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Cape Town-based ZYTEQ Fire hosted its inaugural Engineering Summit at the Commodore Hotel in Cape Town and the Leonardo Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. Both events were well received and attended by a cross-section of fire industry professionals, providing a forum for the sharing of information and networking with industry peers.
The highlight of the events were presentations by Paul Pope, global business development director for Global Fire Equipment (GFE) and executive member of the FIA in the UK (ZYTEQ Fire is a technology partner of GFE). Pope presented two presentations, namely ‘EN 54 product certification: The importance of accreditation when specifying fire detection and alarm systems’; and ‘Integrity in detecting real fires and maintaining system survivability’.
Paul’s presentation on the EN 54 regulations served to highlight the importance of EN 54 certification and how this accreditation helps to maintain the quality, reliability and performance of products while providing assurances to building owners, insurance companies and fire professionals that the equipment being installed has been tested and certified to demanding European standards. Paul also discussed the difference between a legally accredited Notified Body and a voluntary approval which has no legal standing and guidelines on how to identify non-certified products.
In his survivability presentation, Paul highlighted the risks and dangers that can be encountered when evacuating a building during a fire event, and the importance of distributed panel networks in ensuring the network is able to survive under extreme fire conditions. An example of a distributed system is the ZYTEQ Fire addressable panel network which provides full peer-to-peer networking.
Each panel on the network carries the full network configuration in memory, so the loss of any panel on the network will not result in the loss of the network itself, as may be the case with traditional master/slave topologies. Paul also discussed the importance of alternative cable routes and the use of enhanced network cable on critical communication paths. The specification of survivability categories in fire system design was recommended as a guide for installers.
Attendees were also able to view live demonstrations of the ZYTEQ Fire equipment and new developments, including its upgraded ZA831 multi-sensor detector/sounder/beacon and fire detection rail solution being fitted to the new PRASA trains, and has been designed to meet European rail standards.
As South African designers and manufacturers of fire detection equipment, ZYTEQ Fire is encouraged by the positive feedback received and plans to make these summits an annual event where local and international knowledge and best practices can be shared to the benefit of the local industry.
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