IDEA Across South Asia a growing chronicle of disasters underscores the need for stronger safety regulations and building codes better enforcement and in particular the wider use of sprinklers a cause FM Global has shown can prevent losses sprinklers and to support the development expansion and enforcement of relevant codes and standards notes Sumit Khanna an FM Global international codes and stan dards ICS consultant in Bangalore India Together with other members of FM Global s ICS team Khanna collects and presents data forms strategic alliances with research facili ties government agencies and fire service organizations and works to change public opinion in the world s major areas of indus trial development and urbanization One major challenge is the relatively limited experience with sprinklers where design and maintenance issues within the region often prevent sprinklers from oper ating effectively Organizations are rarely required to invest in sprinklers and under pressure to keep costs to a minimum often defer the necessary investments In some instances sprinklers are treated almost as ornamentation something necessary to acquire a certificate but installed with out consideration for hydraulic issues and thus likely to be ineffective when needed FM Global is a vocal advocate not just for sprinklers but for newer more efficient sprinkler designs correct installation prac tices and for policies that will encourage their adoption As described below India Sri Lanka Pakistan and Bangladesh have their own distinct codes and requirements for fire and natural hazards particularly when it comes to their sprinkler enforcement practices India India is nothing if not diverse Its 29 states each lead in approving and implementing codes and standards in their own region Some have lagged and others are quite advanced in their practices According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India IRDAI in 2012 and 2013 some 73 percent of fire insurance premiums were gen erated by just eight states Maharashtra Guja rat Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Delhi Haryana and Uttar Pradesh However while insurance is certainly FACTORY FIRES ALL TOO COMMON IN SOUTH ASIA How FM Global is fighting fire one building code at a time From the hot desert winds of the Arabian Sea to the ever humid alluvial ter ritory that fringes the Bay of Bengal eco nomic growth is evident nearly everywhere across what has sometimes been described as the Indian subcontinent Countries such as India itself Sri Lanka Pakistan and Bangladesh have to varying degrees embraced manufacturing and become pow erful players on the world stage vaulting into leadership positions in many industries But unfortunately rapid growth often outpaces established loss prevention and safety capabilities Today many production facilities remain substandard in terms of property protection often shockingly so and when a tragedy strikes the incident becomes global news within minutes see sidebar on page 22 The facts demonstrate that there is a problem and our job continues to be to improve the understanding of the need for 20 REASON ISSUE 1 2017

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