PERFORMANCE BASED APPROACH (PBA)

The Fire Engineering-Performance Based Approach (PBA) is a system for designing, evaluating, and assessing building fire safety. To meet the goals of BS 7974:2019- Application of Fire Safety Engineering Concepts to Building Design, the design relies on the use of fire engineering principles, calculations, and appropriate software modelling tools.

Any purpose group utilised for bulk storage or processing of flammable liquids, industrial chemicals, or explosive materials is not covered by the PBA. The risk involved of such structures will require careful consideration. In Malaysia, it is necessary to adhere to all provisions of the prescriptive building codes of the Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL) 1984 (amendment 2012) and Sarawak Building Ordinance 1994 (amendment 2008), although it is permissible to utilise the PBA approach in the event of noncompliance.

Noncompliance allowed only for compartmentation and travel distance during architectural plan approval if the project’s development exceeds 150 metres in height and covers an area of more than one million square metres. As well as mixed development, where such purpose groups find it difficult to meet the common compartmentation needs.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to design a smoke management system

The main concept of the PBA is smoke control with proper evacuation, with consultants expected to pay close attention to the exact perimeters used to represent the situation. And, especially when it comes to simulation, calculation, and documentation, it is critical to verify the perimeter proposed accurately and precisely.