Overview
ISO/TR 16576:2017 - "Fire safety engineering - Examples of fire safety objectives, functional requirements and safety criteria" compiles real-world examples of fire safety design objectives, functional requirements and performance criteria from Japan, France and New Zealand. Intended as an informative technical report, it supports performance‑based fire safety engineering (FSE) by showing how different jurisdictions define objectives (life safety, property, environment, continuity), translate them into functional requirements, and express them as verifiable performance criteria.
Key topics and requirements
- Performance‑based approach vs prescriptive codes: Emphasizes development of quantifiable objectives and criteria as the first step in an engineered assessment, offering an alternative to purely prescriptive solutions.
- Fire safety objectives: Categories include life safety, property protection, environmental protection, continuity of operations and heritage preservation (illustrated with sub‑objectives in the France examples).
- Functional requirements: Statements of the means to achieve specified objectives taking built‑environment features into account; distinguished as mandatory (regulated) or voluntary (stakeholder‑driven).
- Performance criteria: Quantitative engineering metrics (deterministic or probabilistic) used to verify that functional requirements are met.
- Verification and safety factors: Guidance on verification processes and the concept of a safety factor to account for uncertainty in calculations, inputs and assumptions.
- Supporting elements: Examples and methodology elements include design fire and behavioural scenarios, fire risk assessment, and verification procedures (detailed in Annexes A–D).
Practical applications and users
ISO/TR 16576:2017 is a practical resource for:
- Fire safety engineers and consultants developing performance‑based designs and verification packages.
- Regulators and code writers seeking comparative examples to inform national or local guidance.
- Architects, building owners and facility managers who need to understand objective‑driven safety requirements and alternatives to prescriptive compliance.
- Researchers and educators teaching FSE methodology, risk assessment and scenario development.
Use cases include demonstrating equivalence to prescriptive solutions, defining measurable safety targets for complex or heritage buildings, and establishing verification criteria for alternative design approaches.
Related standards
- ISO 23932 - General principles for performance‑based fire safety design (complements ISO/TR 16576).
- Development work conducted under ISO/TC 92 / SC 4 (Fire safety engineering).
Keywords: ISO/TR 16576:2017, fire safety engineering, performance‑based design, fire safety objectives, functional requirements, performance criteria, verification, life safety, property protection.
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