Currently one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world, Michelin has come a long way since two French brothers, Édouard and André Michelin, formed the company in 1888. Having continually innovated and pushed the boundaries of tyre technology, its products are now found on vehicles ranging from family hatchbacks to Formula One racing cars, and were even used on the NASA space shuttle.
As a multinational organisation, Michelin has operations throughout the globe and in mid-December 2009 it became the sole owner of the Tigar Tires car tyre factory in Pirot, Serbia. In 2010 Michelin announced that it would invest €10m in Serbia over the next 18 months, including a new logistics centre that has created over 100 new jobs, and since then it has doubled production at the Pirot factory to 12 million tyres annually.
Work on the logistics centre began five years ago and was finally completed in 2011. To protect those working in this complex of production, storage and official buildings, Michelin knew that it would need to have a rigorous life safety infrastructure in place. To achieve this objective, the company called on the services of leading fire detection system design and installation expert, Quadel, to specify a suitable solution.
After conducting a site survey Dejan Ciric, Quadel’s technical manager, had no hesitation in recommending the installation of a fire detection system based on Hochiki Europe’s detectors and I/O modules. He explains, “Quadel was founded in Nis in 1992 and since then we have built an enviable reputation for the control panels production, specification and installation of the highest quality life safety systems. We first began working with Hochiki in 1996 and have enjoyed a close working relationship by installing its products in a variety of locations in Serbia. It was obvious that only its products would offer the requisite level of performance required for this project.”
The Michelin logistics centre utilises an addressable fire detection system based around Hochiki’s Enhanced Systems Protocol (ESP). Stuart Davies, Hochiki’s marketing manager, comments, “ESP is a robust total communications solution for intelligent fire detection and fully integrated systems. It has a multi-purpose structure that provides the flexibility and expansion to accommodate simple addressable systems through to integrated building management and safety systems. It is a robust system and is perfect for use in harsh and hazardous environments such as the Michelin site.”
The system is based around a total of nine ALPHA1100 and ALPHA2100 addressable control panels and a number of devices that are linked via a local area network (LAN) and connected to an off-site remote monitoring centre. Due to the large quantities of smoke and dust particles created in the production and storage of tyres, as well as the high ceilings in the buildings, the team from Quadel decided to use Hochiki’s ESP FIREbeam reflective beam smoke detectors, which feature advanced motorised technology allowing them to self-align to the centre of the reflector when commissioning.
Ciric explains, “Using beam detection allows us to cost effectively cover a large area. Once commissioned the Hochiki detector continuously monitors alignment and will automatically realign itself back to the centre of the reflector if any movement occurs. The detector comes with a separate controller unit that allows our engineers to commission, monitor and maintain from ground level.”
Even with this automatic alignment technology, regular maintenance is crucial to a fire detector’s correct operation and the physical removal of dust and dirt will eventually become necessary. The design of Hochiki’s detectors means that it is possible to simply and quickly dismantle the detector and clean or replace it on site.
Other Hochiki products used included base sounder beacons, multi-heat sensors and optical smoke detectors, which feature Hochiki’s unique High Performance Chamber Technology. This minimises the differences in sensitivity experienced in flaming and smouldering fires, resulting in a high-performance optical chamber that is equally responsive to all smoke types and helps to reduce the possibility of unwanted alarms. This has enormous benefits for Michelin as the costs associated with evacuation of personnel and subsequent loss of production are immense and must be avoided.
For more information contact Hochiki Europe, +44 1634 266569, [email protected], www.hochikieurope.com
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