Fire-Stopping Expertise at the Heart of Lidl’s Store
- A new, purpose-built retail unit in Minavil House, Alperton, north-west London, beneath a mixed-use development containing 92% affordable housing, and also serving the wider community
- CFP was commissioned to provide suitable fire-stopping expertise and solutions, based on the existing fire strategy
- We worked on site alongside multiple trades, closely coordinating our activities with theirs to avoid disruption and prevent schedule overruns
- Our construction knowledge helped us deliver cost-effectively and reinstate full compliance where building work had compromised this
- We completed the work within two weeks of receiving the order, and well within the agreed handover date
THE END-CLIENT
The Lidl brand was founded in Germany and has grown to become one of Europe’s leading food retailers. It is currently the UK’s sixth-largest supermarket. The first Lidl GB store opened its doors in 1994 and, over twenty-five years later, Lidl now has over 900 stores and thirteen regional distribution centres across the UK, employing over 22,000 people.
THE CHALLENGE
Built in a mixed-use residential and commercial high-rise development in a flagship regeneration zone, the 17,000 square-foot Lidl retail unit at Minavil House sits beneath 27 storeys containing 251 homes, adding significant criticality to its fire safety compliance obligations.
Key to this compliance was ensuring the building had adequate passive fire protection (PFP) built into its fabric (walls, partitions, ceilings, doors, and other structures), to compartmentalise and contain fire, smoke, and toxic gases, stop them from spreading, and enable occupants to leave the area and reach safety at minimal risk to themselves.
As a purpose-built, new retail unit, Lidl’s building had a clear fire compliance strategy and defined requirements for PFP. However, as with many new builds, this raised some challenges.
With many different trades that were not necessarily fire specialists working on-site on different aspects of the build simultaneously, some activities could potentially be executed in ways that, unwittingly, could have a downstream impact on fire safety compliance.
An unplanned hole drilled in a partition to pass a cable through, for example; a duct moved a few inches from plan to facilitate access; a ceiling penetration repositioned to accommodate a shorter pipe – all of these, and many more, can potentially breach the PFP and render it non-compliant, and even unsafe.
Identifying these breaches, and remedying them in a timely and cost-effective manner through fire-stopping, was what we were commissioned to address – against a backdrop of multiple and sometimes competing trades, workflows, priorities, and schedules.
At the same time, the project came with all the usual requirements for health, safety, and considerate contractor conduct, particularly as the area is both heavily residential and open to the general public.
Time scales, too, were pressing, with just two weeks to complete the entire job from start to finish.
THE SOLUTION
As PFP specialists with an additional pedigree in the construction and refurbishment industries, the challenges of the project held no mystery for us.
Before the work even started, and throughout, we liaised closely with our immediate client (7formation) and the project managers to plan, resource, and execute an effective, compliant, and cost-effective fire-stopping programme.
Through multiple on-site meetings daily with the project manager, we kept well abreast of any situational changes, and were able to flex our schedule in good time to accommodate other trades, yet still deliver on time and on budget.
In terms of the fire-stopping solutions themselves, we used a tested system for each penetration or fire-stopping requirement. Crucially, for each instance of fire-stopping material installed, we ensured the choice of materials used would ensure compliance for that specific application.
Finally, as a third-party fire safety certification provider, we legally certified and labelled the work as compliant.
OUTCOMES & RESULTS
By delivering the right experience and expertise – born of our own construction and refurbishment industry heritage – both in the pre-project and execution stages, we put in place a timely and economical fire-stopping solution to ensure Lidl’s Minavil House site achieved full PFP compliance.
The work was completed to schedule and within budget, less than two weeks after receiving the order.
Crucially, for each instance of fire-stopping material installed, we ensured the choice of materials used would ensure compliance for that specific application.
For more information on how CFP can help the building, premises, or construction project for which you are responsible achieve the PFP compliance the law requires, get in touch:
T: 0800 059 0113 E: hello@commercialfireprotection.co.uk
