FM DS 7-112 · Oct 2024

Lithium-ion mobile equipment

Controls covering state of charge, sprinkler design, detection and ventilation, damaged-battery handling, mixed fleets, authored from the published standard.

The standard

Lithium-ion forklifts and AMRs bring battery storage and charging rooms into the warehouse. FM Data Sheet 7-112 governs how those batteries are stored and charged; FM Data Sheet 7-39 covers the material handling vehicles in use.

Published by FM.

Key facts

Sprinklers cannot stop thermal runaway inside a lithium-ion cell, so storage and charging areas are designed to contain a fire rather than extinguish it.
Source: FM DS 7-112
Areas where lithium-ion batteries are stored or handled are protected to Hazard Category 3 sprinkler design.
Source: FM DS 3-26
Batteries above 60% state of charge are prohibited in automated storage and retrieval systems.
Source: FM DS 7-112
Adding lithium-ion trucks to charging infrastructure built for lead-acid, without upgrading protection, leaves a gap most operators miss.
Source: FM DS 7-112

Questions underwriting asks

What is the maximum state of charge for batteries in storage?
Is FM Approved off-gas detection installed where batteries charge?
Where are damaged batteries quarantined?

Verified engineering controls earn premium credit, validated by an underwriter prior to binding.

Questions operators ask

A battery's state of charge changes how hard a fire is to control. FM DS 7-112 prohibits batteries above 60% state of charge in automated storage and retrieval systems, so underwriting asks what you commit to for stored batteries.

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