Match the cooking equipment schedule to the hood package, exhaust route, protection information, and stated controls. Groundbook can flag potential inconsistencies with source links using a supplied NFPA 96 reference. The specialists verify applicability, performance, and the final installation design.
What does NFPA 96 cover?
NFPA 96 is the Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations. NFPA describes NFPA 96 as addressing fire safety for commercial cooking operations through ventilation control and fire protection requirements.
NFPA’s official NFPA 96 page identifies the 2027 edition as current when checked on September 30, 2026. Confirm the edition, local amendments, and project scope that actually govern the work. The publisher’s newest edition does not establish local adoption.
Confirm the actual cooking equipment, operation, and design basis. An appliance name or kitchen label alone does not establish the necessary exhaust or protection arrangement. Use the commercial kitchen drawing checklist to connect the specialist package to the surrounding building documents.
Gather the cooking, exhaust, and protection package
Collect food-service equipment plans and schedules, selected appliance data, hood drawings, exhaust and makeup-air plans, duct sections, suppression information, controls and shutdown descriptions, and architectural and structural receiving details.
Identify specialist submittal status and which equipment revision the package uses. A hood drawing may be internally consistent while describing an earlier appliance lineup. Start with the current selections and flag unresolved changes before treating the submittal as evidence for the intended kitchen.
Connect equipment to the hood and building interfaces
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking lineup | Equipment plan, schedule, appliance data, hood submittal | Resolve changed selections or positions that the hood package does not reflect. |
| Hood identity | Hood tags, schedules, details, protection information | Confirm each source describes the same hood and equipment group. |
| Exhaust route | Duct plans and sections, shaft layout, roof details | Reconcile routing, penetrations, and receiving construction. |
| Access and maintenance | Duct details, access information, ceiling and shaft plans | Ask for missing physical access information without guessing its adequacy. |
| Air systems | Exhaust and makeup-air schedules, controls sequence | Identify different equipment references or contradictory operating descriptions. |
| Protection and interlocks | Suppression package, electrical notes, alarm and shutdown sequence | Carry each stated interface to the receiving discipline and resolve conflicting behavior. |
Use the mechanical review checklist for exhaust routes and the electrical checklist for assigned equipment and control interfaces. The wet chemical hood suppression system that protects the cooking line follows the NFPA 17A hood suppression guide.
Example: a new fryer appears only on the equipment plan
Hypothetical example. A revised food-service plan adds a fryer, but the hood and suppression drawings still show the previous cooking lineup. The controls description does not identify how the new appliance relates to the protective system.
The revised cooking lineup includes equipment absent from the supplied hood and suppression package. Please confirm the current specialist design and coordinate the appliance arrangement, hood, protection information, and affected controls.
The food-service, mechanical, and fire protection specialists confirm the current package and supporting evidence. Close the question with coordinated selections and drawings. The discrepancy does not, by itself, establish that the new appliance lacks required protection.
Ask AI to trace the commercial kitchen package
Upload the current project PDFs and relevant specifications to Groundbook. Identify the governing issues and add the applicable NFPA 96 reference from a copy you are licensed to use, where the license permits uploading it. State the edition, amendments, review area, and known exclusions in your instructions.
Compare current cooking equipment with hood drawings, exhaust and makeup-air systems, duct receiving details, protection information, and shutdown interfaces. Flag mismatched selections and revisions. Cite each source pair and applicable supplied NFPA 96 reference.
Verify equipment and hood identities in each finding. Keep an incomplete specialist package visible as an information request, and involve every discipline affected by an agreed selection or route change. Backcheck the final controls and protection references.
PDF review does not validate exhaust performance, determine listing suitability, measure installed clearances, or perform fire protection testing. Those questions require specialist design evidence and review of the actual installation.