in total fire and life safety systems for new and existing government and military facilities on a yearly basis, with 27% of these firms specifying more than $3 million.
2. Specifications written: Engineering firms most often write performance (84%), prescriptive (64%), or open and proprietary (52%) specifications for government and military facilities.
3. Future of fire, life safety systems: The subjective interpretation of regulations by code authorities (74%) and an inadequate budget for good design (65%) are the top issues affecting the future of fire and life safety system design in government and military facilities.
4. Disciplines impacting design: Other involved parties with the most input and impact on fire and life safety design within government and military facilities are local authorities having jurisdiction/fire officials (77%), architects (46%), and owners (46%).
5. Important product considerations: When selecting fire and life safety products for government and military facilities, the most important factors that engineers consider are product quality (66%), a manufacturer’s reputation (44%), and the availability of service support (44%).

81% of lighting engineers are involved in the selection of lights, lighting equipment, and/or lighting controls. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2015 Lighting and Lighting Controls Study

26: Average number of years mechanical engineers have been involved in HVAC systems, equipment, and controls. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2015 HVAC and Building Automation Systems Study

$2.2 million: Average total annual dollar amount of fire and life safety systems specified for new and existing buildings in 2015. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016 Fire and Life Safety Study

More research

Consulting-Specifying Engineer covers several research topics each year. All reports are available at www.csemag.com/research.

View more information at www.csemag.com/2016FireLifeSafety. Amanda Pelliccione is the research director at CFE Media.

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