Technology Driven Fire Safety and Compliance Solutions

Read how, with clear visibility of the alarm status of all buildings, response times are faster and false alarms have been greatly reduced.

The University of Oxford had a challenge in monitoring their multitude of legacy and new alarm systems across their city buildings. They needed a cost-effective way to report clear and concise messages about an alarm event, as well as a solution to isolate individual devices from the network to avoid unnecessary and costly evacuations from false alarms during construction works.

The University upgraded their existing Drax hardware to the newer SMaRT Watch unit to connect locally to the different alarm systems and send all event data using their existing IT infrastructure. This reduced false alarms by allowing users to control the alarm systems remotely, and gave the University greater visibility and control of their buildings’ alarm systems. The solution improved the safety of staff and students by pinpointing the exact location of an alarm within a building, and can easily be scaled as the site grows.

Read how Drax designed and installed a wireless fire alarm scheme, saving Silva Homes £490,000 in Waking Watch warden fees over 16 months

Silva Homes undertook a two-year renovation of a multi-storey residential block after the discovery of inadequate fire barriers and compartments. To prioritise resident safety, they employed a fire warden service costing £7k per week. As the project had over six months remaining, they explored using continuous fire detection to replace the warden service.

EMS worked with Silva Homes to develop a fully wireless temporary fire alarm scheme, which was installed in just three days. Two days after installation, the Waking Watch wardens were stood down, seeing a saving of £7k per week, and the project has now achieved savings of £490,000 to date. The fire alarm scheme, initially designed as a temporary solution, will now remain in the building post-completion.

Drax360 has provided fire alarm system service contracts to Guys and St Thomas’s hospital in London for over 10 years.

To future-proof the hospitals, we initiated a panel upgrade program that replaced outdated Static systems with new Advanced open protocol MX Pro 5 Analogue addressable systems. Our team successfully upgraded all static systems within the specified timeline and budget, ensuring minimal disruption to hospital operations.

The project was challenging due to the unique nature of each system. However, we assessed the current system architecture, developed a detailed plan tailored to the specific requirements of each panel, and worked closely with hospital staff. The hospitals now have a more reliable fire alarm system in place with access to a broader range of support, parts, and products with the new open protocols. We take pride in providing high-quality fire alarm services to the hospital trust for over a decade.

Homerton University Hospital was facing a challenge with their obsolete fire alarm system, which required regular maintenance and an upgrade to ensure compliance and safety.

Homerton University Hospital was facing a challenge with their obsolete fire alarm system, which required regular maintenance and an upgrade to ensure compliance and safety. However, the lack of quality and audit control in relation to compliance and legislation standards made it challenging to achieve this objective.

We provided a bespoke solution that included planned maintenance and weekly testing of the fire alarm systems, upgrading the fire alarm system to Advanced MxPro5 Panels, migrating existing loops and field devices from Static to Advanced, and sitewide management of the fire alarm system. The hospital requested a Drax AMX PC in Estates and Security offices, which would manage, monitor, and control Fire Alarm events and activity from a central point. Our team of experienced engineers efficiently delivered the project, ensuring minimal disruption to site activity. The upgraded fire alarm system now ensures compliance and the safety of staff and patients, while the AMX PC allows for easy management of the system.

Drax360 has been servicing the fire detection alarm systems and other safety systems of the University for over 8 years.

The University, founded in 1964 and comprising of three campuses, offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in fields like Accountancy, Management, Sciences, Journalism, Drama, and Engineering. Drax360 has been servicing the fire detection alarm systems and other safety systems of the University for over 8 years.

The University faced a challenge due to the length of the fire alarm network at the Colchester Campus, and the large number of fire alarm panels (80+) interconnected into the fire alarm network. Additionally, the original copper-based network was susceptible to lightning strikes, causing delays in signal transmission speeds to the main security office.

To resolve this issue, Drax360 collaborated with the University’s specialist fibre installation company to convert the fire alarm network from copper to a fibre network. Drax360 designed, manufactured, and fitted copper to fibre modem conversion panels for interconnection into the new fibre network. As a result, the fire alarm network signal transmission speeds across the Colchester campus improved significantly, to the satisfaction of the University.

Overall, the collaboration between Drax360 and the University resulted in an efficient, cost-effective solution that improved the safety and security of students and staff.

See how we helped this NHS trust to ensure ICU COVID-19 patient transfers were able to continue following lifts being grounded due to steam leaks activating the fire alarm system.

Northwick Park Hospital faced difficulties in determining the exact location of steam leaks, which often triggered unwanted fire alarms, grounding the critical lifts. Drax 360’s AMX, a specialist critical alarm management software, provided a solution by creating maps of the six undercrofts and overlaying the position of all the fire detection equipment. This enabled detailed and audible alarms, along with automatic floor plan/map pop-ups, which provided a full understanding of the event and its location, enabling rapid investigation by hospital engineers. Custom buttons were added to AMX, which allowed engineers to disable false alarms, enabling the lift to be used once more, ensuring patient safety and timely transfer of COVID-19 patients.

The implemented solution improved patient safety by enabling the safe transfer of COVID-19 patients through a specific route using the critical lifts. Without the solution, there was a risk of delays or taking a different route, putting other patients and staff at risk. AMX provided an efficient and effective solution by centralising and distributing critical alarms, ensuring everyone involved had a full understanding of the event, enabling rapid investigation, and reducing delays in patient transfer.