Honeywell Security Group - Experts & Thought Leaders

Honeywell has acquired from Nexceris its Li-ion Tamer business, a major off-gas detection solution for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that detects thermal runaway events. The acquisition enhances Honeywell's portfolio of fire life safety technologies within its Building Automation segment and emerged from a partnership with Nexceris over the past 5 years to strategically address lithium-ion battery system safety. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Honeywell's financials. Demand for li-ion batteries Li-ion batteries expected to grow by over 30% annually through 2030 to greater than $400 billion With demand for Li-ion batteries expected to grow by over 30% annually through 2030 to greater than $400 billion,1 battery safety solutions are increasingly critical for sectors ranging from renewable energy to cloud computing. Safe monitoring and early detection enable essential steps to avoid or reduce the effects of thermal runaway – without these solutions, an entire system can be lost once a fire begins in an energy storage system. By using early warning technology to detect battery off-gassing, which typically precedes thermal runaway, Li-ion Tamer provides facilities with vital time to intervene before a battery fire starts. With its detection technology that provides a warning up to 30 minutes in advance, Li-ion Tamer is trusted by pioneer battery OEMs worldwide. EV infrastructure "As lithium-ion battery use grows rapidly across data centers, EV infrastructure, and grid-scale energy storage, the risk of fire is increasing in parallel," said Billal Hammoud, President and CEO of Honeywell's Building Automation segment. "Li-ion Tamer's early warning technology has been revolutionary for our customers and partners over the last five years.” “Building on our legacy partnership, the acquisition of this product suite will position Honeywell as a leader in early gas detection and battery fire prevention. We expect this tuck-in acquisition to further bolster growth of our fire detection business." Product portfolio The Li-ion Tamer product portfolio, which includes more than 30 global patents, will be integrated into Honeywell's Building Automation business, enabling Honeywell to offer a comprehensive suite of fire detection products that complement its existing advanced smoke detection technology and life safety solutions.

Honeywell has been selected by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to complete a comprehensive fire alarm system upgrade at its Terminal 4, which houses more than 80 airline gates spanning eight concourses. This critical safety enhancement involves upgrading the existing Honeywell fire alarm system originally installed in 2003 with modern automated devices and modules meeting the latest UL safety standards. The project includes system modifications to help optimize emergency response and system performance. A digital dashboard will deliver improved insights for more efficient operations, helping to decrease maintenance costs and reduce manpower at a time when skilled labor is scarce.  Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator The upgrade is expected to be completed in 2026, and EBI will also help ensure the terminal Maps displayed to operators via the Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI) management system will be modernized to better visualize alarm locations and guide emergency responders more accurately. The upgrade is expected to be completed in 2026, and EBI will also help ensure the terminal, which serves an average of 94,000 passengers daily, remains fully protected as the work is done. “This award to enhance the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport's fire alarm system reflects our commitment to delivering innovative and reliable automation solutions that protect this busy airport while also helping ensure uninterrupted operations for passengers and staff,” said Sudhakar Janakiraman, President, Honeywell Building Solutions. Vital safety initiative “We are honored to work on this vital safety initiative that builds on a long-standing and valued relationship,” continues Sudhakar Janakiraman. The project is a testament to Honeywell’s ability to deliver complex, high-stakes projects focused on protecting the public with precision and care. It also reflects the company’s capabilities to advance the three megatrends of automation, aviation, and the energy transition. 

Honeywell has completed the sale of its Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) business to Protective Industrial Products, Inc. for $1.325 billion in an all-cash transaction. PIP is a global supplier and manufacturer of PPE products and a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners. Advances Honeywell's efforts The sale further advances Honeywell's efforts to optimize its portfolio, while allowing the PPE business to build a strong future with PIP as it continues to deliver value for its customers across the globe. It also marks the completion of Honeywell's exit from the PPE space, following the 2021 divestiture of Honeywell's Lifestyle and Performance Footwear Business to Rocky Brands. PPE's future opportunities PPE business to build a strong future with PIP as it continues to deliver value for its customers "Completing the divestiture of our PPE business is another critical step in simplifying and optimizing our portfolio for growth in our core businesses," said Vimal Kapur, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell. He adds, "Beyond the benefits for Honeywell, the sale also strengthens PPE's future opportunities given the strong alignment to PIP's core business." Honeywell's recent announcement The completion of this sale follows Honeywell's recent announcement of the planned separation of its Aerospace Technologies business along with the previously announced spin of Advanced Materials, which will result in three publicly listed industry leaders with distinct strategies and growth drivers.  Since December 2023, Honeywell has announced a number of strategic actions to drive organic growth and simplify its portfolio. This includes $13.5 billion of accretive acquisitions: the Access Solutions business from Carrier Global, Civitanavi Systems, CAES Systems, the LNG business from Air Products and the announced acquisitions of Sundyne and Johnson Matthey's Catalyst Technologies Business.

Information can transform and guide emergency response. For example, in a structure fire, real-time sensor feeds throughout a building can help 911 and first responders understand how the fire is progressing. In fires and other emergencies, more information provides a better understanding and empowers potentially life-saving decision-making. Emergency response teams depend on information to guide their efforts and to deliver targeted assistance. On the front lines of emergency response are 911 and field responder agencies, which must direct reaction to life-or-death situations rapidly and efficiently. Historically, 911 operators had to respond based on very little information, perhaps just a voice on the phone or a location on their screen. Providing critical information Today, there are literally millions of information sources available, ranging from connected buildings to vehicle telematics to live video streams to health information from wearable devices. In fact, there are 540 million connected devices, any one of which could provide critical information in an emergency. But how can those information sources be leveraged to improve emergency response? That’s the mission and value proposition of RapidSOS, an ‘intelligent safety platform’ company that connects 911 operators with the vast universe of information available to promote better and faster emergency response. Highly sophisticated operation The platform is integrated into every major public safety software system and first responder agency “RapidSOS fuses human and artificial intelligence to put critical information from any connected device directly into the existing systems and operating procedures of first responders across the United States,” says Michael Martin, CEO of RapidSOS. RapidSOS is widely used by first responders. The platform is integrated into every major public safety software system and first responder agency. There are more than 4,600 software integrations that serve more than 21,000 first responders and 911 agencies. In 2023, RapidSOS supported the lifesaving work of public safety across 171 million emergencies with 3.3 billion data payloads. The system is adaptable and configurable to support any agency, from a highly sophisticated operation in New York City to a local sheriff running their own 911 center. Intelligent analytics and reporting RapidSOS Unite is the latest evolution of the product, a single solution that includes AI automation, rich content pathways, redundant connection to caller phones, and access to millions of connected devices. In an emergency, Unite intelligently fuses data from among millions of sensor feeds into a unified picture of an incident, allowing public safety officials to view real-time location, health profile, telematics, alarm data, and more. RapidSOS Unite is the latest evolution of the product, a single solution that includes AI automation RapidSOS offers core modules that handle call, text, video, sensor, mapping, and administration tools, and that provide partner data from connected devices. Additional modules provide enhanced geographic information system (GIS) data, and automated translation and transcription. There is also a single sign-on (SSO) upgrade, intelligent analytics and reporting, and seamless integration into field responder applications. Field responder applications Consider how an emergency might unfold and how RapidSOS can help. In a car accident, data from a modern automobile telematics system can alert a 911 operator of the accident as it happens. Data from a passenger’s wearable device might provide information about their health and condition. A nearby video or traffic camera could fill in details of how the accident occurred. Useful information in an emergency might come from any one of thousands of sources, including public safety data, sensor feeds, enterprise security systems, smartphones, etc. In a train derailment, electronic access to the cargo manifest can identify which train cars contain hazardous materials and how to manage the specific type of hazmat. This information could save valuable time when responding to incidents like the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment involving 38 cars in East Palestine, Ohio. Consider how an emergency might unfold and how RapidSOS can help Institutional security partners Norfolk Southern is one of the companies that provides information to first responders using RapidSOS; in effect, the company provides a direct digital link from their rail security operations to any first responder in the United States. Amazon’s global operations centers also interface with RapidSOS to provide critical information to first responders. Partnering with corporate security helps to better support the flow of data from institutional security partners and their solutions. Real-time security camera footage Having access to live feeds can save lives as 911 provides pre-arrival instructions such as CPR Leading the way to providing video feeds from private camera systems to 911 operators is an agreement between Eagle Eye Networks and RapidSOS, which was announced in April 2024. The agreement allows an enterprise to opt-in to share real-time security camera footage from an Eagle Eye video stream during a live 911 call. Having access to live feeds can save lives as 911 provides pre-arrival instructions such as CPR.  “Security cameras are crucial in many locations, including schools, but previously those cameras could not be accessed by 911 during an emergency but were only used for investigation after an incident,” says Martin. Improving fire and life safety systems RapidSOS is also integrated with Honeywell’s Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) system, a cloud platform that combines software and hardware to improve fire and life safety systems. Technology integrations between the two companies further modernize and digitize the public safety communications process to provide faster, more accurate communications with emergency centers (i.e., 911 agencies). RapidSOS technology securely transmits detailed data about an emergency CLSS provides real-time visibility and connectivity to help systems integrators and facilities managers make informed decisions and manage fire systems more efficiently. When combined with Honeywell's solutions, RapidSOS technology securely transmits detailed data about an emergency, such as the type of hazard, severity, and location within the impacted building, to emergency response centers. Video object detection Rapid SOS’s emerging Harmony artificial intelligence (AI) product serves as a ‘co-pilot’ for 911 operators, helping them manage the high volume of emergencies by making their response more efficient. Harmony pulls all the sensor feeds in an emergency and works to make only the most important information available in the hands of 911 and first responders. Harmony can take key insights from text and video data, use ‘sentiment analysis’ to determine the emotion tone of a message, and help 911 professionals using language translation, keyword alerts, and video object detection. Harmony can help local agencies as they address a 25% average staffing shortage by providing additional support to 911 professionals while lessening the workload. Harmony is also working to help RapidSOS expand the ecosystem, stitching more data together and quickly making it more actionable than ever. Emergency response system RapidSOS also interfaces with Iamresponding, a comprehensive end-to-end emergency response system for first responders in the fire and other emergency sectors. Iamresponding’s field responder application is used by RapidSOS to get information out to first responders in the field. More than 650,000 first responders use RapidSOS’s field application RapidSOS’s recent acquisition of Iamresponding helps the company improve the connection with the last mile “in-the-field” piece of the puzzle, ensuring partners across computer-aided dispatch (CAD), integrated applications, mobile data terminals, body cameras, and other responders have access to critical data. More than 650,000 first responders use RapidSOS’s field application. Enhancing emergency response RapidSOS’s Safety Pioneer Program formalizes the important partnership between RapidSOS and public safety agencies. Participants in the program receive early access to new platform features, contribute to the platform roadmap, and drive feedback to enhance emergency response. “911 and first responders do incredible lifesaving work,” says Martin. “Everything we have done and built at RapidSOS is a direct result of the engagement, partnerships, inside advice and insight we have gotten from public safety. We have learned from them, developed new technologies and tested them.” Martin adds: “Companies have data and we now know how to make that data actionable into the hands of 911 and first responders to save lives. This is an exciting moment for us continuing our mission in partnership with public safety, and for technology and security companies to have a major hand in that.” {##Poll1720595927 - What is the most valuable benefit of artificial intelligence (AI) in an emergency call center?##}