Separating the smoke from the dust at recycling facility
AirSense Technology has supplied its high sensitivity Stratos Aspirating Smoke Detector (ASD) system to protect Cawley’s Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Luton. The MRF has suffered in the past with false alarms and logistical problems produced from having conventional smoke detectors and beam detectors fitted, and, until recently, had failed to find a suitable alternative.
Cawleys, who have been managing commercial waste streams for over 60 years, installed a state of the art recycling plant in 2008. In order to protect this capital investment they sought a fire alarm that could cope with their working environment.
The nature of the business means a great deal of heavy machinery and heavy goods vehicles are employed onsite, rendering the beam detectors useless as the constant movement and vibrations shifted the beams out of alignment. The amount of dust which is produced in the air also settled on the detectors, stopping them from functioning effectively.
Stratos-HSSD Aspirating Smoke Detectors, supplied by AirSense Technology, have overcome these issues. The detectors are able to separate smoke out from other air pollutants such as dust and gases, avoiding the annoyance of false alarms - a trait which is invaluable in such an environment. The presence of heavy machinery and equipment also has no affect on their functionality. A spokesperson for Blaze Fire & Security Ltd, the project installers, said: "We initially had no idea that an ASD system could be so effective for this type of application where the air is consistently laden with dust and dirt. AirSense offered a good system and a great service to go with it."
The Stratos-HSSD detectors incorporate a system called ‘ClassiFire’, which is a system of perceptive Artificial Intelligence (AI), allowing the detectors to continuously configure their settings to suit their environment - even if it is often prone to dirt and dust; whilst still maintaining an extremely high level of sensitivity to smoke.
The capacity to eradicate false alarms in dirty environments is particularly important given the heightened focus on this issue following the adoption of the Chief Fire Officers (CFOA) "Policy for the Reduction of False Alarms and Unwanted Fire Signals". Under the policy, introduced in
September 2009, Fire & Rescue Services can reduce or even withdraw fire cover completely for persistent offenders.
One of the main benefits of aspirating smoke detection is it that it can operate effectively in difficult environments where conventional detectors may struggle. Air is continually drawn from the protected area through sample holes in a pipe network to an aspirating detector installed at a workable level. The detector has a dual stage filter, which removes large dust particles and provides an extremely clean air supply to maintain the optical integrity of the aspirating detector chamber, which uses the light scattering effect of the optical smoke detector to detect smoke.
The detectors at Cawley’s Waste Recycling Centre have been commissioned and are now fully operational.
Contact Details and Archive...
Related Articles...