Strengthening Fire Safety Resilience in Saudi Giga-Projects through Advanced Inspection, Testing and Commissioning Practices
Abstract
The vast number of projects carried out by Saudi Arabia involve a great deal of construction, a wide range of different kinds of buildings, modern building services, and very strict deadlines for completion. Under these circumstances, fire safety resilience depends not only on the design complying with the relevant codes but also on the systems installed being clearly complete, capable of working together, and able to be restored before the projects are handed over. This study treats inspection, testing and commissioning (ITC) as a continuous process for making sure that the fire protection and life-safety systems work in Saudi giga-projects. A structured and integrative review was carried out in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 reporting guidelines and included peer-reviewed studies, standards and Saudi policy documents published between 2020 and 2025. The evidence was divided into five themes: the quality of inspection, the functional testing of subsystems, integrated system testing, digital verification and lifecycle governance. The review shows that resilience is reduced when verification is left to the individual contractors, when the documentation is fragmented, when interface tests are delayed, or when acceptance is based on the activation of components rather than on the system's performance in a given scenario. On the other hand, risk-based inspection, functional testing that is witnessed, integrated sequences covering alarm systems, smoke control, emergency power and egress systems, and digitally traceable evidence all increase the likelihood that the safety functions will operate if a real fire takes place. Even though digital twins, IoT sensing, computer vision and BIM can improve traceability and situational awareness, they do not substitute for competent inspection or independent witnessing. The paper presents a seven-stage Fire Safety Resilience Assurance Framework which is in line with the Saudi Fire Protection Code and with current NFPA commissioning practices. The framework unites the design intent, the verification of installation, pre-functional checks, functional tests, integrated scenarios, handover evidence and periodic retesting. It provides owners, regulatory authorities, commissioning teams and contractors with a flexible approach for reducing latent defects and for guaranteeing operational dependability in the context of complex Vision 2030 developments.