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Aipedia: Building services engineers
AI can assist with sprinkler, fire alarm and smoke control design, but on higher-risk buildings every output faces regulator scrutiny and the designer carries the competence duty. Fire safety work is also an area where PI cover may be restricted, so AI errors here can be hard to insure.
Part of: AI in building services engineering
In short
MEP and fire engineers use AI to lay out detectors and sprinkler heads, size smoke extract and pressurisation systems, and draft fire strategy text. On higher-risk buildings these designs go into building control approval applications to the Building Safety Regulator under SI 2023/909, with a competence declaration and later golden thread and occurrence reporting duties. CIBSE Code clause 4.2 and Part 2A regulation 11F require competence. Some PI policies for construction professionals may restrict or exclude fire safety work, so firms should confirm how their wording treats AI-assisted fire design before relying on it.
Tools now place detectors, call points and sounders on floor plans, lay out sprinkler heads and pipe sizing, estimate smoke extract and stair pressurisation rates, check cause and effect matrices and draft the fire strategy narrative for building services. Some generate coordinated layouts directly in BIM. On complex buildings, AI may also be used to summarise fire engineering reports for the MEP team.
These systems are life safety systems. A design that looks complete but is wrong in its assumptions about compartmentation, ventilation paths or system interactions can fail when it is needed most.
The Building Safety Regulator, standalone since 27 January 2026, announced a more proportionate and targeted approach to HRB assessments on 9 July 2026. A more targeted approach does not lower the standard expected of the design.
Building control approval applications for higher-risk buildings need design information that is coherent across disciplines. AI-drafted text is a particular risk here: it can describe a smoke control strategy in general terms that do not match the drawings, or repeat standard wording that conflicts with the fire engineer's strategy. Inconsistency can lead to applications being queried, causing delay to the whole project. Make sure every AI-drafted statement has been checked against the actual design and the fire strategy, and that the principal designer knows how the MEP information was produced. See also AI and the golden thread.
Illustrative scenario: an MEP team uses an AI tool to size a corridor smoke extract system and draft the description for a residential tower's building control application. The tool assumes a door arrangement from an earlier layout. The regulator queries the inconsistency, the system has to be redesigned with larger shafts, and the client claims for redesign fees and programme delay. Had the error not been caught, the system might have underperformed in a fire.
Fire safety design is an area where some PI policies for construction professionals may include exclusions or restrictions, for example on cladding, external wall systems or fire safety work generally, and cover may be limited in amount or scope. Claims on higher-risk buildings may also arise long after completion. Read M&E design and the Building Safety Act, our page on cladding and fire safety exclusions, PI for fire engineers and the section 135 limitation extension. Whether an AI-assisted fire design claim is covered usually depends far more on these restrictions than on the use of AI.
Related: AI BIM layout automation, MEP PI and AI errors and AI in Gateway 2 applications. Back to AI in building services engineering.
Apex arranges PI for building services engineers. A broker reviews your cover and how your policy treats fire safety and AI-assisted work on higher-risk buildings.
It can assist, but a competent engineer must own the design. On higher-risk buildings the design forms part of the building control approval application, and Part 2A and SI 2023/909 competence duties apply.
The common name for the building control approval application to the Building Safety Regulator for higher-risk building work, made under SI 2023/909. Applications include design information and a competence declaration.
Some policies may restrict or exclude fire safety work, cladding or external walls, or cap cover for it. Check your wording before taking on fire and smoke control design, whether or not AI is involved.
It is sensible. The principal designer coordinates compliance and the application, and IStructE guidance suggests sharing AI policies across disciplines. Clear records also help with golden thread duties.
Tell us about your firm and the work you do. A broker will review how your current PI treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
