To what extent do you agree or disagree? and why?
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1 Title: Data management-based fire alarm system2 Abstract: Fire detection and alarm system may offer more then just active fire protection, if re-engineered to be more data management-based machine, by classifying its events history data; in particular false alarms events with its various types. Also recording all routine and non routine operation’s data and restructure them in some significant database style, this might prove beneficial, not only for any ultimate quick investigation through ‘ease of use’ and ‘user-friendly’ menus, but also for future enhancements of fire safety engineering design likewise, the compilation of more genuine fire statistics figures.
3 Introduction:Fire alarm system advancement has seen remarkable progress over the last decades, particularly analogue addressable system with its various versions, makes and types. It has effectively performed great capabilities into monitoring and programming the causes and effects to suit the fire safety design of any traditional or modern architectural building, from the staged alarm evacuation, to the monitoring of BMS ancillaries and plants including; smoke vents, shut downs, labs, lifts, door access, CCTV, extinguishing systems…etc.
Potentially, analogues addressable system capability is rather exponentially evolving still, it might be further re-engineered to monitor other fire safety requirements related more to intelligent buildings, such as, event history data management, in particular false alarms, fire drill evacuation, in addition to the servicing and commissioning operations…, with the utilization of more user-friendly menus.
Recorded events history of the existing analogue addressable systems are still classified in a very basic way in the majority of makes, certainly the systems have been designed in full compliancy to the present version of BS5839 part 2 & 4. However, much concerns and options might be of precious significance, if ingeniously integrated into fire alarm system’s capabilities, the existing events history seems to be very basic, inaccurate and unstructured, it lacks a quick approach into retrieving and exploring its long list of information, moreover it’s just passively sitting, a part from eventual long investigation after serious fire or fault incidents, whereas if well classified in a database fashion, it could be of precious data. Additionally, the traditional fire manual logbooks at the present time are not frequently and accurately updated, they are also not worthy to be the event history basis of a genuine fire statistics figures.
All those glitches are due in one side to the actual limited system’s design and capabilities into classifying data, and in the other side, it’s due to human’s inability to exercising the same tasks with the same proficiency level, this in turn, is due to human’s natural limited abilities in particular, forget, accidental mistakes, misconduct, deliberate actions or possibly the lack of proficiency.
Re-engineering analogue addressable system to be more data management-based fire alarm system, may overcome to some extent; all the above highlighted issues, and even provide appropriate contributions to any future FSE design, by exploring those events databases, embedded in a data management-based fire alarm systems.
How all that might be achieved?
4 Computer driven fire alarm system:Firstable, there is a need to re-engineer the fire alarm panel’s hardware, to be more computer driven machine that behaves as a normal server, with Internet connection built in and enough memory space. This in turn will be much more beneficial for establishing communication data management and building an events history database, starting from the regional settings related to the local city, time and date, in addition to the automatic be-annual hour change and update, and therefore this enables the events history database to be populated with more accurate data.
5 Events history management:Most of the existing makes classifies events history in three categories only; ‘fire events’, ‘faults events’ or ‘all events’. But more intention can be considered still, to reclassify them in a more thorough means. To achieve this, analogue addressable system hardware has to be re-designed to integrate additional function button called ‘Classify’, it should normally be prioritised before the ‘Reset’ button, once a fault event is muted or alarm is silenced, the ‘Reset’ button will be deactivated, till the event is properly classified, just by the utilisation of ‘Classify’ button and the user-friendly menu that comes up, see figure 1, all saved data should be recorded in a database approach and its retrieving process should be sorted by many means, either by types or dates; i.e. the last years false alarms caused either by malicious, accidental, environmental or equipment failure. In addition, to extra statistical information to be automatically calculated; i.e. the percentage of false alarms events per year and per hundred of devices.
At the present time, very few makes of analogue addressable panels had already an intermediate function built in, usually known as ‘Acknowledgment’ button, or ‘Accept’ button, to be pressed prior to resetting the system, this additional function button might be reprogrammed to do the job with some additional software upgrading, but for the majority of makes the whole system hardware may have to be redesigned from scratch to achieve this purpose.
6 Operation Menu Functions:The other likelihood required engineering functions that might need to be integrated into analogue addressable system’s software, could be named ‘Operation Menu’, with the following functions displayed; Bell Test, Fire Drill, Preventative Maintenance, Commissioning… etc. see figure 2, obviously some of the functions would be activated only to the relevant competent person, just by using the appropriate passwords.
Data management-based fire alarm system, would monitor all tasks and operations undertaken and classify them in more professional manner, also keeps records as long as the system is still up running, each function of the ‘Operation Menu’ is extended with a sub menu, where the list of tasks to be undertaken is organized in a tree style, designed to be displayed one task at the time, the user-friendly menu prompts the user/engineer of what to do, step by step till all tasks are fully accomplished, where it prompts the operator/engineer either to View, Print or Exit the operation. What ever operation to be undertaken is, the full job report will be saved in memory with the name of the engineer or operator actually in charge, and can be retrieved at any time for investigation. Likewise, if the fire alarm system has internet connection built in, the service supervisor would then be able to retrieve the full report and check any abnormalities just from his office or else where.
6-1 Preventative Maintenance:Data management-based fire alarm system may have a programming facility enabling the engineer to program what should be maintained in each service visit, including details about the zones and the list of detectors to be genuinely tested. During the service visit, when selecting i.e. 3rd ‘Preventative Maintenance’ of the year, the system then will expect to receive alarm threshold analogue values of the pre-programmed list of device to be tested, in order to classify them as detectors genuinely tested, and for the batteries and mains power test, the system has to sense the disconnection of the batteries and mains one at the time, then the current, voltage and batteries capacity measurements and calculation have to be entered and saved in order to pass to the next task, the system would have a reminder warning ability to flag out any usually missed out or non accessible detectors say i.e. in the lift shaft or boiler room, the servicing ‘Exit’ menu will be deactivated till all pre-programmed devices are genuinely tested, or either instantly rescheduled to the next visit, until getting to the last prompted message saying ‘Maintenance Completed’.
6-2 Bell Test:If selecting this operation, it prompts the operator to the due call point to be tested, and only once is genuinely tested and the system receives the alarm threshold analogue value, it classifies automatically the event test in the ‘Bell Test’ database, and prompts the operator either to test the next call point as pre-programmed or to exit the ‘Bell Test’ menu.
6-3 Commissioning: If selecting this operation, the user-friendly menu directs the engineer step by step of what to do, all input devices has to be full configured, the system in turn expects to receive location texts and device's analogue values in order to classify them as fully configured and tested. The system would not accept a detector passively sitting in the loop without proper configuration, In addition to the causes and effects to be implemented and tested, and once all commissioning tasks are fully completed, the system displays ‘Commissioning Completed’ then prompts the engineer to exit the commissioning operation.
6-4 Fire Drill: Initially, the actual objectives of any fire drill evacuation are really common and basic; it’s usually to be carried out in very normal conditions, where there is no fire scenario in the main building, and no weather troubles in the main assembly point…However, fire evacuation drill might be of more valuable importance if its objectives are further performed, towards the use of electronics data acquisition of the whole event, by monitoring the flow of people while evacuating, relatively to the building size, shape and layout.
Firstly, it’s actually very beneficial to carry on more than one fire drill evacuation per year and in different environmental conditions, and without full consent of people, while using i.e. artificial gas, just to simulate fire smoke initiating in some area of the building.
Secondly, the whole building has to be fully and ingeniously equipped with electronics security tagging system throughout, and fully monitored by the fire alarm system; likewise every single tenant or visitor in the building has to have a personal tag fitted on his own badge, swap card or mobile phone. And once entering the building, the fire alarm system scans its presence on site.
The electronics tagging system is just similar to the commercial product’s tagging in a supermarket, where the item is detected by the exit door if not fully purchased. But for this case it scans individuals. However, when selecting the ‘Fire Drill’ function, it triggers all internal and external electronics security tagging doors and barriers to be operational throughout the building; by fire doors, corridors, stair cases, and all common area, the fire alarm system will then monitor the evacuation flow of people in the building by scanning their individual tags each time they cross the electronics security tagging barriers. And once the last person quit the building the data management-based fire alarm system displays a message ‘Evacuation Completed’ with a full evacuation report saved, not only with the basic information about the evacuation time taken…, but also the full evacuation data modelling of people. This option can be configured to trigger in any other normal events, even in case of a genuine fire, the fire alarm system will be in charge of monitoring people’s movement and evacuation in real time.
Consequently, the collected data will be so accurate even for determining every single tenant’s movement and escaping route, also the amount of people evacuated, at any given stage, time or floor. The recorded data can be uploaded into the 3D CAD software of the building’s layout, to re-simulate the behaviour of people while evacuating, then analyse all discrepancies preventing the normal evacuation and also identifying the likelihood procedures and solutions to be performed for future measures. Certainly the recorded evacuation data modelling, will be relevant specifically to the building in question only, with its particular shape, size and layout …etc, but the mainly crucial point in this approach is that, the whole package (building layout and its evacuation data modelling) will be saved and treated as a case study for any future FSE design, by taking into consideration this truly generated evacuation data modelling from a real world data acquisition, rather than re-initiating a rough and fictive simulations for any future FSE design.
Archiving years of such FSE case study packages and restructure them in a database style to be explored when required, this will built up a full library of a real world FSE data modelling, related to various buildings with their different sizes, shapes and layouts, this will certainly be more genuine data sources from which some mathematical formula might be performed to be used for more accurate future FSE design.
7 Conclusion:BS-EN54 part 2 and 4, may have to be a key part into establishing all of those advancements, it may seem to be more costly or complicated approaches at first, but turning the fire detection and alarm system to be more watchdog agent and self-maintenance machine, which records years of accurate valuable data and case studies in a database fashion, before it goes superseded, is really a noteworthy enhancement towards the establishment of more genuine fire safety performance-based design guides and therefore the application of ‘the right investment for the right FSE design’.
Author:Mohamed Cherif Benzerari
Elec. Eng. TMIET.
Commissioning Engineer
Drax (UK) Ltd
