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place to ensure that their sprinkler systems are up to the job? There are four key focus areas: integration, intelligence, regulatory compliance, and choosing the right technology partner to help carry out an install or upgrade.
Integration is key
The first major way to improve the effectiveness of sprinkler systems is to integrate them into a wider network of fire and safety systems throughout a building. With the rise of IP enabled devices which can communicate with one another, from smoke detectors to CCTV cameras, there is a whole host of new opportunities opening up to safety teams both in terms of efficiency and available services. Managing your whole fire and security landscape through a single centralised platform or control system means you can widen your insight into what’s going on around the site, and help decrease the administrative load on frontline staff. Integrating smart systems can provide facilities managers with deeper insights, faster situational judgement and reduced administrative workloads, which enable both an improved health and safety regime and a reduced bottom line. In this new landscape, safety teams can
increase their efficiency through a combination of innovative products and integration, connecting devices and processes which before were isolated or watched over by a single operator. For example, if fire detectors across the site are integrated with the latest CCTV technology, operators will be better equipped to improve detection and verification.
In the case of false alarms, CCTV cameras can help to aid the early detection and verification of fires by allowing users to view the area to gain a more comprehensive picture of the situation – acting as a secondary investigation strategy. Building management systems can also be monitored offsite, often in groups, to consolidate administration and reduce outlay while maintaining an overview of a site.
Intelligent systems
As well as better efficiency, another great benefit of IP connected safety devices is the data that comes with them. By connecting sprinkler systems to intelligent devices throughout the building, safety teams can gain access to monitoring data from offsite and receive regular updates on any anomalies or alerts. This has multiple benefits: the obvious
increased safety for people and assets in the building, a reduced need for on site teams to physically investigate incidents, and improved convenience for on duty safety personnel. A connected sprinkler system, for example,
could perform basic analysis on an activated unit along with other safety systems to establish whether it is or was a real fire, and if so, its severity. This is currently a hypothetical ability
in most facilities, but with the Internet of Things and its associated technologies becoming ubiquitous in a wide variety of industries, it won’t be long before increasingly sophisticated, connected and intelligent sprinkler systems are commonplace.
www.frmjournal.com FEBRUARY 2018 41
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