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What version or format of NFPA 25 report do you use?

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ContractorDave

Mechanical
Jan 16, 2007
364
In earlier additions of 25 you could find an AFSA SAMPLE inspection form in Annex B. Now it merely highlights the different formats that would be acceptable and in B.2 mentions that forms can be found at either the NFSA or AFSA. Both these organisations have great forms but in their need to make a profit they do not offer their forms in editable electronic copy. This of course is not very forward looking as most companies now save their documents on computers and many (like ours) do not use paper at all. Unfortunately, where it was perhaps possible if one of these organisations, or even the NFPA, took the bull by the horns as it were and created a standardized version everyone might adopt, in staying with the paper pads of the past, companies that strive to be on the leading edge have either resorted to creating their own forms electronically or have gone to many of the new companies that have popped up offering inspection software packages that work with handhelds and pc's....now we have a plethora of different formats, and not all are good.... A lot of these packages were created for a wide variety of industries and the formats didn't / don't necessarily transfer over very well, and neither are they created by people who necessarily understand the finer details of OUR industry.

Excuse the run on sentences ... I'm working on those.

Anyways, to the point: what format and form does your firm use?

Regards
Dave
 
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We follow the version of NFPA 25 (or other applicable NFPA standard) which has been adopted by state law for the state where the facility is located.

The "sample" forms included in NFPA 25 are cumbersome and not very customer friendly. I personally created the inspection forms that we use at Falcon Fire Protection from scratch. The creation of forms is very time consuming and you must make sure your forms cover all of the requirements; however, customer friendly & concise forms can be a competitive advantage over your competition. Typed electronic forms are definitely the "best" approach for several reasons.

I am not a fan of the inspection software packages for the water-based fire protection systems industry.......one could make a strong case that this approach should be against the law. It is too easy for the various inspectors to get into the habit of simply selecting boxes and entering small bytes of data. The inspectors need to be well trained, they need to see the big picture, they need to be detailed and not just go through the steps of completing an electronic form using a hand held device. This approach naturally leads to problems and over-sight from inexperienced inspectors. Just my personal opinion!
 
As an expert in NFPA 25 inspections and testing I strongly recommend the forms published by NFSA for one reason and one reason only. They include and also address all requirements including but not limited to daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

The forms published by the NFPA does not have that. You have to fill out separate forms for each task.
 
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