On Thursday 14th September the forklifts at Hochiki Europe’s new warehouse facility in Gillingham paused as the team welcomed MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Rehman Chishti and Mayoress of Medway Cllr Nina Gurung to cut the ribbon and declare the new part of the Hochiki operation officially open. This state-of-the-art
Global leaders in life safety manufacturing and design have achieved BOSEC approval for their ESP and Latitude products. BOSEC is the quality benchmark for fire protection in Belgium and is one of Europe’s highest quality marks requiring brands to undergo stringent and lengthy approval process to carry the accreditation. It
Leading life safety manufacturer Hochiki Europe have today announced the results of their latest survey of both UK and overseas customers, revealing that four out of five (over 80%) of Hochiki customers believe that the company manufactures and designs innovative, high quality, and robust products. The survey went to customers
Global life safety company, Hochiki Europe has today announced the purchase of multi-million-pound facility in Chatham, Kent. Following sustained demand for the company’s leading fire detection equipment and systems, the new facility represents an investment of £5.5 million by the group. Residing on a site of 1.92 acres, the new
Considerations for facility owners and operators… While it may seem counterintuitive that fire is even a risk in spaces designed to maintain cold temperatures, cold storage in fact presents a huge fire hazard for warehouse designers and builders, life safety installation companies and facility owners. In this article we cover
Celebrating its centenary, the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital is in Negrar, Verona, and thanks to the expert team and technology in place, it is considered one of Italy’s top medical facilities, and in fact at European level it is recognised as a leader in the healthcare sector. The
Ekho, the newest hybrid wireless fire detection solution from Hochiki, leading global life safety manufacturer, has been installed in six blocks of apartment buildings for North London borough to help improve fire detection. EN54-25 approved and RED compliant, Ekho uses the latest in radio networking technology and provides a robust
Famed for its luxury shopping and extraordinary architecture, the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is home to over 3.3 million people, and the world’s longest driverless single metro line – the Dubai metro. Designed to take up to 13,380 passengers an hour on its green line, and
In 1959, eight dairies in the Parmigiano Reggiano area founded the CCS Consorzio Caseifici Sociali. Over the years, the has business expanded to include the production and maturing of Parmigiano Reggiano. In 1995, the Granterre Consortium was established, bringing together the entire Parmigiano Reggiano dairy chain, and then almost ten
On Thursday 14th September the forklifts at Hochiki Europe’s new warehouse facility in Gillingham paused as the team welcomed MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Rehman Chishti and Mayoress of Medway Cllr Nina Gurung to cut the ribbon and declare the new part of the Hochiki operation officially open. This state-of-the-art facility situated in the heart of Kent, Apex House as it will be known, will support increased production capability at Hochiki’s other Kent site. Covering an expansive 24,000 square feet and equipped with the latest technology and resources, it will expand Hochiki’s European hub for warehousing and distribution, as well as sales and administrative capability. Along with political dignitaries the grand opening ceremony was attended by senior members of staff, guests from Hochiki including Chairman Akio Yamagata, government officials, industry leaders and journalists. All attendees agreed this investment in the region and indeed the UK was impressive and greatly received. As a world-leading provider of life safety solutions, now in its 30th year of European operations, this milestone marks a significant step in Hochiki’s commitment to investment in the region and the company’s dedication to innovation and excellence in the fire industry. Key features of the new facility include state-of-the-art storage and shipping units with a capacity increase from 480 to 2,450 pallets with picking and packing capability more than doubling from three to seven items a minute. This warehousing excellence ensures the continued and efficient supply of the highest quality production of life safety devices and systems. The facility also includes collaborative spaces designed to foster innovation and encourage partnerships with industry stakeholders. Hochiki Europe aims to create a collaborative ecosystem that will drive advancements in life safety technology. Mr Shinsuke Kubo, Managing Director, Hochiki Europe expressed his excitement about the facility’s grand opening: “The new facility will play a pivotal role in advancing life safety technologies not only here in the UK but across the whole of Hochiki Europe’s regions, thereby contributing to the protection of people and property around the world. We are proud to bring together the finest minds in life safety technology under one roof, driving innovation and setting new standards for safety worldwide.” Hochiki Europe has a rich history of providing cutting-edge fire detection and life safety systems for over three decades. This new facility will enable the company to continue pushing the boundaries of life safety technology, ultimately making the world a safer place. The grand opening of the Kent facility marks a remarkable achievement for Hochiki Europe, reinforcing the company’s status as a global leader in life safety solutions. For more information about Hochiki Europe and its life safety solutions, please visit https://www.hochikieurope.com/news Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Global leaders in life safety manufacturing and design have achieved BOSEC approval for their ESP and Latitude products. BOSEC is the quality benchmark for fire protection in Belgium and is one of Europe’s highest quality marks requiring brands to undergo stringent and lengthy approval process to carry the accreditation. It covers products for passive prevention and active prevention, as well as organisations who work within the fire industry, such as installers and system designers. Hochiki’s Enhanced System Protocol Range (ESP) and Latitude system are already EN54 pt13 certified, however with this additional certification in place it provides greater choice of fire detection products and systems to choose from for customers based in the Belgium region as well as bordering countries Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Germany. The Hochiki ESP range is one of the most robust platforms on the market, offering a wide selection of features and benefits for some of the most complex scenarios and are Marine approved, SIL Capable and have built in short-circuit isolators. The EN 54 approved range includes a suite of sensors, including a multi-sensor with CO detection, particularly useful for customers who are looking to reduce false alarms, several I/O units for interfacing to other equipment and a selection of audio/visual alarm devices. Hochiki’s networkable Latitude fire control panel, which the ESP range is compatible with, is also BOSEC approved and combines the very latest hardware and software to produce an approved control and indication system. The flexibility of the Latitude platform is such that it can be re-configured to realise many other control and indication applications, with direct integration into intelligent buildings. Previously, Hochiki products achieved BOSEC approval through a regional third-party but with this brand new certification, Hochiki Europe can now offer its own complete fire detection system as BOSEC approved. Installers within Belgium can rest assured that they can now specify Hochiki in new projects as well as update any existing fire detection systems and know that Hochiki is now one of the best within their market. Max De Vries, regional manager commented on the BOSEC accreditation “We are very proud to have receive this certification. It recognises the quality and thorough processes we go through to ensure our fire detection devices and systems are of the highest standard. We only work with BOSEC approved installers, so customers in Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg and Germany can rest assured that their building is ‘end-to-end safe’”. To find out more about Hochiki’s BOSEC approved ESP Range and Latitude fire safety system please visit: https://web.hochikieurope.com/hochiki-bosec-en Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Leading life safety manufacturer Hochiki Europe have today announced the results of their latest survey of both UK and overseas customers, revealing that four out of five (over 80%) of Hochiki customers believe that the company manufactures and designs innovative, high quality, and robust products. The survey went to customers across the UK, Europe, Middle East and India and included direct customers, distributors, systems partners and indirect customers (for example purchases made via a distributor). The survey revealed that the top vertical sectors that customers operated in were across construction, education, health care, the leisure and tourism industry, rail, security, social housing, warehousing, but also included industries such as energy, oil and gas, commercial property, travel hubs, technology such as data centres and retail. Customers were quizzed on product, technology, supply chain, customer service, sales, team expertise and what they might want in the future from this global manufacturer of life safety systems. A whopping 93% of customers think that Hochiki products are “reliable” and nine out of ten agree that they “help to reduce false alarms” – particularly important when considering the continuing impact false alarms have on production and the economy globally. Looking at the survey results around ease of installation, ongoing maintenance, and ease of use of Hochiki products for the end user, over 80% of the responses were positive. Many customers noted a desire for cloud solution technology, and for a more expansive range of emergency lighting fittings. This is exciting news as the survey was completed just before the launch of FIREscape Nepto, Hochiki Europe’s newest emergency lighting system. FIREscape Nepto already offers a wider range of products, but a brand new feature which is due to be released later this year will enable the system to be monitored and interrogated live and remotely through a simple web browser interface. Email notifications can then be sent to report faults and alerts and system reports can be accessed/downloaded, all across the cloud. Something which Hochiki work hard on is to ensure that the whole team is able to provide expert customer service when required, and this was reflected in the survey results. An impressive 94% of those surveyed rated the Hochiki team as “helpful” or “very helpful” and over 96% of customers felt the team also understood their needs. The overall level of service provided by the technical support department was voted “excellent” or “very good”, with the same percentage of respondents rating the accuracy of the solution offered by technical support as “excellent” or “very good”. Anecdotally there was a consistency in responses that included words such as “reliable”, “intelligent”, “good” and “up to standards”. This sentiment is also reflected in Hochiki’s most recent customer story from Atlas World who installed a range of Hochiki products at Titanic Distillery in the world-famous Belfast’s Thompson Dry Dock. Commenting on the range of products installed, Gavin Nesbitt, Technical Sales Manager said: “For the standard, reliability, and ease of install I would not hesitate to recommend Hochiki Europe next time.” Commenting on the customer survey results, Mr Shinsuke Kubo, Commercial Director for Hochiki Europe, Middle East, Africa and India said “The results of our customer survey are really encouraging, especially considering what the world has experienced over the last few years. Manufacturing across all industries has felt the impact, but the credit must go to our team of dedicated fire industry experts. They have ensured that our customers receive a best-in-class service, continue to bring innovative products to market, and all the while ensuring that Hochiki continues to be the world’s most trusted name in life safety. We know there are areas to improve, we really value this insight, alongside ongoing feedback from projects in motion right now. It’s this two-way communication with our customers that is invaluable and will help us to continue to move forward – committed to meeting the needs of our customers and the market, now and in the future.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Global life safety company, Hochiki Europe has today announced the purchase of multi-million-pound facility in Chatham, Kent. Following sustained demand for the company’s leading fire detection equipment and systems, the new facility represents an investment of £5.5 million by the group. Residing on a site of 1.92 acres, the new building is over 24,000 square feet and will be in addition to the European Headquarters and Research and Development Centre in Gillingham, Kent. The building is part of the ongoing strategic expansion of footprint for the European arm of the group and will afford the company space to expand the existing operations in warehousing, production and distribution as well as the sales and administrative teams. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Hochiki’s operations in Europe. Today’s news is an exciting addition to their property portfolio and is seen as a significant investment in the future infrastructure of the company. The new facility will ensure future demand is met and order volume is delivered efficiently and effectively to customers in the UK, across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. Globally Hochiki employ over 2000 employees who work across six manufacturing plants, 38 sales offices and 14 subsidiaries. The new facility will bring with it new employment opportunities to the South-East, adding to the 180 strong staff already employed at the Head Office in Kent. Speaking about the expansion plans Graham Lowe, Managing Director at Hochiki Europe said: “Despite the challenging few years we have faced as a global community, I am proud of the efforts our teams have made to ensure our continued growth and I would like to thank each team member. Over the last six months we have been able to expand our teams to strengthen the expertise we offer our customers and now, with this new building, we can continue to deliver a world class service in fire safety to existing loyal customers and ever-growing pool of new customers” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Considerations for facility owners and operators… While it may seem counterintuitive that fire is even a risk in spaces designed to maintain cold temperatures, cold storage in fact presents a huge fire hazard for warehouse designers and builders, life safety installation companies and facility owners. In this article we cover the risks, considerations and best detection products when thinking about life safety for cold storage warehouses. In the last year, the UK’s cold storage industry capacity has topped 40 million cubic meters, for the football fans amongst you that is the equivalent to the bowl volume of 35 Wembley Stadiums. This is being driven by consumer demand and big business for perishable goods and pharmaceutics, making cold storage an essential cog in the UK economy. From a feasibility point of view however, cold storage is substantially more complicated and more expensive than dry storage because of the regulations around refrigerated freight. Plus, the very nature of the materials used in cold storage, means it presents a higher risk factor when it comes to fire. So as the demand for refrigerated products grows, so does the need for better fire safety. Why no two cold storage units are the same Cold storage areas vary in size, usage, and ambient temperature, meaning that any fire detection equipment or system must be specifically designed to each warehouse. You may be surprised at some of the products that may need cold storage. There are the obvious ones like perishable food (vegetables, fruits, meat and seafood, dairy products), but what about flowers and plants, biopharmaceutical products and did you know, even some artwork needs to be kept at low temperatures. Understanding the unique circumstances of the product is essential for cold storage fire safety. A bespoke fire risk assessment will determine the life safety system needed to maintain optimum fire security 24/7, protecting the goods, equipment and most importantly staff operating within the building, but this can be a complicated task to map out and assess for the responsible person. So, where to start? What are the fire risks in cold storage warehousing? Besides arson attacks and carelessness from people on site (think discarded cigarette butts), fire risks within cold storage mostly arise from electrical or mechanical faults in the conveyor systems which transport the goods around the building, wiring that is housed in the roof or faulty lighting systems. The fuels which power the evaporative condensers used to sustain the low temperatures in cold storage warehouses is highly flammable so must be stored safely, and the machines themselves can also be a major contributor to fire risk. These machines remove air moisture to extremely low levels of humidity to keep the warehouse cool, which can create an increased risk of static electricity and in the case of a fire could accelerate the spread of flames. Cold storage fires have the potential to be devasting, posing a threat to life, destroying business operations and be detrimental to the supply chain. Even small fires can cause huge damage to a refrigeration business – a rise in temperature due to cooling plant down-time following a fire, can lead to stock being damaged. The strict laws around downtime requirements make it even more important to choose the right method of fire protection. There are also considerations to be made around smoke damage, as any stock exposed to low levels of smoke over an extended period can quickly become contaminated and therefore not fit for human consumption. Of course, the issues are further compounded by the fact that modern technology now means that an increased number of warehouses are automated almost 24 hours a day, meaning very few or no personnel are on site. This makes visual identification of a fire incident unlikely, so the safety of the building is completely dependent on automatic fire detection systems – making it imperative that the system in place is up to date and well maintained. What can be done to prevent a cold storage warehouse fire? Dangerous scenarios are preventable when fire safety experts have been consulted, the correct life safety equipment is installed, the electrics and mechanical devices in use within the building are well serviced and the correct health and safety regulations are followed. Essential action when you consider preventable fires in the UK warehouse industry costs our economy upwards of £230 billion each year. A risk assessment, when carried out properly and thoroughly according to law (The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005), is the first place to start. It is also advisable to get an independent audit by a consultant or insurer as this will help ensure any fire strategy for your cold storage facility is robust. Many modern warehouses now include firewalls which are a cost-effective solution to manage the risk of fire. Smart warehouse managers should also consider the safe storage of waste and other flammable materials to stop the spread of fire if it were to break out. Keeping these materials in a designated safe storage area will reduce the risk of them causing a fire. The best way to save lives of course, is to ensure automatic fire detection is in place, across your entire cold storage facility. With special attention paid to vulnerable areas. Fire specialists can advise on multiple fire detection solutions that are ideal for warehouses, but it is important to ensure that the right one for your scenario is installed. Why air sampling fire detection is a good option for cold storage warehouses There are multiple fire detection systems that can be used to protect warehouse storage, but when it comes to cold storage, you need to plan and design appropriately. Beam detectors which are commonly used in large warehouses can frost over in a cold storage situation, there are options in the market now which include heated optical elements to negate this however they might not be a device to solely rely on. Point detectors would also frost over and wouldn’t necessarily provide the appropriate cover. Flame
Celebrating its centenary, the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital is in Negrar, Verona, and thanks to the expert team and technology in place, it is considered one of Italy’s top medical facilities, and in fact at European level it is recognised as a leader in the healthcare sector. The hospital is made up of eight buildings with more than 30 medical departments, operating theatres, offices, canteens, and conference rooms. In recent years, the hospital has undergone considerable renovation and expansion and along with this the improvement and adaption of the life safety system. The update to the fire detection system is to ensure the best possible protection for the thousands of people who visit the facility every day as well as the preservation of property, patient data and vital medical equipment. The healthcare sector has a duty of care for its patients, staff and visitors as well as having to provide constant protection of its property and assets from the threat of fire. After extensive assessments and a rigorous qualifying stage by the Hospital technical team and Amperia srl, the installation company, Hochiki fire detection systems and equipment were found to offer the best solution and offered the highest quality standards for the hospital. Hochiki is a well-respected name in healthcare across Europe and famed for its reliability in Italy, particularly when it comes to reduction in false alarms. Minimising this risk was critical to the hospital who wanted to avoid unnecessary and hugely problematic evacuation situations, especially where some patients may find moving around independently difficult and, in some cases, impossible, especially for patients in critical care departments. Following consultation, 26 fire detection panels, including Syncro and Hochiki’s Latitude system, and two Vision remote panels were installed in the hospital, all of which were networked. The project brief stated that it was important the systems and any devices used must be installed with minimum impact on the day to day running of the hospital. Hochiki ESP range was recommended because these devices have been specifically designed to be quick and easy to install and therefore ensured minimal disruption was achieved by the team at Amperia srl. Another priority for the project was that any fire detection system needed to be able to alert every person in the building to an emergency, including visually and hearing-impaired visitors. Hochiki’s range of VADs (visual alarm devices) were used to provide a visual indication of an alarm condition to those people who would not normally be alerted to a fire by standard audible-only devices such as sounders and bells. The final key priority was the ability for the entire system to be continuously monitoring 24 hours a day. During the consultation period between the installers and Hochiki, the fire detection system was designed to provide 24/7 monitoring. This was thanks to the I/O modules and technological fault alarm signals which were also implemented and connected to the fire control panel loop. These were then monitored by the personnel 24 hours a day thanks to two supervision systems, one for the fire detection system and one for the technological alarms. This project at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital was one of the largest and most complex projects that Hochiki have ever been involved in Italy involving the installation of multiple detectors, Detectors, 10 fire extinguishing systems, 14 gas detection panels and 10 aspirating panels. Davide Montoli, Product Manager at Hochiki Italia, explains: “An interesting aspect of our systems is the “Bridge” communication between different generations of fire alarm control panels. In the case of this Hospital, the possibility of connecting the new L@titude control panels to the existing network of Syncro control panels made it possible to expand the system even though many years had passed since the installation of the original control panel. In fact, Hochiki’s L@titude platform can adapt its communication protocol to ensure backward compatibility with previous generation control panels” Thanks to the expert Hochiki team working closely with both the installer and the technical team at the hospital a high-quality installation was achieved, with the best products on the market installed ensuring that fire safety for patients and staff is kept as a top priority. Loris Fornaser, Technical Manager at the installer company Amperia srl, commented: “As you can imagine the fire safety standards of this project were extremely high due to the complex environment in which a hospital operates. This led us to choose a technologically advanced life safety product that would guarantee the client excellent performance and long-term reliability. The manufacturer’s technical support was always precise and Hochiki proved to be the ideal solution” To learn more about L@titude and the ESP range visit hochikieurope.com
Ekho, the newest hybrid wireless fire detection solution from Hochiki, leading global life safety manufacturer, has been installed in six blocks of apartment buildings for North London borough to help improve fire detection. EN54-25 approved and RED compliant, Ekho uses the latest in radio networking technology and provides a robust ‘always on’ network of devices which automatically adapt to changing environmental conditions. It was this innovative design element that led Fire Alarms Fabrication Services (FAFS) to choose Hochiki to consult on their latest project in a North London borough. Ekho takes hybrid wireless fire detection to new levels of reliability, flexibility and performance and has been crucial in helping residents feel safer as well as drive cost savings for building owners. Waking Watch schemes have been used for the last few years to provide 24/7 monitoring of buildings identified as fire risks due to dangerous cladding. With the inherent high operational costs, and the risk of human error, building owners and local authorities are looking to life safety manufacturers and installers to help with more reliable and cost-effective alternatives. Commenting on the project Fire Alarms Fabrication Services, Kevin Dodge, sales Account Manager at FAFS told us “The technology used in the Ekho devices helps residents feel safer compared to relying on a team of people prone to human error. The building owners are reassured due to the self-configuring mesh network which keeps the devices connected and communicating with the fire panel 24/7” The project covered a huge site with six buildings with 16 floors each. A Waking Watch team of six patrolled the stairs, corridors, and communal areas at a cost of £10,000 per week. However, because the teams could not be in all places, at all times, they might not be able to detect a fire escalating up the outside on the cladding. To add to this Waking Watch teams are not permitted to enter private apartments meaning early detection could be missed here too. “This was an incredibly complex and highly involved project, we worked closely with the team at Hochiki who consulted on best devices for this project. The Ekho range offered a wireless solution which allowed us to work around issues such as cabling inside private spaces. Ekho allowed for early detection and most importantly detection outside of the building on cladding by installing heat sensor devices adjacent to every single window, including the windows for individual dwellings. The Ekho range is ultra-dependable, and much more cost effective than the Waking Watch scheme that was in place in these buildings.” Following the successful completion of the project Regional Sales Manager, Tony Obadipe said: “We are pleased that our Ekho product range is making such an enormous difference in keeping people safe. The fact that our technology is also helping to drive huge cost efficiencies for our partners and their end users is a bonus. In the current economic climate this cost saving is essential, especially for local authorities. We are incredibly proud of our teams that have been involved in this project, it really is protecting people’s lives”. To read the full story and learn more about the Ekho range visit hochikieurope.com Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News
Famed for its luxury shopping and extraordinary architecture, the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is home to over 3.3 million people, and the world’s longest driverless single metro line – the Dubai metro. Designed to take up to 13,380 passengers an hour on its green line, and 11,675 passengers an hour on its red line at peak time, the Dubai Metro is almost 75 km long and operated by RTA and Serco. Under contract to the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority, the network is run by a team of 2000 staff with 57 trains running at peak times. Dafoos Fire and Security were commissioned to run the fire detection installation project on the entirety of the Dubai Metro. Trusted as a market leader in the Fire Protection Industry in the United Arab Emirates, Dafoos specialises in providing end-to-end design, erection and commissioning and maintenance of both active and passive Fire Protection Systems, and partners with some of the best OEMs in the world, including Hochiki. With tens of thousands of passengers using the network daily and the system itself operating in a hot and sandy environment, any false alarm could potentially cause mass disruption and cost the operator financially, especially during peak service times. The company’s Marketing Director, Vijay Chandran said about the project: “it was especially important as part of the life safety system design process to negate false alarms. Hochiki fire detection devices were chosen as they have a reputation for being the best in the market for their quality and their reliability when it comes to false alarm reduction. Our selection of Hochiki was confidently backed by the operators RTA and Serco” The Hochiki sensors were to be installed inside the metro and tram coaches. This is considered an extremely sensitive area with thousands of people transiting at a time, thus posing a higher chance of triggering false alarms. Any fire alarm trigger was programmed to send a command to the central station, and this would halt the operations within the entire network until the problem is rectified. The Hochiki technical team also worked closely with the Dafoos team to negate the challenge of frequent dust build up in the chambers. It was advised that periodic maintenance of the sensors was moved from every 6 months to every two instead, which is customary practice for commercial buildings in the region. “Hochiki Smoke Sensors have been installed across the entire Dubai Metro and tram coaches; they have been functioning with minimal issues for the last three years. Periodic maintenance has been conducted in conjunction with Hochiki’s technical team recommendation. Our team would not hesitate to recommend Hochikilife safety systems and products to be used in other projects within the transport industry”.
In 1959, eight dairies in the Parmigiano Reggiano area founded the CCS Consorzio Caseifici Sociali. Over the years, the has business expanded to include the production and maturing of Parmigiano Reggiano. In 1995, the Granterre Consortium was established, bringing together the entire Parmigiano Reggiano dairy chain, and then almost ten years later, in 2004, control of Parmareggio Spa was acquired. In 2019 Bonterre Spa, the holding company under which the control of Parmareggio Spa and Grandi Salumifici Italiani Spa (controlled by UNIBON) was established. Then in 2021, Agriform Sca (leader in the production of Grana Padano PDO and the main Veneto PDOs such as Asiago, Piave, Montasio and Monte Veronese) merged with Parmareggio Spa to create the first Italian company in the world of PDO cheeses and cemented this new company as the leader in the Italian food industry. New company requires fire safety upgrade In 2021, the site at Sommacampagna required an upgrade of the fire detection system. Hochiki were the appointed manufacturers to supply the life safety system and devices due to their experience and expertise in the Italian fire safety market. Within food production sites, the temperature and humidity inside the environment must be carefully controlled to comply with food hygiene laws, and because of this, these sites can be notoriously complex buildings to design and install fire safety systems for. The customer was looking for a high-performance fire detection system that would not be affected by these environmental factors, and most importantly avoid false alarms which can halt production and cost the company thousands of Euros for every minute the site is not fully operational. The installation team also needed to pay particular attention to the installation of cables and piping. As a specialist in aged cheese production, it was imperative that the delicate work of the cheese wheels and the hot marking of the upper layer of the Parmesan rind was not affected during the installation project. One of the benefits to Hochiki products to this project was the ease of install and ease of use of the devices which had minimal impact on the business. To meet the requirements of the project, the installer NET Technologies Srl chose Hochiki’s market leading system L@titude to be the brain of the life safety system. This innovative fire detection technology combines the very latest hardware and software to produce a control and indication system which is powerful and sophisticated, yet simple to use and understand via a graphical interface. Mirko Corsini, project manager at Hochiki Italia, said: “The installer chose Hochiki’s L@titude panel together with our SPC-ET beam smoke detectors, which are characterised by low power consumption at rest and incorporate a sophisticated algorithm of automatic compensation to environmental changes. The technical features of these products make them perfect for meeting the needs of this type of food processing environment. The flexibility of the Hochiki ESP protocol made it possible, through the CHQ-SZM2/SCI Zone Modules, to integrate conventional detectors (SPC-ET) as if they were addressable devices, without having to use auxiliary power supplies that would have required additional cables and batteries.” Detectors with short circuit isolators were installed to ensure the system complied with the requirements of UNI EN 9795, which states that a short-circuit isolator must be installed for each room/compartment. Intelligent Photoelectric Smoke detector with SCI incorporates Hochiki’s newest High Performance Chamber Technology. This detector removes the need to use Ionisation Smoke Sensors in many applications. This also allows the sensor threshold level to be increased, thereby improving the signal to noise ratio, and reducing the likelihood of false alarms. Throughout the site Intelligent Loop-Powered Wall Sounder Beacons and Visual Alarm Devices were installed to ensure a fully compliant and state of the art fire safety system. Commenting on the project, Fabrizio Bergamin, Technical Coordinator at the installer company NET Technologies srl, said: “We chose Hochiki devices and system because of the technical characteristics and reliability that this brand offers, as well as a wide range of products that fully meet market demands. Post commissioning of the project, the operating conditions envisaged in the design phase have been amply met. Over the course of the next year, there will be further implementations of the fire detection system at the Parmareggio production site, with distributed intelligence solutions or with several autonomous and networked L@titude control panels. During the project we have had to deal with several technical design studios to solve various kinds of system problems; a fundamental role, together with the products they offer, is played by the Hochiki Italia technical support. They have responded competently to regulatory and design aspects, as well as proposed solutions for particular applications“.
