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| Fire alarm control panels are connected to Nimbus using a GPRS gateway |
Fike Safety Technology (FST) has released Nimbus, a new solution for the monitoring and management of remote fire alarm systems over the internet. At the heart of the system is a cloud-based database, which receives data from fire alarm systems via the GPRS mobile network. In addition to FST’s own TWINFLEXpro and Duonet fire alarm systems, Nimbus also works with the majority of analogue addressable control panels from all of the major manufacturers.
The primary application of Nimbus is to log, manage and administrate the commissioning, servicing, maintenance, testing, performance and day to day use of the connected fire alarm systems. Data is stored in a secure database and accessed via a standard web browser on any internet enabled device. Event notifications are sent via email and/or SMS messaging.
Nimbus is the ideal management tool for Service, Building and Estate Managers who need to maintain a lifetime electronic log of their fire alarm systems. Fire alarm installers and service companies can also benefit from Nimbus, by offering it as a value-added service to their customers and using it help streamline their own service operation. Nimbus centralises all fire alarm system activity through a single cross-platform management tool and provides a detailed electronic history of the system throughout its use and life. The Nimbus database can provide an infinite log of all data, thereby overcoming the memory limits of fire alarm control panels.
Fire alarm control panels are connected to Nimbus using a GRPS Gateway. This is a non-intrusive interface that connects to the panel’s serial or printer port and does not affect the function of the fire alarm system. Requiring no physical connection to telephone lines or clients IP network the GPRS Gateway provides the ideal communications path between the fire alarm system and Nimbus.
Reports can be generated based on weekly testing, servicing and live activity. Users may also generate specific reports based on their own search criteria; e.g. date/time, mode, event, panel, loop, device and any protocol parameter. The common web interface simplifies the generation of reports and allows data to be exported to industry standard tools, such as an Excel spreadsheet, or simply printed.
