Schools are high-risk type of facilities in fire emergencies. This requires the implementation of safety measures, which comprise administrative and operational efforts to mitigate the occurrence of fire accidents. The review of literature indicated the lack of practical approaches that can be easily adopted for safety management in school facilities. This paper presents the development and implementation of a generic framework for fire safety management in school facilities. A literature review in the domain of fire safety in schools was performed to comprehend various knowledge areas in this context. A generic framework for fire safety management in school facilities was developed. The framework was implemented in a secondary school, located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, as a case study, to illustrate its applicability. An action plan was developed to improve the level of fire safety in the school facility, under review. The findings indicated that the framework provides a methodological and systematic approach for assessing the level of fire safety in schools, as well as determine the possible actions for improving the overall safety condition in such facilities. The paper provides a useful focus for practitioners and researchers concerned with fire safety in the educational workplace.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and assess interdisciplinary design checklists for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems’ coordination, for building projects, in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach Relevant documents were acquired including: heating, ventilation and air conditioning schedules; ductwork and chilled water pipes layout; and technical queries, among others, from residential and school projects. Next, factors influencing MEP systems’ coordination were extracted, and verified to ensure clarity and validity. They were formulated into design checklist items for MEP systems. Finally, the checklist items were assessed through a questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale of importance. Respondents were comprised of mechanical, architectural, construction, electrical engineers, design coordinators and quality assurance managers. Data were then analyzed using the relative importance index. Findings This study presents 63 design checklist items. The items for each discipline were grouped under four categories, highlighting specific considerations. The findings revealed that careful consideration and communication between the mechanical, structural and architectural design teams was paramount in achieving proper mechanical coordination. Furthermore, it was found that constant communication between the electrical and the other design teams was necessary, to avoid electrical design conflicts. Finally, fire safety consideration was found to be most important in plumbing systems’ coordination. Originality/value The checklists for facilitating the MEP coordination process in building projects aim at minimizing waste in resources and enhancing the overall quality and productivity. In the absence of existing checklists, this paper provides a practical benefit to design professionals to alert them to devote more effort to the dominant category of checklist items.
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