FSi Limited Announces Continued Remote Operations And Support For Staff, Customers During COVID-19 Outbreak

23 Mar 2020

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FSi Limited (FSi Ltd) announced in a statement that they would like to update on the actions that the company is taking as a business to support customers, suppliers and protect the staff during the on-going COVID-19 outbreak.

From the beginning of this outbreak, FSi Ltd has followed Government advice and will continue to do so in order to protect the business, but most importantly the company’s employees and business partners, which will always remain a priority.

To date, FSi Ltd has been able to operate as normal alongside the protective measures being implemented, while following the Government advice. The company added that they will continue to do so.

Commercial and technical operations

The company’s commercial and technical teams have been switched to remote working and will not visit customer locations, project sites or hold face to face meetings. However, they will continue to offer a high level of support, and FSi intends to continue to hold meetings and training through phone and video conferencing. The company is utilizing Microsoft Teams, which is a fantastic platform to share, train and interact with the staff. It is their intention to maintain the normal support levels.
Customer order processing is operating normally, however, FSi Ltd would advise email interactions as the formal method of communication.

Production and distribution services

The company’s manufacturing facilities are currently operating as normal and are experiencing no delays with deliveries of raw materials. FSi Ltd has a strong supplier support network in place which will supports production in the business.
Through the company’s FSS distribution facility, FSi Ltd is able to and will continue to hold a significant stock of products and systems. FSS will continue to distribute utilizing both the large fleet of vehicles and external hauliers.
Deliveries into the business remain unchanged, however, FSi Ltd is implementing robust processes to protect the staff and have request thorough process understanding and following.

The next few weeks and months are likely to be a challenging time for everyone. FSi Ltd will continue to do everything possible to support customers, partners and employees.

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Due to the lack of ventilation, dust is commonplace, and its build-up can cause clogging in this machinery, amplifying the risk of overheating. Depending on its material, dust can be highly flammable. Combustible materials: Combustible materials are frequently present in tunnels, particularly in mining tunnels. These materials create a prominent fire risk, due to their extremely flammable natural, making it crucial to ensure they are transported and stored safely. Electrical faults: Some tunnels, such as cable tunnels, store lengthy networks of cables, which have the potential to cause fires. A lack of maintenance or heat can increase this risk significantly. So, how can you reduce fire risks in tunnels? Regular risk assessments By conducting regular risk assessments, you can identify any potential fire risks and put the appropriate measures in place to control these. 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Using fire detection and suppression equipment to enhance safety Putting appropriate measures in place can actively reduce fire risks within tunnels. However, unnoticed hotspots, overheating between regular maintenance or combustion of flammable materials are all still prevalent fire risks. As such, supporting your fire prevention measures with a rigorous fire detection and suppression system is key. Overheating is a considerable risk in tunnels If a fire were to break out, detection it early is crucial for allowing the safe evacuation of teams and decreasing the risk of structural and equipment damage. As every tunnel is unique, the fire detection and suppression system must be bespoke and tailored to the site’s individual uses and risks. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

Avoiding Electrical Fires Through Preventative Technology

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A centralized system for equipment monitoring and detection provides building managers with all the information they need to keep fire risk under control, and therefore protect staff, property and business. Electrical fire risk awareness During the design and implementation phase, the consultant engineer’s role is traditionally to respect and master the local standards. They should ensure all components and parts of the circuit comply with the latest wiring rules, electrical and building codes. Yet for enhanced safety they should also be willing to look beyond the standards of the day. Given the often-unpredictable nature of electrical fires, businesses must invest in the latest technologies to prevent irreparable damage Today’s regulations do a good job of protecting buildings from the dangers of short circuits and overloads, mostly by mandating the use of circuit breakers. 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Products can now also offer permanent earth leakage current measurement which, when connected to a monitoring system, allows pre-alarming and monitoring during the time of any drift in the insulation. Identify switchboard vulnerabilities Unprotected electrical switchboards are especially vulnerable to fire risk. The equipment is susceptible to rodent infestation and internal overheating, issues that can often go unnoticed until it is too late. The IEC 61439-2 Low-voltage switchgear and control gear assemblies – Part 2: Power switchgear and control gear assembly’s standard addresses these risks, making compliance a must. However, fulfilling these design and manufacturing rules for switchboards does not eliminate the risk of connection failure. A critical sequence of events can occur. First, increasing electrical contact resistance accelerates further deterioration. This increased resistance induces a rise in temperature – high temperatures deteriorate the connection surface even more. The more deteriorated surface leads to a further increase in contact resistance, and the resulting thermal runaway will cause complete connection failure. Fire, flash-over and explosions become a real risk. Enhanced electrical fire prevention Moreover, final circuits should be protected by an arc fault detection device (AFDD) for enhanced fire prevention. Final circuits should be protected by an arc fault detection device (AFDD) Circuits age unevenly and unpredictably, so persistent monitoring and predictive maintenance are key to limiting fire risk. Cloud analytics can help provide asset health analytics to interpret the status and history of your most critical assets, with preventive notifications and 24/7 support. Fire prevention must be a top priority when assessing all the safety and risk-management of a building. In the case of electrical fires, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, establishing the right approach before crisis strikes will be invaluable. 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Building Evacuation: Integration Between Fire Panels and Voice Alarm Allows Faster Response When Every Second Counts

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As the latest evolution, a new generation of fire panels helps to connect and control both systems on a single interface, thereby opening the door to immediate efficiency improvements and future innovations. Connecting IP-Based Fire Alarm and Voice Evacuation Systems For the past few years, Bosch has been offering connections between IP-based fire alarm and voice evacuation systems as a standard, out-of-the-box feature. The “Smart Safety Link” is an interface that creates a connection between fire and voice alarm systems. As a direct, plug-and-play connection, it replaces workaround solutions or relay-based connections limited to single evacuation zones in the building. As the direct takeaways from a systems architecture perspective, the Smart Safety Link requires far less cables and significantly reduces installation costs and timelines. Bosch has been offering connections between IP-based fire alarm and voice evacuation systems as a standard, out-of-the-box featureAnd by creating the connection on an IP-based architecture, the system constantly monitors the health and status of all connected devices. For operators, this significantly increases the system’s overall reliability while lowering the risk for false alarms. It also allows for replacing or repairing components as needed, right when failures happen or become imminent. The resulting systems architecture is not only more stable and reliable, but also far less complex in terms of set-up. Depending on the size of the building, one or more voice alarm systems can also be connected to the fire alarm control panels. The direct connection via Smart Safety Link eliminates the need for including additional interface modules to accommodate a voice evacuation connection, thereby keeping investment costs low. Targeted Evacuation by Building Zones Beyond the ease and efficiency of setting up a building’s alarm systems, the connection between fire alarm and voice evacuation on a single platform significantly improves emergency responses: Firstly, in case of a fire alarm the Smart Safety Link allows for voice-guided evacuation of a building by separate zones. This allows for addressing rooms and building floors closest to the fire source first, starting with the evacuation of the most endangered building occupants. This not only supports an orderly evacuation response but also helps to avoid panic and additional complications.Studies state that using voice evacuation with clear instructions creates significant time gains Secondly, the integration makes evacuations much faster overall in situations when time is of the essence. Studies such as David Canter’s “Fire and Human Behavior” clearly state that using voice evacuation with clear instructions creates significant time gains of up to 30 percent for emergency response teams compared to a non-voice alarm signal. And thirdly, the Smart Safety Link also allows for a wide range of automated emergency responses, for instance pre-recorded voice evacuation messages directing occupants of different zones to their respective nearest exits. Supported by strobes, guide lights and clear signage, this automatic combination of fire alarm and voice instructions allows operators to focus on the big picture and monitor the situation in real-time. Evolving the Link Between Fire and Voice Alarm While the integration between fire alarm and voice evacuation via Smart Safety Link has been a widely adopted feature for several years now, with constant gains in efficiency and ease of use, the evolution continues. Bosch recently released a new generation of panels that provide the foundation for immediate new functionality as well as a platform for future technologies guided by Smart Building and Internet of Things (IoT) principles.Bosch recently released a new generation of panels that provide the foundation for immediate new functionality Continuing the proven, modular concept of its predecessors, the new “Avenar” panels provide an intuitive user interface, simplified planning and streamlined purchasing process for operators and system integrators. The panels work with existing fire alarm system components, but offer enhanced scalability, computing power and functionality for future applications. Most of all, the Avenar series creates a single point of access and control for personnel and operators while putting both the voice alarm and fire alarm system components at their fingertips. A Combined Graphic User Interface for Both Systems Previously, many systems still required two separate user interface environments to control fire alarm and voice evacuation components. Here’s where Avenar bridges the gap: Users can now fully control safety equipment such as fire alarm, voice alarm, door controls, and more, directly on the Avenar panel display via the “eMatrix” feature. With its 7-inch touch screen, eMatrix puts full control of all system components on a single interface. The results include faster response times from eliminating the need to switch between platforms, as well as a one-stop overview of the latest situation.With its 7-inch touch screen, eMatrix puts full control of all system components on a single interface eMatrix displays the status of all connected fire safety equipment and evacuation zones in a color-coded format, indicating states by red, yellow, and green labels. Operators also directly see the status of automated emergency responses currently in progress, with the option to intervene manually as needed. These manual commands are available in the form of icons on screen that control sirens, strobe lights and voice announcements. Constant feedback on the progress of evacuation measures allows for an unprecedented level of control in emergency situations. Networked Solutions for Tomorrow’s Smart Buildings In a world where connectivity and cloud computing are key drivers of innovation, both panels support fast ethernet system architecture with 100Mbit data transfer rates. What’s more, fire panels and voice alarm components connect to a network, allowing for the integration of building management systems such as HVAC. In a world challenged by pandemic restrictions, remote maintenance and control are day one features of the platform. Looking into the future, the next generation not only immediately puts faster response times and better situational oversight into system operator’s hands. When it comes to smart building technologies that support emergency responses with AI-based automation for even faster turnaround, the Avenar panels also provide the hardware and connectivity to pave the way.