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Siemens Xcelerator digital business platform

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Siemens Smart Infrastructure has integrated electrical signature analysis (ESA) from Samotics into NXpower Monitor. . Using ESA and machine learning, Samotics provides real-time actionable insights to help global industrial companies eliminate industrial energy waste and unplanned downtime. This new capability leverages the ecosystem of Siemens Xcelerator, an open digital business platform that enables customers to accelerate their digital transformation easier, faster, and at scale. NXpower Monitor enables the visualization and monitoring of electrical assets within electrical networks, providing health status, KPI calculation, energy monitoring, and monitoring of operational data from assets. This comprehensive asset monitoring system enhances efficiency and risk management across the entire energy distribution network through continuous health monitoring, while simultaneously minimizing CO2 emissions and OPEX. By integrating AI-powered ESA technology, Siemens broadens its application to include the monitoring of AC motors and rotating equipment, all accessible through a single pane of glass. “The digitalization of energy distribution, automation systems, and networks brings many advantages. Not only does it lead to substantial savings in terms of time and money, it also significantly boosts efficiency and reliability. By adding Samotics to Siemens Xcelerator, our open ecosystem of certified partners, customers can benefit from an expanded offering. This reflects our continued innovation efforts, including the integration of advanced low voltage analysis into our digital caretaker NXpower Monitor,” said Stephan May, CEO of Electrification and Automation at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. Thanks to ESA technology, NXpower Monitor conducts real-time analysis of high-quality current and voltage data, enabling the detection of electrical and mechanical faults up to five months before downtime happens. Furthermore, the system delivers comprehensive performance and efficiency insights, pinpointing areas with the highest electricity consumption, cost, and efficiency losses. By implementing data-driven recommendations, organizations can optimize operational processes, significantly reducing energy waste and cutting CO2 emissions by up to 15%. Jasper Hoogeweegen, CEO of Samotics said: “Unplanned downtime and energy waste are among the most expensive problems in industry. Traditional monitoring technologies do not adequately address these issues. However, through partnerships with forward-thinking organizations such as Siemens, customers are benefiting from ESA technology that delivers real-time, actionable information about the condition, performance, and energy efficiency of critical rotating equipment. This helps our clients to effectively improve the performance and energy efficiency of their critical assets.” To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.     Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]

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Secure Logiq partner VCA Technology

News Desk, Project News /

The global hardware partnership between Secure Logiq and VCA Technology has yielded its first results. Following a period of intensive testing, the manufacturers have fine-tuned their solutions to determine the best combinations of software and hardware from the two brands that will set new standards in the industry. Secure Logiq and VCA formed their strategic partnership towards the end of 2022. This led to the manufacturer of servers designed for the HD CCTV industry becoming the global hardware partner for the security and business intelligence software manufacturer. “We’ve developed a great relationship with VCA after working with them for a long time so we know how powerful their analytics solutions are,” says Secure Logiq’s Robin Hughes. “Our R&D teams have been working together to find the optimum solutions to deliver best-in-class results to our shared customers at a price-point that is hard to match.” “This partnership has always been about overcoming the lack of customer knowledge about hardware options,” adds VCA’s Kevin Waterhouse. “The work we have done together takes away a lot of those customer questions. We can now offer specific solutions based on the needs of our clients safe in the knowledge that our combined R&D teams have worked together to ensure the optimum performance is achieved.” VCA takes pride in its ability to squeeze a large amount of analytics into a very low amount of CPU usage – an attribute that has come from the on-camera analytics side of its business. This means that the new combined offerings are able to host a variety of VCA applications on one Secure Logiq server, not just security. With VCA analytics covering a variety of sectors, from traffic management to retail with elements including forensic searches and heat mapping, the combined solution will be attractive to a variety of organisations. “We believe the work done by this partnership will expand both of our businesses,” concludes Hughes. “We have created a variety of best-in-class solutions that will be attractive to customers in a wide number of areas.” To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.     Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]  

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Kentec’s system protects Wapping residents

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K-Mesh & Taktis K-Mesh, a wireless fire detection system and Taktis, both award-winning products by Kentec Electronics, have been installed in five residential tower blocks in Wapping to provide residents with a sophisticated and highly reliable fire detection and alarm system. The K-Mesh and Taktis system was installed at 21 Wapping Lane in central London by DPJ Fire and Security Ltd, a Kentec Installation Partner (KIP), after winning a competitive tender put out by property developers, Ballymore. The fire safety system protects five mixed-use luxury and affordable housing residential complexes, including an 18-storey tower near St Katherine’s Dock. There are over 380 dwellings over an area of 7,500 square metres. Wireless A wireless solution was proposed because of the ease and speed that the installation could be carried out, offering less disruption to the occupants of the site, and because of its appealing aesthetics. The number of floors meant running cables was impractical and so the wireless solution avoided costly builders work and fire stopping; also important was K-Mesh’s unique SmartGuide technology, which supports safe and strategic building evacuation and means the fire detection system can be easily converted to an EVAC evacuation system as and when desired or practical. Networked to K-Mesh, the system features five of Kentec’s 4-loop Taktis control panels, and more than 750 devices, including wireless heat sensors and sounders, and optical smoke detectors. K-Mesh was chosen because of its impressive wireless network performance using a self-healing dynamic Mesh network, which makes it easy to use, install and commission – and ultimately provides a highly redundant and robust wireless network giving confidence and assurance that fire incidents are detected and communicated immediately. Optical and Thermal Detectors A wireless translator module, which sits at the centre of the K-Mesh system, is hard-wired to the fire alarm control panel loop and communicates continuously with the wireless devices. The detection range provides the highest reliability for automatic detection and includes Optical, Thermal and combined Optical and Thermal detectors which can respond to a wide spectrum of fire phenomena, whilst minimising false and unwanted activations. Derrick Hall, Director of Sales at Kentec Electronics, says K-Mesh overcomes all the traditional barriers to using wireless systems: “It has a seven-to-ten-year battery life, which is approximately twice that of the industry standard,” he explains. “The advanced technology is also fully expandable, and configurable from anything from two to 2,000 devices so even the largest, most disparate and complex sites can now be protected wirelessly. It provides an easy-to-install and highly practical wireless solution, ideal for residential complexes.” Ballymore is an independently-owned property developer responsible for some of Europe’s largest regeneration protections. 21 Wapping Lane provides a modern living space in one of London’s oldest maritime neighbourhoods. To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.     Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]

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Kentec Taktis fire control panel

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Initially configured as a fire detection and alarm system, the flexibility of Taktis is such that it can be re-configured to realise many other control and indication applications, with direct integration into intelligent buildings. Variable Ideal for the largest sites including schools, hospitals, multi-site retail/supermarkets, critical infrastructure and major commercial and industrial facilities. A range of protocols are supported to give installers and end-users maximum choice in their systems’ design. The scalable nature of the product provides the highest level of future-proofing and networking possibilities. Modular The modular nature of Taktis allows all field wiring to be connected to a passive mother-board enabling addition, re-configuration or replacement of all electronic hardware without the need to disconnect any field wiring. This modularity also allows each panel to be customised with addressable loop detection circuits, conventional detection circuits, relay cards, additional sounder outputs or programmable I/O modules as required. Protocol Panel As a truly open protocol panel it offers installers and their customers maximum flexibility in systems’ design, site-customisation and the third-party devices that they use. Not only does Taktis provide solutions to the most technically challenging applications in life safety, it will also deliver added value, market advantage and a competitive edge to your business. Intelligent and technically robust, it has enhanced integration and networking capabilities to meet the current and future needs of small to larger buildings and installations. Taktis Vision Taktis Vision provides a means of allowing full display and optional control of the Taktis Fire Alarm control panel from a small and unobtrusive local control station. Based on a new hardware and software platform, the large, full colour graphical display with touch screen functionality, delivers information on the status of the fire alarm system to single or multiple locations. To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.     Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]    

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Housing Ombudsman identifies cladding concerns

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Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway has highlighted the current state of play in relation to fire safety and cladding-related casework handled by the organisation as part of a continued learning drive, in tandem suggesting that landlords “still have learning to do” when it comes to dealing with complaints received from tenants. Two years on from the publication of a special Spotlight Report on this issue, the Housing Ombudsman has now moved to publish several examples of casework relating to cladding and associated fire safety complaints in a bid to share the lessons learned with the wider sector. That Spotlight Report, itself focused on dealing with cladding cases, duly highlighted three key lessons for the sector, including the need to provide a clear roadmap of landlord actions for all residents, instigate effective lines of communication and address individual circumstances. Responses from landlords in relation to cladding cases have improved since that document was issued, but common themes – among them that all-important communication with residents – remain “problematic”. The Housing Ombudsman notes that landlords “are not always effective” in providing residents with key information and explanations of their priorities in this area, with poorer communication evidenced in those buildings classed as being ‘low risk’ as well as continuing issues in terms of sales. Case Studies Published every fortnight, the Housing Ombudsman’s casebook now totals more than 3,100 decisions and shows the range of issues to be considered in parallel with the types of outcomes materialising in the wake of investigations. How One Housing Group, for example, responded effectively to an EWS-1 Form request. The landlord gave the resident accurate and reasonable advice about its prioritisation of the resident’s block for remediation works, progress to secure funding for these works and the potential impact of not being able to provide an EWS-1 Form in the meantime. The Housing Ombudsman goes on to highlight a maladministration finding for L&Q in which a risk-based approach to fire safety meant the landlord did not consider the impact of its prioritisation policy on residents. The landlord’s strict adherence to the policy meant the resident concerned was likely unable to sell their property for a significant period of time. A service failure by Poplar HARCA for both its fire safety communication and its response to a resident’s request to reimburse costs for an unsuccessful re-mortgage is also highlighted. The landlord “missed opportunities” to effectively communicate and did not appropriately and directly inform the resident about remedial works that had been identified, which would impact the provision of an EWS-1 Form and mortgages. The landlord delayed imparting this detail for several months, wasting time and incurring unnecessary costs for the resident.   To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.     Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]    

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Handling of Li-ion battery fires

News Desk /

Safe & efficient handling of Li-ion battery fires In collaboration with several other companies and organisations, Cold Cut Systems has investigated whether Cobra can be used on lithium-ion battery fires. After years of systematic testing and knowledge acquisition, Cold Cut Systems is delighted to finally be able to pass on our knowledge and experience to others. The test results have been very positive, showing that stopping lithium-ion fire propagation with Cobra is possible. Fully developed propagations in lithium-ion batteries are very rare. But when they occur, Fire and Rescue Services lack a practical method to interrupt the process of fire and thermal runaway in batteries using lithium-ion technology. Until today, the methods available mainly comprise different ways of limiting fire spread and/or cooling the propagating battery pack externally with large amounts of water. In addition, there is a risk of re-ignition when handling affected lithium-ion batteries. Based on the findings, we can present a manageable solution to one of the Fire and Rescue Services biggest challenges. The test results show that there is a method for extinguishing fires in lithium-ion batteries. Tested & Proven We received early indications that Cobra could be a suitable tool for this type of fire. However, one of the cornerstones of Cold Cut Systems’ philosophy is that what we say about Cobra and its effects must be properly tested and evaluated. We, therefore, started a pre-study in 2021 to investigate Cobra’s effect when used on lithium-ion fires. The results from the pre-study showed promising results for further studies and tests. In 2022 we therefore, joined a collaborative project. This new project is a joint effort between automotive industry stakeholders and equipment manufacturers, with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) as project leader.   To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.     Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]

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Fireco being more eco-concious

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Saying that climate change has been a big topic of conversation over the past few years is an understatement! We’ve seen activist Greta Thunberg encouraging people to take immediate action with her speeches and campaigning. We’ve seen Extinction Rebellion going to great (and sometimes controversial) lengths to raise awareness of an environmental emergency. David Attenborough has also spoken about how much the world has changed through his well-loved documentaries. Worldwide meetings such as the Paris Climate Agreement and COP22 have showcased these concerns on the global stage. It can be difficult to understand what your impact is as an individual, a consumer or a business. Some may say that one individual taking action isn’t enough. However, what all the above is really about, is bringing everyone together. The role of businesses in climate change SMEs make up 90% of businesses worldwide, meaning that if they come together to make changes, it really can make a huge impact. María Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition explains, “Together, these small businesses have a huge impact – both on the planet and on their communities. To limit the effects of climate change, and to create a just future that leaves no one behind, it’s imperative that every business, of every size, has the tools they need to prioritise climate action.” Many SMEs will already be considering climate change in their business plans. However, research from SME Climate Hub found that of those interviewed, “two-thirds of small business owners are worried they don’t have the right skills and knowledge to tackle the climate crisis”. With that in mind, here’s what we’re currently doing at Fireco to reduce our impact on the environment. Marketing The first thing Fireco Marketing Team wanted to change was the branded merchandise, e.g. pens, bags etc. Our reusable coffee cup and coaster are made in the UK from recycled materials. To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.     Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]

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Efectis Reaction to fire (RtF)

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Reaction to fire (RtF) is the response of a product in terms of contributing – by its own decomposition – to a fire to which it is exposed, under specified conditions. The RtF performance is considered in relation to a product’s end use and is measured for various parameters, including fire growth rate, smoke production rate, fire spread, flaming droplets, ignition time, flaming duration and mass loss rate. Reaction to fire testing and classification is an effective means of assessing the fire performance of materials, products and/or assemblies in a fire. The building regulations of each country contain a set of rules for building work in new and altered buildings to make them safe and accessible to people living and working in them. To meet the relevant building regulations and associated guidance with regard to fire safety, it is essential to provide evidence of the RtF performance of materials, products and/or assemblies used in buildings and infrastructure. Efectis UK/Ireland is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) for RtF test standards. Our team has accumulated experience and expertise in carrying out the aforementioned standard tests on construction products and systems related to wall/ceiling applications and cables. Additionally, our team is able to advise on research and/or ad hoc test programmes (Non-UKAS) to provide our customers with tailor-made solutions to suit their project-specific objectives and conditions. To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here. Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]

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Apprenticeships & Mentorships at EDSB

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Background  EDSB Compliance Solutions are national providers of Fire & Security, Electrical, Mechanical, Passive Fire & Water Hygiene solutions.  As part of our commitment to build the best teams possible, we have developed an apprentice and mentor scheme to further grow our own talent within the business. Scheme Launch  The EDSB apprenticeship scheme was launched in 2019, when we recognised that we had a gap in terms of trainees and apprentices within the business.    In addition to the college training, all of our apprentices are paired with a Senior Engineer, who acts as their mentor throughout their training. They are there to provide valuable support, practical advice, and encouragement.   Successes at EDSB  Throughout the last few years, we have had teams of apprentices studying for their NVQ.  The course combines a mixture of learning styles from theory in the classroom to self study.  We are delighted that our first three apprentices all qualified at the end of 2022 and are now fully qualified engineers, working in both the Install and Service teams.  The Future Pipeline  Within our current team of apprentices, we have some who are on a fast track route to qualification, others who are nearing their EPA, along with newly recruited apprentices, just starting out on their journey.  For all of our apprentices, we are delighted to be able to provide a springboard for them to launch their careers in the Fire & Security world… To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here. Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]

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FIREX 2023: Orama Group

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  One of Europe’s largest fire safety events, FIREX offers industry wide opportunity to connect, learn, source and discover the latest in life-saving technology – which The Orama Group is committing to in order to meet the wireless safety and security needs of different industries. The group is confident that FIREX matches it mission to shape a safer world through innovation, with a culture built on thinking digitally, acting transparently, being accountable and staying close to customers. Adam Jurka, sales manager at Ramtech, said: “This year will be the first time that Ramtech and Hyfire attend FIREX under the collective group name. We hope this sends a message to our clients and competitors that collaboration is going to remain a key driver in achieving industry betterment. Adam continued, “While fire is responsible for the largest insurance losses in construction, escape of water is still the most common – and most costly – for construction project teams.” To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here. Never miss a story… Follow us on:  International Fire Buyer  @Firebuyer  Fire Buyer Media Contact Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: [email protected]  

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