Members, Colleagues & Friends,
I attended the Q3 ASHE Advocacy meeting on 9/14/22 and enclosed is some pertinent information from that meeting. The NFPA Technical meeting in June went well. There were 5 notices of intent to make motions.
- NPFA 25 – Sprinkler piping – Approved – Non-system components are not to be supported from sprinkler piping. This clarifies that wires can touch sprinkler piping and will not be a violation, however you are not allow to suspend bundles of wring from sprinklers for support. This will be reflected in 2023 Edition.
- NFPA 25 – Sprinkler piping – Rejected – Concealed sprinkler 5 year inspection. To provide data for next edition.
- NFPA 25 – Sprinkler piping – Rejected – Annual inspection of the clearance between sprinklers and storage areas
- NFPA 70 – Electric plug load demand factors for hospitals updated
- NFPA 55 – Maximum allowable quantities, issue with consistent tables in the Fire Code. For example – not having piped oxygen systems above 5th floor. They are continuing to work on this.
ASHRAE – working on developing a decarbonization design guide for focusing on hospital.
ASHRAE/ASHE 170 – Ventilation for Healthcare facility 2021 edition is available. They are evaluating fan assisted natural ventilation.
ASHRAE 514 – Risk Management for Building Water Systems – They are continuing to work through comments and work on revisions. There will be a review document out by the end of the year.
ICC – 2024: Code Development
- EB98 – Guardrails on roofs proposed to be higher to allow better safety for patients using outdoor garden/exercise areas on roofs
- EB116 – Revisions to Temporary Uses appendix
- EB47 – Changing risk category tables. They are proposing to move some healthcare facilities from category 2 to 4 (such as nursing homes and assisted living), which ASHE is against.
- G2 – Life Safety Components. They are looking to define and change the language
CDC – ASHE Tool: Project Firstline
They developed a ventilation assessment tool for patient care areas for clinical staff with regards to determining ventilation standards based on patient care area and activities. It helps staff determine how long they may need to leave a room vacant between patients. https://www.ashe.org/project-firstline
Important Upcoming Dates
- ASHE elections are open 9/19 – 10/19 – please log on and vote.
- Healthcare Facilities Engineering Week is October 23-29th
Thank you,
Tricia L. Romano, P.E., Executive Officer
Lockatong Engineering
Advocacy Chair, HFMSNJ
E: TLR@lockatong.com
