What Is BAFE SP101? How Our Fire Extinguisher Engineers Are Audited and Certified

If you’re looking for a supplier to provide, install and service your fire extinguishers, it’s critical that you look for a company with engineers that are fully qualified and experienced.

A key way to validate this is by looking for the BAFE SP101 certification.

The BAFE SP101 certification is BAFE’s competency scheme, specifically for companies that provide portable fire extinguisher services, and their technicians that complete the associated work.

It’s unusual amongst BAFE schemes, because it assesses both the company’s wider management systems, and every individual engineer that is involved in the service delivery.

This is especially important, as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 specifies that a site’s responsible person is required to ensure that all fire safety equipment is properly maintained by a competent provider.

So, by choosing a BAFE-registered company, you can be confident that your fire extinguishers are being handled by trained professionals, who have attained internationally recognised standards.

In this article, we’ve outlined what BAFE SP101 means, how it assesses engineers, and what this certification means for customers of accredited providers (like Target Fire Protection).

How does the BAFE SP101 certification process work?

For service providers like Target Fire Protection, achieving and maintaining BAFE SP101 registration involves two key stages.

The first stage focuses on the company and how we manage our services, while the second assesses the competence of each engineer. Both are imperative to achieving the highest quality of service standards.

Stage 1: Auditing our management systems

First, a company’s management systems must be independently assessed.

This involves an audit by a UKAS-accredited certification body. During this process, checks take place to confirm that the company has the required processes and procedures in place to deliver its services competently.

The assessment evaluates how the business manages its services, ensuring that the right standards are maintained consistently throughout.

It’s important to note that this certification isn’t something that a company achieves once, and then keeps indefinitely.

To keep the accreditation, ongoing surveillance audits are required on a routine basis, to ensure that these systems and standards remain in place.

So, for our customers, this provides additional reassurance that Target Fire Protection is committed to maintaining these top service standards into the long term.

Stage 2: Assessing our individual engineers

In the second stage, the focus is on the people who actually complete the servicing.

At Target Fire Protection, we register directly with BAFE. This means that every one of our engineers must achieve registered status, to work under this scheme.

To do this, our engineers need to meet several requirements, including:

• Passing a recognised BS 5306 exam.
• Holding current awareness training certificates for health, safety and asbestos.
• Completing a technician competency portfolio.
• Passing an on-site assessment (conducted by a BAFE-appointed field assessor).

Once all of these requirements have been met, an engineer can earn registered status.

This rigorous standard demonstrates that all our engineers have the knowledge, training and practical skills required to service fire extinguishers to the highest standards.

How often do BAFE engineers need to be reassessed?

This is certainly not a one-off badge. BAFE SP101 registration requires ongoing reassessments, in order to retain the qualification.

To maintain their registration, engineers must go through a three-year cycle. This includes refresher training and finally reassessment, to ensure that their knowledge and practical skills are consistently up to date.

Their registered status is also linked to their employer. As a result, if an engineer leaves the company they’re registered with, then their registration under that employer immediately ends.

So, maintaining BAFE SP101 registration requires an ongoing commitment from both the company and its team of engineers.

What does BAFE SP101 mean for our customers?

BAFE SP101 is designed to give customers greater confidence in the team that are responsible for maintaining their fire extinguishers.

It also helps site managers to maintain full compliance with complete ease, and ensure that their equipment is being checked by engineers with the right qualifications, training and practical experience. This is a key attribute for business’s fire safety responsibilities and standards.

If you’d like to check an engineer’s registration, you can ask to see their BAFE ID card and verify their details directly with BAFE.

At Target Fire Protection, we’re committed to attaining the highest industry standards, including BAFE SP101.

So, if your fire extinguishers are ready for servicing, or to receive a quote for your business, the Target Fire Protection team are on hand to help.