Smart fire-detection systems making headway

Amid the emergence of Industry 4.0, the need for smarter and more proactive fire detection systems to monitor assets and mitigate fire hazards is continuously increasing.

These systems have become more efficient with ongoing research and development (R&D), which is particularly noticeable in fibre-optic sensing technologies, says digital value chain solutions provider Tech4IR CEO Andreas Matthee.

“R&D is crucial to ensuring that products mature to the level that meets the demands of application needs. The increase in the scale of manufacturing has made such technologies necessary to ensuring safer environments.”

To keep up with industry trends, Tech4IR provides solutions for fire detection in the form of linear heat detection technology, or linear assets, that can monitor environments over a long range, typically used in special hazard environments.

One such technology promoted by Tech4IR is the FireLaser, a linear heat detection system that can detect a fire anywhere along the length of the linear heat sensing cable over a distance of several kilometres.

“We use fibre optic distributed temperature sensing, one of the key technologies available within this field. Combined with our smart software and services, this solution provides operators with the right information at the right time,” says Matthee.

The FireLaser – by UK-based original-equipment manufacturer Bandweaver – records temperature and distance data at thousands of points along the length of the cable while ensuring spatial accuracy per metre.

The fibre-optic cable is installed along or around the assets and monitors for temperature changes along the fibre cable using distributed temperature sensing optic technology.

Thresholds can be configured to trigger alarms based on the effect of temperature along the cable length and the system can quickly pinpoint the location of the hot spot and prevent fires before they break out.

Matthee describes the technology as “game-changing”, whereby a single controller can manage up to four channels of sensing up to 10 km for each channel.

Benefits of installing the FireLaser include early fire detection, complete asset coverage, low maintenance and versatility.

The FireLaser can be used in many applications and industry sectors such as industrial buildings, car parks, tunnels, elevators, along cable gantries and ducts, factories, warehouses, conveyor belts, pipelines and other large facilities.

The technology can also be retrofitted to integrate with existing fire suppression systems to allow for complete asset management, protection and safety.

Matthee adds that, whether the asset is based in a remote location or a busy inner city, the company’s solutions enable swift decision-making while minimising damage, avoiding catastrophic failure and reducing financial, environmental and reputational risk.

To encourage the adoption of the FireLaser locally, Tech4IR is embarking on awareness campaigns to help industry players understand the benefits of introducing smart fire-detection systems.

Hence, Tech4IR will exhibit at this year’s Firexpo and Securex – to be held at the Gallagher Convention Centre from June 6 to 8

.

“We will be demonstrating this technology to help visitors understand that there are superior ways of monitoring assets with regards to monitoring within these fire hazardous environments.

“That is our main goal, to contribute significantly to an ever-growing world using smarter detection technologies,” concludes Matthee.