Dip switches have been the accepted way to configure smoke control panels for decades. They are cheap, simple, and any engineer with a screwdriver can change the system’s cause and effect logic in minutes. For most of that history, that was a feature.
Since the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force, the configuration of a life safety system has to be documented, secure, and fully traceable throughout the building’s lifecycle. For higher-risk residential buildings, that audit trail is a legal requirement. A dip-switch panel cannot produce it.
The control function still works. The wiring still works. What the panel cannot do is evidence who changed what, when, and why. That is what the Golden Thread now demands, and that is where dip switches and compliance part company.
The rest of this article sets out the five specific reasons, what the compliant alternative looks like, and how to plan a replacement.
What the Golden Thread Actually Requires
The Golden Thread is a requirement of the Building Safety Act 2022 for higher-risk residential buildings, those of at least 18 metres in height or with at least 7 storeys, containing at least 2 residential units. It obliges the Accountable Person to maintain a complete, digital, continuously updated record of building safety information throughout the lifecycle of the building. The Responsible Person under the Fire Safety Order has separate but overlapping duties to keep fire safety equipment in effective working order.
For smoke ventilation specifically, this means:
- A complete asset register of every component in the system
- Certification evidence for every component (Declaration of Performance to the relevant part of BS EN 12101)
- The original design specification and cause and effect schedule
- A record of every configuration change, who changed what, when, why, and under what authority
- A record of every maintenance visit and test result
- A record of every modification to the system
Not a paper logbook. Not a filing cabinet. Not a folder on someone’s personal computer. A structured, digital, auditable record that the Building Safety Regulator can inspect.
Five Gaps That Break the Audit Trail
A smoke control panel configured with dip switches has five structural gaps when measured against the Golden Thread’s evidence requirements. None of them are flaws in the underlying control function. They are gaps in the record of what was configured and by whom. Each one is enough on its own to break the audit trail the Building Safety Regulator expects to see.
No authentication
A dip-switch panel does not know who is operating it. The switches can be changed by anyone with physical access, an engineer, a building manager, a contractor working on something else who opens the panel to route cables. There is no user account, no PIN, no authentication at all.
From a compliance perspective, this means no record of who made a change. When the Building Safety Regulator asks “who authorised the change from zone 3 timing of 60 seconds to 90 seconds in March 2025?” there is no answer.
No audit trail
A dip-switch panel does not record when a change was made, or what the change was. If the current switch positions do not match the design documentation, there is no way to reconstruct what happened.
This is a problem even in routine maintenance. An engineer fixing a different fault might nudge a switch while working inside the panel. Six months later, a test fails. Nobody can say why because nobody recorded the original state.
No documentation enforcement
The logbook is a separate record from the panel. If the engineer forgets to update the logbook after changing a switch, the documentation is out of date from that moment. There is no built-in link between the physical configuration and the documented configuration.
No change control
A modification to a life safety system should require authorisation. A dip-switch panel accepts any change instantly. There is no approval workflow, no authorised user list, no restriction on when changes can be made.
Drift accumulates
Over 15 or 20 years of service, dip-switch panels tend to accumulate undocumented modifications. By the time a building safety case audit comes around, the team can find it hard to reconstruct what the panel is doing and why.
What Secure Configuration Looks Like
A modern smoke control panel designed for Golden Thread compliance works differently.
Authenticated access
Configuration changes require authenticated access. An authorised user logs in with a unique identity. The panel knows who is making changes and logs their identity against every action.
Cryptographic audit trail
Every configuration change is written to a tamper-evident log. The log records:
- The user who made the change
- The exact date and time
- The previous configuration value
- The new configuration value
- The reason for the change (if captured)
This log cannot be altered retroactively without detection. It is the evidence the Building Safety Regulator is looking for.
Documented configuration export
The current configuration can be exported as a structured document, ready to add to the building’s Golden Thread record. No manual transcription from switch positions to paperwork. No risk of the two records getting out of sync.
Change authorisation
Some configurations support multi-user authorisation, where a configuration change proposed by one engineer must be approved by a second authorised user before it takes effect. This is standard practice in other life-safety industries (aviation, rail, medical) and is becoming expected in fire safety.
Backup and restore
The complete configuration can be backed up externally. If the panel has to be replaced, through failure, upgrade, or end-of-life replacement, the new panel can be restored to a known configuration, with a clear audit trail of that restoration.
The O Range Approach
The O Range 7 smoke control panel was designed specifically to address the Golden Thread compliance problem.
Configuration is done through the O Range Connect software, not physical switches. Every change requires authenticated access. Every change is logged with user identity, timestamp, and before/after values. The log is tamper-evident and can be exported for the building’s Golden Thread record.
No dip switches. No unauthenticated modifications. No configuration drift.
The control equipment is certified to BS ISO 21927-9 and the power supply to BS EN 12101-10. The panel scales from a single stairwell to 60 networked zones, and is available with 72-hour battery backup as standard (per BS EN 12101-10; reducible to 30 h with remote supervision or 4 h with on-site spares and standby generator). Each panel operates independently, so there is no single point of failure across a networked installation.
When to Specify Replacement
If you have a dip-switch smoke control panel in service today, you do not necessarily need to replace it tomorrow. But you should be planning for replacement if any of the following apply:
The building is in scope of the Building Safety Act. At least 18 metres in height or with at least 7 storeys, residential, containing at least 2 residential units (BSA 2022 s.65). The Golden Thread requirement is legally binding for these buildings, and a dip-switch panel cannot provide the audit trail the regulator expects. This is the case where the answer to the title question is yes.
The panel is approaching end of life. Most legacy panels have a 10–15 year service expectancy. Replacing ahead of failure is cheaper than an emergency swap after a test failure.
Spare parts are becoming scarce. If the manufacturer has discontinued the product line, replacement by attrition is inevitable. Plan it rather than wait for it.
A fire risk assessor has flagged the panel. Increasingly, fire risk assessors are noting dip-switch panels as a compliance concern even on buildings outside the Building Safety Act’s direct scope. If this happens, the replacement is effectively compulsory.
The configuration documentation has drifted. If nobody can produce an up-to-date cause and effect schedule that matches what the panel is actually doing, the compliant route is replacement with a panel that enforces documentation.
For the practical replacement process, see Replacing an Old Smoke Control Panel: What to Check.
The Bigger Picture
The move away from dip-switch panels is part of a wider shift in UK fire safety. Post-Grenfell, the regulatory environment expects more accountability, more traceability, and more rigour across every part of a building’s fire safety strategy.
Dip switches are a product of an earlier era of the industry, when responsibility was more diffuse and documentation was lighter. They cannot carry the cryptographic audit trail that the Building Safety Regulator, mandatory building safety cases, and personal liability for the Accountable Person now make non-optional.
A smoke control panel is a life safety device. The level of control over its configuration is now expected to match the control over any other safety-critical system in the building. For a dip-switch panel, that gap is structural. No amount of process or paperwork around the panel will close it. It closes when the panel is replaced.
Ready to Move Off Dip Switches?
The O Range 7 is available now, manufactured in the UK, and designed specifically for the Golden Thread requirements of the Building Safety Act.
- Call our technical team: 01202 725 689
- Email: info@vent-trade.co.uk
- Download the O Range datasheet
- Browse smoke control panels
Our technical team can assess your existing installation, specify a compliant replacement, and provide a full quotation with delivery lead times. Single stairwell to 60 networked zones, all from a single platform with a single audit trail.
Sources
Official guidance and standards referenced in this article:
