EN 12845 Quarterly and Half-Yearly Routines

The weekly check answers "is it dead?" The quarterly and half-yearly visits answer "how healthy is it?" From the hazard review to dry valve exercising, and the risk of opening and closing a valve, these are the demanding items on site.

On a quarterly visit to a food factory the weekly logbook was spotless and the pressure steady. During the hazard review, the manager mentioned that the layout in the adjacent hall had changed the previous month and pallet height had risen to 4 m. The system had been designed for 3.5 m. Neither the sprinklers nor the hydraulics support that. This is exactly the kind of changed condition that never appears in a weekly logbook — and exactly what the quarterly and half-yearly clauses exist to catch.

The quarterly routine (13 weeks)

The following checks are carried out at intervals no greater than 13 weeks, under eight sub-headings.

Review of hazard

This is the most overlooked item in the standard. Structural changes, changes of use, storage configuration, and changes to heating, lighting or equipment are all reviewed. If the hazard class has changed, the system may need re-sizing.

In practice: a short five or six question form, signed by the manager or operator.

• Have any new partitions, mezzanines or intermediate floors been added in the last 13 weeks?
• Has the stock category or storage height changed?
• Has any new process equipment been added — a spray booth, an oven, a wax tank?
• Has the heating method changed, for example from gas burner to electric?
• Has a lighting change, such as an LED retrofit, created new obstructions to sprinkler distribution?

Sprinklers, multiple controls and sprayers

• Sprinklers with deposits — other than paint — are carefully cleaned.
• Painted or deformed sprinklers are replaced, not cleaned.
• Petroleum jelly coatings are checked; where necessary the existing coating is removed and two coats applied (on glass bulb sprinklers, to the body and yoke only).
• Sprinklers in spray booths need particular attention; more frequent cleaning or protective measures might be necessary.

Pipework and supports

• Corrosion inspected, with paint renewed where necessary.
• Bitumen-based paint on pipework, including the threaded ends of galvanised pipe and hangers, is renewed as necessary; the note to the clause says renewal might be needed at intervals of one to five years depending on the severity of the conditions.
• Tape wrap repairs.
• Pipework is checked for electrical earthing connections: it must not be used for earthing electrical equipment — where it is, the connection is removed and an alternative arranged. This is one of the most commonly skipped items; in older buildings an electrician may well have used the sprinkler pipe as a convenient earth.

Water supplies and alarm testing

Each water supply is tested through each control valve set. The pump must start automatically, and the supply pressure at the appropriate flow rate must be no less than the appropriate value in Clause 10, taking account of any changes identified by the hazard review. This test is distinct from the annual pump flow test; here it is a functional test — the pump starts and the pressure is recorded.

Electrical supplies

Where a secondary electrical supply from a diesel generator exists, its function is checked.

Stop valve exercising

All stop valves controlling the flow of water to sprinklers — on all water supplies, at the alarm valve(s) and all zone or other subsidiary stop valves — are operated and securely refastened in the correct mode. A valve that is never exercised seizes over time and will not open or close when it matters. A recommended sequence (field practice):

1. Close one valve fully, then open it fully.
2. Seal the position and check the tamper switch signal.
3. Carry out the water motor alarm test (20.2.2.3) to confirm the system is still open.
4. Move on to the next valve.

Flow alarms

Functional testing of flow switches and pressure switches.

Spare parts inventory

The standard requires spare sprinkler stock of 6 for LH, 24 for OH and 36 for HHP and HHS, plus additional stock for high-temperature, sidewall and other special patterns. The quarterly routine checks the inventory and replenishes what has been used.

The half-yearly routine (6 months)

Dry alarm valve exercising

On dry installations and subsidiary extensions, the moving parts of the alarm valve — including accelerators and exhausters — are exercised per the manufacturer's instructions. In practice: vent the air, let the valve trip, then restore it to the dry condition and repressurise. The standard does not require timing in this routine; if timing is recorded, the reference is Table 18, the maximum water delivery time for dry and alternate installations (LH 90 s, OH and HH 60 s; Clause 11.2.2).

Alternate installations switch between wet and dry twice a year in any case, so they do not need a separate test. Clause 20.3.3.2 covers dry pipe installations and subsidiary dry extensions; it does not mention pre-action installations.

Fire service and remote monitoring alarms

The standard only requires the electrical installation to be checked. Field practice: also test whether the A and B type signals of Annex I actually arrive — call the monitoring centre and confirm the test signal was received.

Field error — painted sprinklers change the count

During an interior refit at a shopping centre, the decorator painted every ceiling element white, including the concealed sprinkler cover plates. The quarterly maintenance visit found them. Clause 14.1 prohibits painting sprinklers except as allowed by EN 12259-1, and Clause 20.3.2.3 requires painted sprinklers to be replaced, not cleaned. That meant 134 cover plate replacements. The store manager asked why they could not simply be cleaned. Because a painted cover plate takes the product outside its approved condition and its release behaviour becomes unpredictable.

Comparison with NFPA 25

NFPA 25's quarterly inspection covers most of the same items in practice. The hazard review has no periodic counterpart in NFPA 25: NFPA 25-2026 Sections 4.1.7 and 4.1.8 require the system to be evaluated when the occupancy, use, process, materials or storage change, and under 4.1.7.1 that evaluation is not considered part of the normal inspection, testing and maintenance. Dry pipe valve trip testing is annual under NFPA 25-2026: every 3 years and whenever the system is altered it is a full flow trip with the control valve fully open, and in the other years a partial trip with the control valve partially open (13.4.5.2.2.2 and 13.4.5.2.2.3), where EN 12845's six-monthly exercise is more frequent. Under NFPA 25-2026 Section 13.3.3.1, each control valve is operated annually through its full range and returned to its normal position; EN 12845 does so quarterly, which is stricter.

Link to Turkish regulation

BYKHY Article 100(1) requires extinguishing systems to be subjected, under the responsibility of the building owner or manager, to the periodic checks, tests and maintenance specified in the relevant standards; for sprinklers that standard is TS EN 12845 (Article 96(5)). The quarterly hazard review forms and the half-yearly dry valve records also underpin the yearly periodic system inspection report required by Clause 21. From an insurance perspective, systems where stop valves are not exercised show a higher incidence of closed-valve incidents, and claims become contestable.

Quick check list

• Hazard review form signed?
• Sprinklers checked for deposits, paint and deformation, with replacements made?
• Petroleum jelly coatings checked and renewed where necessary?
• Pipe and hanger corrosion checked, bituminous paint renewed.
• Any pipe used as an electrical earth removed and re-arranged?
• Every stop valve exercised, secured in the correct position and alarm tested.
• Flow and pressure switches tested.
• Spare sprinkler inventory (LH 6, OH 24, HHP/HHS 36).
• Dry valve exercised at six months.
• Monitoring centre and fire service signal test at six months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the review of hazard?

A quarterly check on whether anything about the building or its use has changed — new partitions, higher storage, new process equipment, a heating change. If the hazard class has moved, the system may need re-sizing.

Can a painted sprinkler be cleaned?

No. A painted or deformed sprinkler is replaced. Clause 20.3.2.3 requires painted sprinklers to be replaced; paint takes the sprinkler outside its approved condition and makes its response unpredictable.

Why exercise stop valves quarterly?

Because an unexercised valve seizes. Clause 20.3.2.7 requires each to be operated and securely refastened in the correct mode. In practice each is closed fully, opened fully and locked, the tamper signal checked and an alarm test carried out before moving to the next.

How often are dry alarm valves exercised?

At intervals of no more than six months, on dry pipe installations and subsidiary dry extensions (Clause 20.3.3.2). Alternate installations already change over twice a year and need not be tested in this way.

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