Fire and smoke dampers are designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning ducts, and they can mean the difference between a small, contained fire and a deadly disaster. But these systems have been found to fail frequently due to improper installation and/or maintenance. New Mexico's regulation is intended to increase the efficacy of life-saving smoke and fire dampers used in public buildings, storage facilities, and multifamily dwellings by ensuring they are regularly tested and inspected by a professional via an accredited certification program.
"Particularly in life-and-death areas like fire safety, the rigor and efficacy of the ANSI/ANAB accreditation process are a critical step in assuring the quality of inspection and testing," said Lane Hallenbeck, executive director of ANAB. "New Mexico's recognition is the latest in an increasing number of regulators, government agencies, and other U.S. and international entities demonstrating their trust in ANSI/ANAB accreditation to assure competency and indicate value in addressing important public priorities across a broad range of disciplines."
The ANSI/ANAB Accreditation Program for Personnel Certification Bodies is based on the American National Standard (ANS) and international standard ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024:2012, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons, and fulfills the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011:2004, Conformity assessment - General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies - the highest internationally accepted practices for accreditation bodies.
For more information, visit www.ansi.org/Accreditation/credentialing/personnel-certification.