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Yee Group won the contract to upgrade the fire alarm system at H. Young Transport, a leading logistics company located in Burton on Trent.
Project manager, Steve Bullock, led the project for Yee Group and confirmed the view of H. Young Transport’s Director Russel Webster, at the initial survey, that the existing commercial fire detection system should be enhanced in the warehouse buildings, with new detectors placed at critical locations. The existing fire alarm was working well in covering the offices and other critical areas; however it needed upgrading to current standards. Our objective was to provide fire detection that will perform effectively in the varying conditions presented by the client’s operations and premises, and to undertake the installation without any disruption to the working day.
The Brief
Warehousing operations often create dusty and sometimes noisy conditions which have to be accounted for when designing fire detection systems. This was the case at H. Young Transport. The high volume of goods being moved into and out of the warehouse by forklift trucks created dusty conditions and a level of noise that needed to be factored into the design of the new system. The brief was also to incorporate as much of the existing system as possible and of course to allow the business to operate as normal during the installation.
The Solution
In the main warehouse, Yee Group engineers installed high level beam detectors. These infra-red beams are cost effective in a large open area such as a storage facility or factory because they cover a greater area. As smoke rises, it spreads out and affects a large area and in doing so affects a large amount of the beam path. The high ceiling style of most warehouses makes installing individual smoke detectors much more costly. Also, in warehouses where dust and other particles are present, detectors can become contaminated in a relatively short period of time. Such contamination can lead to unwanted false alarms and possible reductions in effective fire detection. It’s also important to note that under such conditions, it’s also unlikely that the manufacturer will be able to guarantee the device will work satisfactorily.
As part of the installation, additional optical smoke detection devices were installed in areas where ceilings were lower and the atmosphere was less dusty. So, overall this combination of high-level beam detectors and optical detection devices provided the staff and the contents of the facility with a high degree of fire protection.
Thinking ahead and keeping future maintenance costs in mind; Yee Group’s electricians installed all beam control panels at an accessible height. This was designed to make access to the control panels easy when servicing the system, which is required every six months.
Yee Group conducted tests of the sounder system to ensure the decibel level was set above the background noise. This was important to ensure that the fire alarm sounder could easily be heard by employees when forklift trucks were operating in the warehouse.
All new cabling was installed with fire rated fixings and mechanical protection where needed to adhere to the Codes of Practice and Standards for fire alarm installations.
The Result
Mr Webster appreciated Yee Group’s plan to install new equipment in combination with upgrades of the existing fire alarm system. He commented “The fire alarm covers the area of concern. The project was very cost effective and retained the best parts of the original system.” He continued “the team at Yee Group combined their experience working in large spaces like ours with expert knowledge of the standards.”
He now also finds it especially useful that he and other key members of staff can be alerted to activations on-site via a GSM Dialler.
Simon Chapman, Group Managing Director of Yee Group commented “We understand the pressures of industrial and commercial businesses such as H. Young Transport and so the way in which we plan and undertake works, without disruption to daily operations, is an essential part of the way we deliver successful projects.”
