Sampling Instead of Full Acceptance Testing on a New Hotel
A general contractor on a new six-story, 190-room hotel is pushing for the final inspection. The fire alarm subcontractor pre-tested the system and replaced 14 malfunctioning devices. The subcontractor now proposes to functionally test the 14 replacement devices plus a 10 percent random sample of the remaining 298 initiating devices and 96 notification appliances, arguing that the panel's event history shows every device has communicated since power-up. The owner's representative asks you, the FAS-I technician, to sign the record of completion so the AHJ can be called. You have the as-builts, the sequence of operations, and the manufacturer's instructions. The AHJ has not witnessed any testing. The GC says the certificate of occupancy depends on the inspection happening this week.
1. Is the contractor's testing plan acceptable for acceptance testing? Explain your reasoning.
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No. Acceptance testing is not a sample. NFPA 72 requires every initiating device and every notification appliance to be functionally tested, and the installer must complete and sign the record of completion and the associated test records before the AHJ is asked to witness. A device that communicated in the history log has proven only data communication - not that the detector responds to smoke, that the pull station activates the correct zone, that an interface or relay operates, or that an appliance produces its rated output. Testing 14 replacements plus a 10 percent sample would leave 268 initiating devices and most appliances unverified, and any one of them could be misaddressed, miswired, or outside its listed spacing. Sampling belongs to periodic inspection and testing programs where the code permits it, not to acceptance of a new system.
2. What must happen before the record of completion is signed, and what should you tell the GC about the schedule?
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Do not sign. Tell the GC the acceptance test must be scheduled with the AHJ and that the test takes as long as it takes - for this building, roughly 312 initiating devices plus 96 appliances, plus alarm, supervisory, trouble, and interface functions, plus battery and voltage-drop verification. Before signing, confirm the as-builts match the installed addressing, verify the sequence of operations against the actual panel program, confirm the 14 replacements are correctly addressed and appear in the device list, verify the battery calculations and charger rating, and confirm that the pre-test records and device test sheets exist. Any deficiency found during the full test is corrected and retested, and the corrected result is what goes on the record. Then notify the AHJ in writing and provide the completed documentation.
3. The GC proposes that the AHJ watch only the 10 percent sample and accept the rest on the panel history. What is your position?
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That is not a test, and the panel history is not a substitute for one. The AHJ may have its own written witness policy, but a contractor cannot convert a 100 percent acceptance requirement into a sample by requesting it. If the AHJ chooses to witness only a portion, the full test still has to be performed and documented by qualified personnel, and the record of completion must reflect actual results for every device and appliance. If the GC refuses the full test, the project is not ready for inspection. I would put that in writing to the owner's representative rather than sign a record I cannot support, and I would note that the certificate of occupancy is the AHJ's decision, not something the testing contractor can schedule around.