Authored by: Christopher Jensen, Regulatory Services Manager, UL Solutions and Distinguished Member of Technical Staff — William Henry Merrill Society and Jonathan Roberts, Senior Regulatory Engineer, UL Solutions and Distinguished Member of Technical Staff — William Henry Merrill Society
The need for prefabricated rooms and privacy booths within public spaces is increasing. As a result, these booths and rooms are showing up in places such as offices and airport terminals. The popularity of these products is driven by the need for people to have a small room for a private meeting space, a booth for a quiet place to make a call, a lactation pod for nursing mothers who are looking for increased privacy, or sleep pods for a weary traveler to catch a nap.
UL 962, the Standard for Household and Commercial Furnishings, was recently revised to include requirements specifically for these products. Updates were made to broaden the scope of this Standard beyond furnishings to include new electrical, egress and fire safety requirements for mitigating the hazards associated with prefabricated rooms or booths. Prefabricated rooms or booths listed to UL 962 will have a visible certification label along with applicable safety warning notices for installers and occupants.
Requirements for privacy booths
Prefabricated privacy booths (a room-in-room) are occupiable products/furnishing covered by UL 962. These are generally larger than a sleep capsule and are designed to be used as a private room installed within a larger space inside a building. These products may also be used for meetings or private spaces away from the noise of a crowded open space. Within UL 962, there are specific criteria pertaining to these booths, including requirements for egress doors, fire detection and suppression, ceiling types, and emergency lighting.
In a booth or room-in-room equipped with a door, UL 962 requires the door to be of the outward-swinging or sliding type. When a locking mechanism is installed on a door, it is required that it be capable of being unlocked from both inside and outside the room, in case of emergency. This allows proper egress from the booth to be maintained at all times, and first responders can access the space during an emergency.
When a booth or room-in-room is equipped with a ceiling, the ceiling construction must provide a means for fire suppression within the space, based on the fire suppression of the building or room in which the product is installed. Compliance options include an open grid ceiling, a listed dropout ceiling or a fire suppression system installed within the space, either in the form of a standalone suppression system or an automatic fire sprinkler connected to the building’s sprinkler system in accordance with NFPA 13. Rooms with open grid ceilings are also required to maintain specific distances from any overhead sprinkler suppression systems; the specifics outlined in the standard range from 18 inches to 36 inches, depending on sprinkler type and layout.
These booths are also required to include specific labeling that corresponds with their construction and specifies additional safety requirements for the booth. As an example, when using an open grid or dropout ceiling, UL 962 requires specific warning labels on the booth itself, specifying the type of occupancies in which the booth can be installed, the type of automatic sprinkler system under which the booth can be installed, and a warning not to set objects on top of the dropout ceiling.
Flame spread and smoke developed index are additional concerns addressed within UL 962 as related to interior finish ratings and applicable building code requirements. The Standard requires that the surface materials from which the booths are constructed be tested in accordance with UL 723, the Standard Test for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials. When a product is found to have a smoke-developed index of more than 450, the Standard requires the product to be clearly marked with “SMOKE DEVELOPED INDEX OVER 450.”
Requirements for sleep capsules
Along with the requirements above, sleep capsules must meet additional requirements found in UL 962. These new requirements include guidance for what the Standard refers to as bunk capsule cabins, or sleeping capsules, which are generally intended for short-term napping rather than long stays. This includes requirements that evaluate safety considerations if the units are designed to be stacked. Among the requirements for these products are upper-bunk capsule cabin loading, torsional strength, resistance to separation, handrail/guardrail, ceiling support and stability tests.
Access to the upper bunk by ladders is another hazard addressed in the Standard. Ladders can be a lean-on (slanted) or a hang-on (vertical) type. Either type of ladder must be able to support the load that would be applied by a 300-pound person and must remain in place without being dislodged. Additionally, the ladder rungs must not be more than 12 inches apart, and the ladder itself cannot be less than 10 inches wide.
Where a bunk capsule is provided with an upper sleep capsule (top capsule cabin), UL 962 requires that a means be in place to prevent a sleeping occupant from rolling or sliding out of bed. This comes in the form of what the Standard describes as an “elevated means.” This elevated means is required to be no less than 5 inches above the top surface of the mattress so sleeping occupants can remain securely in the upper capsule.
Additional safety markings are also required by UL 962 for sleep pods, specifying the type and height of the mattress, the age of users in upper capsule spaces (not less than 6 years old), not allowing substitution of replacement parts, keeping the top space guard rail in place and secure, and prohibiting the use of water-filled or sleep flotation mattresses.
UL Solutions certifies (lists) sleep pods, booths and room-in-room-type products under the product category for Furniture, Powered and Nonpowered (IYNE). The guide information and certifications (listings) can be viewed on Product iQ® by searching for IYNE. Product iQ® is complimentary to search, but registration is required.
When installing prefabricated booths, room-in-room-type products and sleeping capsules, the code authorities should be contacted to identify any local codes, policies or regulations that apply to their installation and use.
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