FAQ

• 1. WHAT DOES THE UNI EN 12845:2009 REGULATION SAY?

  Art. 17.1.3 Welding of steel pipes Piping and fittings having a diameter less than 50 mm must not be welded on site with the exception of when the installer uses an automatic welder (point 2). Under no circumstances welding, cutting with blowpipe or other hot work operations should be performed on site.

  The sprinkler pipe welding must be performed in such a way that:

  - all joints are welded in a continuous manner;

  - The inner part of the weld must not interfere with the flow of water (step 5);

  - The piping is smudged and the slag removed. Welders shall be approved in accordance with EN 287-1 (point 2).

  As you can see the rule does not prohibit welding, provided it is carried out according to certain procedures and not in work.

• 2. WHAT KIND OF WELDING DOES PREFAB USE?
  Prefab uses American-made robots that carry out welding on pipes. Both robots and operators involved in the planning and control are certified according to UNI EN ISO 15614-1: 2008 by the ITALCERT (ex UNI EN 287-1).

  Welding Procedure Qualification Record (WPQR)

• 3. WHO GUARANTEES QUALITY?
  Product quality is our priority and our pride, so our operators perform both pressure tests and non-destructive testing (level II VT and PT qualifications) on the pipe work. For complete warranty Prefab has an RC insurance coverage up to € 1,000,000.00.
• 4. WHAT KIND OF PIPES DOES PREFAB USE?
  Prefab, to abide by its policy of reducing prices without this being at the expense of quality, has chosen to work the pipes as ACCOUNT FOR MANUFACTURE. This allows our customer to maintain the commercial conditions in place with suppliers. Prefab can work both on painted and black pipes; generally the black pipes are used when building RAL pipelines, while when making RAL3000 plants the pipes are supplied by the customer already painted. Prefab will then restore the area of intervention with an inner painting.
• 5. WHAT ABOUT GALVANIZED PIPES?
  Prefab has managed to overcome this limitation. Prefabcan in fact work the pipe with the following methods:

  - Black pipe processing, galvanized at the end

  - Galvanized pipes processing, providing for the restoration of the area of welding with a process called "metallization", which provides for the blasting of the area and the subsequent galvanizing with a molten zinc.

  Both processes are certified with the pertintet Warranty Certification, and the only difference lies in the cost and aesthetic finishing.
• 6. WHAT’S THE SOCKET, AND WHO PROVIDES IT?
  The socket is nothing more than a threaded or grooved pipe, specially shaped: this fits to the outer surface of the pipe in such a way as not to interfere with the passage of water, as provided by the regulations. The sockets are UL / FM approved and made by certified US companies that distribute their products on the Italian market by means of the leading suppliers. Prefab prefer to buy these products directly from its selected suppliers, so that they can ensure the highest product quality.
  
• 7. DOES PREFAB INSTALL THE SYSTEMS?
  No. Prefab has invested in technology, facilities and machinery to produce a product ready to use, with easy installation even with unskilled labour. Prefab has set one goal: to do one thing only, but in the best way possible. The company therefore aims to a day-by-day product improvement.
• 8. DOES PREFAB PERORM BEADING OPERATIONS?
  Prefab performs the beading through the use of fully automated hydraulic rolling machines, able to bead both sides of the pipes and to polish the colour from the place where the seal will be placed. This process avoids probable losses due to uneven painting.
• 9. HOW CAN I RECOGNIZE PREFAB PIPES WHEN ASSEMBLING?
  Prefab provides for the marking of each pipe by means of inkjet printers, which shall mark the Code, the Side for mounting the piece and the Piece Number (eg. 002 of 090). Furthermore, the pipes are divided into bundles of the same code in order to facilitate the handling and the search for the right pipes. To complete the picture of the extreme simplicity of installation of each Prefab system, a handy Technical Manual is included.