Posts in category: Projects

As the rising number of COVID admissions pushes patient capacity limits, ensuring compliant fire safety has never been more important. As hospitals battle through the second major wave of the virus, concerns have been raised around the NHS’ on-going maintenance backlog and the impact on safety and infrastructure.

In January 2021, figures suggested that the total backlog was the equivalent of the annual running cost of the entire NHS estate, which was around £9.7bn in 2019/20 [1].

Despite the added pressure of COVID-19, hospitals and health care buildings must ensure that fire safety standards are not only compliant, but adapted to facilitate the added challenge of the ongoing pandemic.

Emergency hospital evacuations are inherently more complicated when compared to other public buildings. Alike most aspects of modern life, the pandemic has made this process more difficult, with the requirements
of social distancing and the prevention of infection a vital consideration.

Mobility issues and the vulnerable nature of patients, combined with expensive and often life dependent equipment requires substantial assistance from staff in the event of a fire, slowing the procedure down and risking lives in the process.

A fire evacuation in the accident and emergency unit at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in 2017 saw patients on higher levels waiting for lifts for up to an hour while the fire alarm sounded. As many of the patients were unable to walk, staff attempted to transport them on beds and mattresses, causing a grid lock in the hospital corridors and the subsequent delays.

Furthermore as smoke from the fire spread throughout the building, patients had to be redirected to neighbouring hospitals as the A&E unit and
surrounding wards were closed and ventilated. The limited capacity in hospitals across the UK today would make an incident like this catastrophic, with patients left with nowhere to go.

COVID-19 has seen a change to day-to-day behaviours which may directly intensify the risk of a fire in a hospital. The increased use of ventilators was raised as a heightened fire risk by the NHS England estates team in March last year, with higher oxygen levels within wards allowing a potential fire to spread at a faster
rate.

The need to reduce touch points and prevent contact with door handles has resulted in many high traffic fire doors being held open. Fire doors are essential to provide protection to a building and its occupants, preventing smoke and flames spreading from room to room in the event of a fire.

Geofire, manufacturer of the Salamander fire door system said, “As an official supplier to one the largest hospital trusts in the UK, we want to stress to Fire Safety Officers across the country the importance of not
letting fire safety standards slip. Our approved radio controlled, Salamander devices are battery operated and connect wirelessly to a mains-powered controller unit, which is easily wired into existing fire alarm
systems, ensuring that fire doors will safely close in the event of a fault or fire.

The Salamander system has all the benefits of hard-wired electromagnetic door holders and closers, but as the devices are wire-free, they are quick and easy to install, saving time, installation costs and require no disruption to a building’s fabric or its occupants”.

Holding open a fire door with a non-compliant device not only threatens prosecution, fines and closures following failed inspections, but puts patients, staff, equipment and the building at risk. Salamander offers the
only wire-free system of radio controlled fire door holders and closers which complies with Category A of BS 7273-4.

To find out more about the Salamander range and find an approved installer near you, visit www.geofire.co.uk/salamander-radio-controlled-fire-door-system/

Cradlepoint, have released findings from a survey conducted through Police1, FireRescue1, EMS1 and Gov1. The survey  reveals the state of critical communications and key drivers impacting digital innovation in the public safety sector.   

The research spotlights how police, fire rescue, EMS, and local government are leveraging connected technologies and their increasing reliance on LTE cellular solutions to address the need for reliable connectivity — ultimately helping  first responders do their jobs better.    

The pandemic has also prompted a necessity for the digital transformation of various public safety operations. Whether needing to rapidly spin up pop-up networks to support a remote workforce or drive-through COVID testing, or to connect mobile command centers to field operations, the challenges of 2020—and those that will continue in 2021—have also demonstrated how public safety agencies and local governments rely on robust, stable and secure access to mission-critical information.   

“Public safety agencies are rapidly adopting connected technologies, and the pace of this transformation is quickening given societal demands and challenges in keeping front-line personnel safe and productive,” says Todd Krautkremer, Cradlepoint CMO. “However, achieving the desired benefit from connected technology investments is almost entirely dependent on a secure and reliable mobile broadband network that can span vehicles, places and things”. 

Key findings by Cradlepoint include:

Most agencies now have up to nine connected technologies in the field that use LTE cellular networks   

The survey results find that most public safety agencies have at least nine connected technologies that are regularly used to transmit information in the field, with 48% using LTE cellular networks in connected cruisers and devices, emergency response vehicles, and ambulances, followed by 35% in dispatch centers. Most often these devices are tethered to vehicles, and provide agencies with the ability to do things like:   

• Create instant pop-up networks for medical testing stations.  
• Monitor field operations by live-streaming bodycam or thermal imaging video to command staff and fire chiefs.   
• Securely transmit electronic patient care records and vital signs from ambulances to hospitals.  

How agencies are getting connectivity was also examined. For in-vehicle connectivity, 23% use LTE routers, 44% use portable LTE hotspots and 19% use USB devices. There is a clear pattern for reliability, with LTE routers being the most reliable (60%), followed by portable LTE hotspots (54%) and USB devices (44%). While consumer-grade USB modems are inexpensive and easy to deploy, cutting corners comes at a cost. A USB modem can often only connect to only one device, likely insufficient given the number of devices that most public servants use in their jobs. Another shortcoming is reliability. Of agencies using consumer-grade USB modems, a majority reported occasional or repeated drops, with only 3.2% reporting always-reliable connectivity. 

Some agencies don’t know where to obtain funding and grants for new technology   

A significant hurdle for agencies is that they simply don’t know where to look for funding. The survey finds that many agencies are unaware of financial assistance options: 25% do not know where to obtain funding. When asked how their agency plans to use COVID-19 response and recovery funds or other public assistance, 37% of agencies says they are not using any. 

Some of those funding sources, specific to the pandemic response, were for agencies to fulfill demands for life-saving and critical services. Some agencies accessed funding available to state, local and tribal governments under the CARES Act to help them navigate the immediate impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, but also made investments that filled long-standing needs with capabilities for the future.  

Of those agencies that are taking advantage of these resources, 48% are seeking funds to improve wireless infrastructure, including secure wireless communication (36%) and crisis communication (12%). Also, 13% are investing in immediate life-saving care, 6% in infrastructure upgrades, and 20% in both.    

LTE cellular networks play critical role in critical communications; reliability and security are top importance for LTE-enabled router technology 

 Whether they subscribe to a public safety network or not, most first responder agencies regularly rely on cellular connections to transmit information from the field over devices like mobile data terminals, tablets, bodycams and AEDs. Even local government agencies are using LTE wireless connectivity to create instant networks for online learning and to facilitate remote work. Any interruption in connectivity that delays critical information from getting where it is needed can put first responders, the public and property at risk. When asked what their requirements are in evaluating LTE-enabled router technology for critical connectivity, reliability was the top factor (85%) followed by security (61%). 

“This research substantiates what we always have believed – public safety agencies need enterprise-class reliability, security, and management, but delivered in a simple-to-use and cost-effective solution. This is the essence of Cradlepoint NetCloud,” says Krautkremer. 

Click here to view the full report. You can also register to attend Cradlepoint and Lexipol’s upcoming webinar “Connectivity is Key to Safer Personnel and Communities” on January 27th at 11am PST, which will explore the findings from the survey in-depth. Cradlepoint will also donate up to $5,000 to the First Responder Children’s Foundation on behalf of everyone that attends the webinar.  

An investigation by Inside Housing has found that a tower block in London is paying £49,000 a year for a three person Waking Watch.

Residents of Canalside Square block on the Packington Estate in Islington are being charged £1,528 a month to keep the Watch in place, although Hyde, the owner of the block has claimed that the fees cover more costs.

In December the Government announced a £30 million fund to help end the scandal of excessive waking watch costs. The fund will enable residents to replace it with the installation of fire alarm systems in high-rise buildings with cladding.

Commenting on the funding last December, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “I’ve heard first-hand from leaseholders the misery that rip-off waking watch costs have been bringing to residents of high-rise buildings with cladding.

“I’m announcing today a £30m Waking Watch Relief Fund to help relieve the financial pressure on those residents and to ensure they are safe. We have continued to prioritise the removal of unsafe ACM cladding throughout the pandemic and expect around 95% of remediation work will have been completed or be underway by the end of this year.”

OGUK have responded to the Scottish Governments proposal to halt the backing of oversea oil and gas activity by COP26.

In a statement on their website, OGUK chief executive Deirdre Michie OBE said: “We are requesting an urgent meeting with Scottish Ministers so that we can highlight the effect this policy may have on members, particularly our SME members, who are still reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the downturn with its volatile commodity prices.

“We welcome the Scottish Government’s offer of consultation, as it’s important that any such policy shift is implemented thoughtfully, in partnership with industry and with appropriate preparation time so that those companies ideally placed to support the energy transition are not undermined.

“In order to ensure our shared Net-Zero objectives become a reality, we will need to deliver a fair and managed transition at pace; one which deals with the realities of a competitive market while at the same time offering exciting new prospects for the future of our industry.”

Power management company Eaton have announced that it has become the latest member of Hydrogen Europe, the leading European association working to make fuel cell and hydrogen (FCH) technologies an everyday reality, as part of curbing carbon emissions.

With more than 200 companies, 80 research organisations and 25 national associations as members, Hydrogen Europe encompasses the entire value chain of the European Hydrogen and fuel cell ecosystem. As well as promoting best practices, helping to formulate effective public policy, and representing the interests of its members, the association also plays a pivotal role in FCH innovation through a unique public-private research partnership with the European Commission, The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU).

With funding from industry, research organisations, and the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, the FCHJU had a total budget of €1.33 billion for its research, development, and demonstration activities during the past seven years. Additionally, as part of the EU’s upcoming research and innovation program, Horizon Europe, FCHJU projects aim to improve the performance of FCH products while reducing their cost, and to demonstrate the technology’s readiness for use in transportation. Ultimately, the FCHJU intends to accelerate market adoption of these technologies, fulfilling their potential for decarbonisation of the energy system.

As a Hydrogen Europe member from January 2021, Eaton will actively participate in the association’s General Assembly, help to shape the priorities for technical committees, join working groups, and benefit from the association’s expertise and best practices. Eaton is building on its two-decade track record of advanced R&D in vehicle fuel cell controls and is now focusing on efficient and affordable solutions to enable the hydrogen economy.

“We’re delighted to join Hydrogen Europe,” comments Jörgen von Bodenhausen, senior manager, Government Programs, Eaton. “As a member, we can now exchange knowledge and best practices with a vast network of industry and academic experts, as well as policy makers—collaborating on innovation that will enable switching to green hydrogen, decarbonisation, and a more sustainable future.”

As Europe seeks to combat climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, variable and intermittent renewable generation will make up a greater proportion of its energy mix—increasing grid volatility. FCH technologies will play a major role in meeting this challenge, adding flexibility to the system by storing green power for later consumption. Recent studies by Bloomberg New Energy Finance suggest greater flexibility is essential to accelerate the transition to clean power—enabling the efficient integration of 80% or more renewable energy by 2040.

“Membership of Hydrogen Europe brings a fantastic chance to be on the cutting-edge of new developments,” adds Mihai Dorobantu, director, Technology Planning and Government Affairs, Vehicle Group, Eaton. “Switching to green hydrogen will play a vital role in the European energy transition. As a member, we can generate greater, more immediate opportunities for ourselves and our customers that will enhance our competitiveness in the FCH space across various Eaton businesses, accelerating the adoption of crucial zero-emission technologies.”

As an innovator in power management solutions, Eaton is dedicated to creating new technologies and services that improve quality of life and the environment for everyone. By leveraging local ecosystems of expertise, such as Hydrogen Europe, Eaton can magnify the impact of its multi-billion dollar investment in R&D—enabling more open innovation worldwide.

Eaton’s mission is to improve the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. We provide sustainable solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power – more safely, more efficiently, and more reliably. Eaton’s 2019 revenues were $21.4 billion, and we sell products to customers in more than 175 countries. We have approximately 92,000 employees. For more information, visit Eaton.com.

The Membership Application Assessment Panel (MAAP) of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) has determined that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) credential will now be recognised as a major component for IFE membership.

The NFPA CFPS Certification program was created in 1971 for the purpose of documenting competency and providing professional recognition for individuals involved in curtailing both physical and financial fire loss.

Members of the CFPS community include engineers, risk managers, loss control specialists, fire officers, fire marshals, fire inspectors, safety managers, fire protection consultants, designers, code enforcers, facility managers and others who are responsible for the application of fire safety, protection, prevention, and suppression technologies.

The IFE will now review and approve applications for membership in North America with three criteria in mind: current certification status, submission of a resume (C.V.), and documentation of formal education beyond secondary school (college or university). The IFE USA Branch has been approved to review and pre-approve applicants with a valid, current CFPS Certification in the United States and Canada, before submitting these to IFE’s MAAP for final consideration.

The new strategy is designed to streamline the IFE membership application process while ensuring that candidates have the high-level fire protection insights, career experience, and educational background that are synonymous with IFE membership. The new membership application benchmarks are as follows:

• For IFE Member Grade status (MIFireE), candidates must have NFPA CFPS Certification plus a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a fire protection-related discipline from an accredited college or university, including degrees in engineering fields that are applied to the practice of fire protection plus FIVE years of verifiable work experience dedicated to protecting people and property.
• For IFE Graduate Grade status (GIFireE), candidates must have NFPA CFPS Certification plus an Associate’s degree in a fire protection-related discipline from an accredited college or university, or a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in any unrelated field; plus THREE years of verifiable work experience dedicated to reducing loss and liability.
• Candidates with CFPS Certification, but without the formal education qualification requirements noted above, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the time of their application. CFPS Certification will be seen as being equivalent to meeting entry-level IFE learning objectives for Technician Grade (TIFireE) or Associate Grade (AIFireE) memberships, depending on the years and type of post-education fire engineering work experience.

“NFPA is thrilled that IFE recognises the strength of our CFPS Certification program and professionals with CFPS designations who have worked hard to grasp and apply industry-leading fire protection principles,” said Chuck Stravin, vice president of business development and operations at NFPA. “The NFPA CFPS Certification has long been regarded as the benchmark for life safety learning, and the decision by IFE to make this credential an essential consideration for membership speaks volumes.”

Steve Hamm, IFE Acting CEO, adds: “The Institution recognises the competency and experience gained via the NFPA CFPS Certification. Thanks to the hard work of the IFE’s Membership Applications Assessment Panel and the staff involved from IFE headquarters, we are pleased to be able to welcome applications from individuals with these credentials.”

The review and approval process for CFPS-qualified IFE applicants may be devolved to include other IFE branches around the world once branch reviewer training and compliance with review process rules have been verified. The IFE Membership Application Assessment Panel, however, retains the right and role of performing a quality assurance process on all applications recommended for IFE membership by an approved IFE Branch.

The fire Brigades Union (FBU) have branded the annual State of Fire report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services as political and biased.

The report details the fire services response to the pandemic. The report also aimed to find what is working well and what is being learnt, how fire and rescue services are dealing with the problems they face; and what changes are likely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said in a statement on their website: “While firefighters are out tackling fires, floods and the pandemic, the HMICFRS didn’t even have the courtesy to speak to or provide us in advance with a copy of their report, which was passed to us by a journalist.

“The FBU has from the start wholeheartedly supported the response to the pandemic, and as a result of agreements delivered by the union, firefighters have been able to take on significant areas of additional work including driving ambulances, moving the bodies of the deceased and delivering vital supplies to the NHS and care sector and vulnerable people in our communities. 

“But the message from this report is clear: fire chiefs and the government don’t want workers to have a voice over their own safety or their terms and conditions. That’s why employers, advised by fire chiefs, tore up a national agreement containing vital safety measures. This report is being used to undermine a trade union they consider a nuisance because it wants to keep its members safe.

“It is remarkable that in the same breath the inspectorate claims the FBU produced ‘unnecessarily detailed’ safety requirements and also that large staff absences driven by outbreaks ‘didn’t materialise’ in the fire and rescue service. How does the inspectorate think these outbreaks were prevented? It was a direct result of paying serious attention to workplace safety by the FBU and its members.

“It is also wrong to say that the FBU asked firefighters not to volunteer to support the vaccination programme. On 9 December, the FBU and employers signed an agreement that said should a request be received for support with vaccinations, that both parties ‘will move quickly to support such a request’.

“Our priorities throughout this pandemic have been to ensure firefighters can safely support their communities, the NHS, and the care sector. That means protecting their health but also the services they work in which continue to respond to emergencies A service with 11,000 fewer firefighters than a decade ago cannot afford for this virus to run rampant through fire stations.

“The FBU wants firefighters to continue supporting the pandemic response but sadly it seems the inspectorate, doing the bidding of the government and fire chiefs, is more intent on attacking our trade union and helping to undermine the terms and conditions of firefighters.”

SAP SE and DNV GL, one of the largest independent management and quality assurance experts, have teamed up to deliver a new industry cloud solution. The Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) Manager is designed to tackle a major problem facing the integrity of oil and gas plants.

The CUI Manager is one of the latest industry cloud solutions built and run on the open SAP Cloud Platform. These industry solutions use intelligent technologies, such as artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, to create compelling user experiences and to digitalize and automate operations. SAP and partners focus on solutions for the core business of our customers in their industries to help optimize end-to-end processes and to enable the development of new and differentiating business models. 

“In collaboration with DNV GL, we will deliver the first industry cloud solution for the oil and gas industry,” said Benjamin Beberness, SAP Oil and Gas Business Unit global vice president. 

CUI Manager is the largest maintenance cost for offshore and onshore installations with insulated pipes. In close collaboration with the industry, DNV GL has developed a new risk-based methodology, published a new recommended practice and turned the insights into an easy-to-use interface with the CUI Manager. Through the strength of DNV GL’s models and the integration with SAP Asset Intelligence Network and the SAP Asset Strategy and Performance Management application, this solution will provide an efficient and standardized way to address the risk of CUI. 

CUI Manager continuously assesses and calculates the CUI risk, helping integrity engineers and managers prevent failure, increase safety and manage hidden threats. It optimizes asset strategy and planning by providing detailed, instant insights on current and planned risk as well as the resulting cost development. The solution’s full integration with SAP Asset Strategy and Performance Management enables calculation and visualization of the complete risk picture using SAP Cloud Platform. 

“The combination of DNV GL’s deep technical insight and state-of-the-art software solutions with SAP’s cloud-based solutions for intelligent asset management will generate significant value for our customers,” said DNV GL- Oil & Gas, CEO, Liv A. Hovem. “We look forward to bringing additional solutions to the market jointly with SAP in the near future.” 

Following significant requests from customers, Apollo Fire Detectors have expanded their portfolio of FREE webinars and virtual CPD’s.

In order to continue providing its training service throughout the national lockdown, Apollo released a selection of over 15 virtual courses in May 2020. The courses have been a huge success with thousands of attendees from over 30 countries taken advantage of the weekly sessions. Due to this success, and COVID-19 restrictions being in place once again in the UK, Apollo have released six new courses in their latest series of online events which are scheduled until the end of March.  

The new courses include product webinars on ‘How the Apollo Test Set can save you time on-site’ and the flush-mounted Soteria Dimension. Plus, CPD’s on: ‘Fire Safety in Healthcare buildings UK’ which has been CPD certified by the FIA (Fire Industry Association) ‘False Alarm Reduction’ and a very current topic ‘Protecting High-rise residential buildings from fire’.

All webinars are being hosted via Microsoft Teams Events, which allows participants to watch live and interact with presenters via a moderated Q&A. All registrants receive a recording of the webinar after the event, so those who don’t make the live event can watch it on demand.

Technical support Engineer, Warren Moyle who hosts the events said “We’ve been thrilled with the uptake of our online sessions and are grateful that people around the world have been willing to invest in their professional development and learn more about our products. Each new course has been designed based on popular requests from the training feedback forms which has been insightful. The sessions have enabled us to reach people around the world we haven’t reached before, so this could be the future of our training courses”

You can register by visiting the Apollo website: www.apollo-fire.co.uk/training-support