RISCAuthority Seminar In turn, an ‘aggressive, hazardous’ acid


is created when water contacts the battery cells, while gases released include carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbonates. The cells burst on ignition due to thermal runaway, and thus the volume of the fire increases. Denios’ cabinets for such batteries, therefore, would need to have a pressure and relief system built in, as well as storage for acid. An explosion relief hatch opens during the


explosive chain reaction, closing afterwards and withstanding fire for up to 120 minutes – it is also heat insulated. Other elements of the cabinets include: a gas detector to check for temperature rises, automatically closing doors; a dry riser sprinkler system that cools the cells; a water extraction system which drains contaminated water to a safe storage tank; and a smoke and heat alarm that shuts doors and ventilation as well as stopping the cycle. Other elements consist of: a technical


ventilation system which stops the concentration of hazardous gases automatically; fire rated cable and pipe penetration that is both explosion proof and watertight; an automatic carbon dioxide extinguishant; a spill sump and an acid spill sump that cools acid for storage; as well as automatic magnetic door restraints.


IP migration


Ofcom’s Huw Saunders explained the switchover or migration from the public switch telephone network (PTSN) to internet protocol or IP networks by 2025, outlining what was happening, why it was happening and how it was relevant to insurers. He also explored solutions, future mitigation, what to keep in mind and what the advisory body would be doing to assist the transition. The older technology provides fixed voice


services, with major players including BT, Virgin and KCOM, and as these systems are reaching end of life they are both obsolete and expensive to support, having been launched in the early 1980s. As hardware and software is difficult to


both replace and maintain, the plan is to have fully replaced it by 2025, and this move is irreversible. In its place will be voice over internet protocol (VOIP) technology, which will begin by emulating PTSN as an interim measure, with voluntary migration to VOIP. Mr Saunders acknowledged that ‘at some point customers will be forced to migrate’, with no set date for a UK wide switch off. Interim measures are being undertaken by


FOCUS


internet service providers such as Sky and Talk Talk, while voluntary migration has begun, and he said to expect a ‘fairly steady’ changeover process. Internationally, the transition is already


underway in nations including Switzerland, Germany and the USA, while it has already been completed in other nations such as Macedonia. Issues with the transition include that copper based services such as Redcare ‘will cease to work’, though BT is revamping this in house, and security alarms services due to receiving centres malfunctioning. Again, BT had opened – on the day of the seminar – a testing centre for exactly this purpose. The lines are currently live powered at the


moment, so a new source of power will be required, and Ofcom is currently working with different sectors on the impacts, including telecare for health and fire, which it notes is a ‘concern’. Finance (card payments and ATMs), alongside transport (traffic control and monitoring, as well as ticket machines), are two sectors likely to be affected, along with utilities (network and control monitoring). Interim solutions include analogue


telephone adapters on the back of routers, into which phones can be plugged in. Alarms may not have full functionality, but the BT centre and others like it will assist manufacturers in that regard, while re-engineering and finetuning is already underway. However, these short term solutions should not get in the way of the fact that in the long term ‘we need to think about


www.frmjournal.com JULY/AUGUST 2018 43


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