Inspection, testing and maintenance

Maintenance of water-based fire protection systems

Your fire protection system must supply enough water during emergencies. To demonstrate that the system has the capacity to supply the required water, the fire protection system needs to be inspected, tested and undergo maintenance regularly. QUALM has a specialised department for this.

Fire hydrants and valves: the right materials at hand all the time 

Our specialists know exactly how hydrants and valves are fitted and where the vulnerable points are. We work with all brands and our technicians are familiar with them in all their types and sizes. Fire hydrant lubrication or system valve overhaul? No problem. Do you need a part replaced? We will always replace it with a similar part as we are brand independent. We also offer the advantage of continuity of your operations during our work. We rent out mobile sprinkler pump rooms to ensure optimal safety during our work.

Flow measurements

Fire mains testing is not complete without a flow measurement. We test to ensure that the required flow and pressure, as stated by the judicial authority, are available for fire protection. We can install in line flow meters on hydrants or use clamp-on flow meters that we attach to the mains. Both methods comply with the NFPA 291 guidelines.

Flushing

We flush the system to remove dirt and to keep the underground mains in good condition. Depending on the current legislation, QUALM flushes the mains once or twice a year. The mains are flushed at a speed of 3 metres a second. This keeps the mains clean, prevents blockages and maintains the capacity of your fire protection system. The flushing water also shows if there is any rust, blockages or dirt in the fire protections mains.

Mains inspection

We can check the quality of your mains with a camera inspection or by measuring the pressure loss. The camera inspection allows us to see the interior condition of the mains. We can penetrate the mains to about 80 metres with a flexible camera. We can also run a pressure loss comparison. We will measure the pressure loss at a certain part of the fire mains, and compare this with the pressure loss of a new pipe. We can thus determine the internal condition of the mains suffer from heavy deterioration.

Fire well testing

Fire wells need to be tested and maintained annually. We do fatigue testing using our water tender, thus simulating the water used by the fire service in one hour of firefighting. This shows us whether the well is still supplying the right capacity and has not depleted.

Testing of dry pipes

In compliance with NEN1594, we can do  annual maintenance or major maintenance every five years. We do the maintenance work on both the regular as well as the high pressure dry pipes.

Maintenance and repairs

Regular maintenance ensures that you can rely on your fire protection system at all times. It prevents leaks and you do not need to carry out preventive large-scale repairs as often, making it cost effective. During our annual inspection, we do preventive maintenance such as lubricating fire hydrants and valves. If necessary, we can also do small repairs to avoid an accumulation of small problems.

Detailed report

We record our inspection and any maintenance work carried out in a report so that you know what has been done and the status of your fire protection system. You know what will need to be done in the future and any major maintenance that will need to be done. QUALM can produce a multi-year maintenance plan and budget if required. This ensures that the relevant parts of your fire protection system are maintained or replaced and keeps the entire system in good working order.