COVID-19 response
alternatively a ‘welfare check in’ functionality can be set that requires personnel to send a signal every ten minutes verifying that they are okay. Wireless technology can be deployed on
a wide range of assets; for example, adding a call point to a fire door on a refurbishment project turns it into a smart asset which can send alerts to nominated personnel by means of smartphones, alerting them when an intruder or unauthorised member of staff passes through it. In addition, the ability to deploy a wireless
fire alarm system in minutes enables the provision of a practical, easy to implement solution for change of use buildings that are looking for a way of protecting critical workers in the food, pharmaceutical and logistics sector.
A better future?
Where will we be in six months or a year from now? There are several possible futures, all dependent on how the government, society and the construction industry respond to coronavirus. Hopefully we will use this crisis to rebuild and create something better. If it leads to a better understanding of fire risks and how to address them in this time of national crisis, then that will be a good thing for all of us.
Small changes just won’t cut it though, and as more people work from home in the ‘new’ economy, fire safety on construction sites deserves a greater focus. There is simply no getting away from the fact that construction sites have suddenly become more dangerous as they undergo temporary closure. At the same time, those buildings which are repurposed to help support the coronavirus effort are looking for effective fire alarm systems. Fire, flood and criminal activity is an ever
present danger in all of these situations. The risks from fire and its ability to spread rapidly are exacerbated by self isolation, because people living adjacent to construction sites do so at greater density. As a result of this, more developers are taking steps to deploy wireless technology to protect their assets.
Setting a benchmark on construction sites and demonstrating that the safety of those living and working nearby – or critical workers within a facility – is taken as seriously as clients’ assets, is easier than you think due to advances in wireless fire alarm systems
Andy Hicks is managing director at Ramtech Electronics. For more information, view page 3
Nightingale Hospital images credit: Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street
FOCUS
www.frmjournal.com MAY 2020
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
