[ Project focus: Museum of London ]
London had looked at installing a voice-based system, but believed it to be expensive and beyond their budget. The Vigilon system ticked a number of boxes and gave
the museum the perfect system for its requirements and, in addition, enabled a voice evacuation system to be installed as part of an integrated solution. The Baldwin Boxall voice evacuation system was provided with messages in four languages – English, French, German and Japanese.’ The Gent Vigilon solution incorporates a host of features
designed to make it the simplest system to install, confi gure and use. As well as providing the user with clear comprehensive
information in the event of a fire, Vigilon additionally provides an entire historic log of the system’s management information. Should a system fault occur, a detailed explanation is shown and the user can at any time navigate through a fault history.
The installation
Wessex had a team of operatives on site and a network of four Gent Vigilon control panels was installed, with some 700 sensors, air aspirating systems, and a BS5839 Part 8 compliant public address/voice alarm (PA/VA) system for the public areas. Taylor says: ‘In larger buildings, acoustics can cause
problems, as the sound becomes unclear and with something as important as public safety, messages must be loud and clear.’ Part of the tender specifi ed that the system would have
to be supported for 10-15 years, another area where the Gent Vigilon system offered added value. Taylor adds: ‘Gent has always maintained excellent
backwards compatibility, so there is no reason to doubt that next generation devices will be compatible with equipment installed.’
Overcoming diffi culties
The installation required considerable skill and ingenuity on Wessex’s part. For instance, in the offi ce area a number of data communications and electrical cables had to be worked around. Taylor says: ‘There were numerous diffi culties installing equipment in the occupied premises and gaining access over static exhibits. Working on a building site and utilising wiring installed by others into our system wasn’t always easy! The existing fi re system also had to remain operational until new system was complete within a given area.’ However, manufacturers were helpful and the Vesda by
Xtralis technical sales staff visited the site to offer advice on both types of air sampling controller and pipe design layout to ensure the system would work and the installation could be achieved.
Satisfaction
Taylor considers this project to have been ‘challenging but satisfying’. However, he is pleased that the products installed and the quality of service Wessex provided is recognised. Steve Cox, head of facilities and security at the Museum
of London, says: ‘Wessex provided an excellent solution to our fi re system needs, including a voice evacuation system in four languages and 700 sensors throughout the museum. Wessex worked to a tight deadline and their service was, and continues to be, reliable.’
Museum pieces
■ The Museum of London is one of the world’s largest urban history museums, with more than two million objects in its collection;
■ The museum was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1965 and is governed by the Museum of London Act 1986;
■ Only a fraction of the museum’s collections are on display and its reserve collections are among some of the largest and most important in the country;
■ The collection of tools and workshop material is one of the largest in the UK. Many trades are represented from clock and watchmakers to wheelwrights, silk-weavers and engravers;
■ London’s Burning, a specially designed exhibition about the Great Fire of 1666, tells the tale of the city’s brush with total destruction;
■ The museum’s oral history archive contains more than 4,000 hours of interviews with Londoners; and
London calling... the Museum of London foyer.
■ The curators have an unrivalled knowledge of the fabric of London, its history and its people. Special interests include subjects as diverse as mudlarkers, slaves in Roman London, Victorian childhood and medieval pilgrim badges.
About the author
Rob Shepherd
Rob Shepherd is a freelance journalist who has worked in the electrical contracting industry for more than 10 years, most recently as editor
of Electrical Contracting News.
Summer 2010 ECA Today 43
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