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Head of Technical
As a member of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) with a Foundation Degree (Science) in Construction Management and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Fire Safety Engineering, Damien is Checkmate’s resident compliance expert.
Beginning his career in 2007 within the Civil Engineering division of The Carey Group, Damien went on to join the Building Research Establishment (BRE), where he stayed for almost 10 years as their Senior Certification Manager.
Moving to Checkmate in 2017, Damien’s responsibilities range from evaluating and advising on new developments, to supporting both the technical and operational teams with his hands-on approach. With an endless supply of knowledge, and the famous Irish temperament, Damien is our go-to person for presentations, CPD seminars, and the odd post-work pub crawl…
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Since joining our team, Damien has guided the business from strength to strength, citing his biggest corporate achievement as writing our existing inspection protocols and leading the implementation of our operations system.
Fun fact…
While we’re uncertain if the two are linked, Damien hates a bad pint of ale, and once ‘outdid’ a balloon magician at a children’s birthday party…
To succeed in delivering high levels of workmanship, quality of the end product is paramount - especially when life safety is a concern. Maintaining these standards is like gardening - although we dont claim to be Alan Titchmarsh - just because you weeded your garden once doesent mean your job is done...ignore it, and weeds return. Quality is no different and that's why at Checkmate we are relentless in continuing to make the built environment safer.
Connect with Damien
Checkmate's Senior Management Team...
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Building Safety Cases - What You Need To Know
The media and industry press are alive with mentions, references and questions about the Building Safety Case report. But what do we really know about the Building Safety Case, and how can you ensure you meet the ever-looming deadlines?
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A Fire Door Survey is Just Checking a Fire Door, Right?
Our industry has prodded the slowly waking giant, and it is clear that businesses, facilities managers, building managers and the amazing people who work across fire safety are making inroads into resolving fire door issues. But I’m going to put this out there; inspecting a door does not improve life safety in a building, providing maintenance to ongoing defects does.
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"I know I Need a Fire Risk Assessment...But Which Type?!"
We already know that a Fire Risk Assessment is a process that determines: the hazard from fire, the likelihood that there will be a fire and the consequences if one were to occur. But did you know there are actually 4 types of FRA?
What's the Difference Between a Fire Risk Assessment and a Compartmentation Inspection?
And who is responsible for building compliance?
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New Year, New Facility!
Committed to innovation, along with the development of our trainee engineers, we began the conversion of an unused mezzanine space into a training area in one of our stores earlier this week!
A Door's a Door - Right?
Well no, actually, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Your average, every day door serves the primary purpose of security and control. Ingress and egress. It’s an access point, or a barrier, allowing the movement of people and goods.
The Importance of Passive Fire Protection in Buildings
It is hard to over-emphasize the importance of a passive fire protection (PFP) strategy and its subsequent governance in buildings. Comprising some kind of an assessment of the likely fire.
