From the Expert – Hochiki Europe

May 10, 2022

Trust and reliability: The reason Hochiki have been the number one name in life safety for over 100 years

For 100 years Hochiki has led the way in the design and manufacturer of innovative life safety solutions, as well as providing expert training to ensure individuals and companies are able to stay at the forefront of fire safety.

Hochiki has established a reputation as the go to manufacturer in life safety products and is trusted to deliver across several sectors including education, health care, production and manufacturing plants, travel hubs, arts and culture, commercial property, and housing developments and some incredibly complex marine projects.

Below are some of the highlights from customer stories from the last 12 months where a common theme of trust and reliability is weaved throughout.

Improving life safety at special educational setting

Based in Norfolk, the Fred Nicholson school meets the educational needs of 162 pupils who have Educational Health and Care Plans identifying learning difficulties and a range of associated complex needs, including some children who receive specialist Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) provision.

Following scheduled servicing, the need to update the existing conventional and 2-wire systems was identified, the school underwent an upgrade to an addressable life safety system. TP Fire & Security was enlisted to help with the design and installation of the new system, which included L2 safety coverage across the school, whereas ‘live-in’ areas such as dormitories required complete L1 coverage (much the same as a hospital or hotel) which included automatic fire detection.

Hochiki’s ESP (Enhanced Systems Protocol) addressable range was installed, due to its quality, reliability and diverse range of intelligent products including high performance sensors, flexible input and output modules and an assortment of ancillaries, perfect for a school environment where the fire detection system needs to have a bespoke and flexible design. Hochiki’s Ekho hybrid-wireless fire detection range was also installed and would interface with the main panel via a loop-powered translator module, for the schools mobile and outdoor classes.

As an educational setting with children with learning difficulties and ASC, it was extremely important to the school to keep disruption to an absolute minimum to avoid distressing the pupils.

The flexibility and ease of installation of the Hochiki products was key to the success of the project as explained by Kevin Harris, Technical Design Manager: “A big plus with Hochiki products is how simple they are to install – it’s why they have become our go-to supplier for the past 20 years. Many other manufacturers only offer hardwire solutions, and for locations such as schools and care homes, keeping the installation simple and reducing on-site time is a huge win as this helps to reduce the disruption to both staff, and the day-to-day occupants”.

New fire safety system at the historic and beautiful Corte Regia Relais and Spa Italy

As a global brand, Hochiki has operations across Europe, with a highly experienced team based in Italy who were thrilled to be appointed the life safety device suppliers to the Core Regia Relais and Spa.

Located in the picturesque village of Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy, the Corte Regia Relais and Spa overlooks the river Mincio, with views across to the imposing Scaliger Castle and the Visconteo Bridge and a short journey to Lake Garda. For its guests, this hotel is an escape from the outside world and is famed for providing a relaxing experience.

To read the full interview, please see our latest issue here.