Protecting high-bay racking systems safely from fire
High-bay racking systems are subject to special requirements in terms of fire protection. These must already be taken into account in the design of such facilities in accordance with the revised VDI guideline.
The revised directive VDI 3564 Sheet 1 describes a risk-appropriate compilation of fire protection measures in high-bay warehouses. The protection of the stored material assets is the main focus of the consideration.
This VDI guideline applies to the planning, construction and operation of high-bay racking systems. The recommendations in the guideline describe essential points to be considered in a fire protection verification or protection concept for a high-bay racking system. The measures described are interrelated and only effective in their entirety. After considering the fundamentals, risk characteristics and protection goals, the guideline goes into measures in structural, technical and organizational fire protection. The new edition of VDI 3564 Sheet 1 is a revision of the 2011 edition and also supersedes the April 2016 draft.
Due to the special design of a high-bay warehouse, close cooperation between all parties responsible for safety and fire protection is useful and necessary right from the design stage. These include, among others, the building supervisory authority, the office for occupational safety and the property insurer.
When drawing up the fire protection concept, it is also advantageous to involve a fire protection expert right from the start of the project. This would avoid subsequent changes for a successful acceptance of such a complex project already in advance.
The publisher of the guideline VDI 3564 Part 1 "Fire protection; recommendations for high-bay racking systems" is the VDI Society for Construction and Building Technology (GBG), Beuth Verlag.
