Dive Brief:
- The National Fire Protection Association has established a corporation that will offer compliance solutions, digital products and advisory services.
- NFPA Global Solutions is a fully-owned corporation aimed at helping companies comply with standards and regulations. The new entity’s NFPA Global Advisors business line will focus on helping governments and organizations implement the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem to strengthen safety and risk prevention systems, according to a March 28 news release.
- The expansion is part of a broader plan to advance the association’s mission through acquisitions and new offerings that will address global safety needs more comprehensively, NFPA said.
Dive Insight:
A self-funded nonprofit, the NFPA publishes over 300 codes and standards dedicated to minimizing the risk of death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and other hazards.
The new corporation, NFPA Global Solutions, will help companies demonstrate compliance via testing, inspection and certification with codes, standards and regulations in its focus areas of fire, life safety and protection from electrical hazards, including premarket and post market compliance, according to NFPA.
The association said the entity’s digital products aim to help facilities managers, contractors, design engineers and authorities “do their jobs and further extend the NFPA connection with them.” Advisory services, which the NFPA said go beyond what it has traditionally offered, will involve guiding companies and governmental bodies on implementing the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem.
The Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem identifies components that must work together to minimize these electrical and fire-related risks and hazards. The framework spans eight interdependent safety components. These include using the latest codes and standards established by experts; applying referenced standards along with the primary codes and standards; investing in safety by allocating resources to reduce losses; promoting the development and use of a skilled workforce to ensure that the most current codes and standards are applied correctly; code compliance; preparedness and emergency response; informing the public; and holding the government accountable for maintaining effective policies and regulatory environments.
“The nature and intensity of safety risks continue to evolve,” NFPA President and CEO Jim Pauley said in a statement, emphasizing that the new corporation will help the association to further support customers and stakeholders.
Former NFPA Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Carlos Correia will lead NFPA Global Solutions, overseeing the entity’s growth, acquisitions, innovations and efforts to scale within related sectors, according to the release.
Keith Williams, former CEO of UL, and Michael Wallace, former executive director of business development at Carrier Corp., have been appointed as independent board members, the NFPA said.
