In the Caja de ANDE, a financial institution in Costa Rica, it was decided to update the fire protection system. The installation represented many challenges, as these are three separate buildings that needed to be fully monitored.
By Honeywell
The implementation of a fire alarm system in three buildings and four offices in separate locations, which was integrated and synchronized with other security systems such as CCTV, intrusion alarms and access controls, is one of the technological update projects recently completed by the Costa Rican financial institution Caja de ANDE.
The need for the technological update arose when making an analysis and determining that the systems installed in Towers 1 and 2, located in the center of San José, capital of Costa Rica, as well as in the offices in different cities of the country, were obsolete and did not meet the standards required by the Department of Occupational Health and Environmental Management of Caja de ANDE, the Firefighters of Costa Rica and the National Insurance Institute (INS) and the NPFA 101 standard.
In addition, due to the construction of the new Data Center building, it was decided to migrate the entire fire protection system in all buildings to prevent operational problems and ensure perfect operation in case of activation.
For the integrator responsible for this facility, Seguridad y Protección de Centroamérica S.A., part of Grupo SPC, the project required implementing a design that responded to "high standards of operability and technology" and that offered sufficient flexibility and possibility of future growth.
Thus, with the installation of this system that is already operational in the four regional offices, Caja de ANDE now complies with two key regulations, national and international: the National Electrical Code of Costa Rica, to guarantee the safety of life and property, and the U.S. standard NFPA 72, the standard for installation, use and maintenance of a fire prevention system.
An aspect that determined the installation of a system that will operate in an integral way, is the location of the buildings, which are located in the center of San José, which forces the system to serve as support and guidance to the emergency brigades, to successfully carry out an evacuation process that takes into account external risk factors, such as the avenues congested by cars, the pedestrian crossing outside the building, the possible effects on neighboring buildings, among others.
Beyond the warning sirens, the new system has the ability to issue clear evacuation messages to any of the areas of each building, as established by regulations. Pre-recorded or live messages transmitted by Honeywell's NOTIFIER system have been shown to arouse a higher level of attention among building occupants, while giving them a better perspective of the emergency and instructions to follow.
Although the system installed at Caja de ANDE is currently programmed to respond only to fire alerts, it can be easily updated to support mass notifications at all locations, in response to earthquakes, extreme weather changes, terrorist threats and other emergencies.
Remote monitoring was another feature required by CAJA de ANDE officials. The ability to link all alarm systems using ONYXWorks graphical dashboards allows officials to quickly monitor and respond to incidents 24 hours a day.
The stations also track problems in the system, which can be repaired preemptively before failures such as false alarms that lead to a work interruption and are therefore reflected in losses. In addition, it integrates seamlessly with various systems, such as security, heating and air conditioning, lighting, among others, to simplify the overall management of buildings.
It should be noted that, in addition to smoke detection devices and visual and auditory alerts, only an NFS2-3030 control panel was used for towers 1 and 2, also reusing the existing wiring and piping infrastructure to connect all the devices, which significantly reduced the costs of the installation.
This reuse involves reviewing all sections of wiring to ensure they are capable of operating with the new technology, which could lead to delays if it was determined that it needed to be replaced. However, the integrator reports that "when doing final tests, only a few sections" of wiring that were not in connection condition were detected and were corrected.
Financial and awareness challenges
Of course, any large installation of technological systems involves challenges, not only in terms of design and execution, but also in the corporate aspect, to "create awareness" of the need to make a building a safe place. In this regard, from Caja de ANDE they express that in Costa Rica "it is normal to comply with what the construction legislation indicates without taking major trouble to study, evaluate and measure how effective the security systems are in terms of fire protection in a real event".
In the case of Caja de ANDE, the Occupational Health Department analyzed the possible eventualities, leading the process, even against those who opposed it arguing that "they are measures that cause discomfort when there are no incidents", and it was determined that this system should be part of the strategic planning of the entity, for the safety of both workers and visitors who come daily to the offices.
As for the financial aspect, the entity makes investments in devices of this type seeking that the cost-benefit is reflected in minimizing the costs of insurance to the property as well as policies to third parties, in addition to optimizing maintenance costs.
At this point, the integrator sought that between Caja de ANDE and the manufacturer of NOTIFIER, Honeywell, there was a close relationship in order to "generate the trust required to obtain long-term support and support", in addition to facilitating the certification and updating of the officials of these projects directly in the factory, thus complying with the guarantees and maintenance requirements agreed.
However, from Caja de ANDE they narrate that several challenges were presented in the execution, such as that "the design of auditory notification was designed on plans, but in the final application there were areas without coverage, which forced to complement the system on the fly to improve the auditory reach", in addition to the relocation of some devices, because the final design of the furniture left them in unsuitable locations, all of which went smoothly.
Preventive culture
But it is not only about installing a system that warns of possible conflagrations, it is necessary to create a culture of prevention and commitment to safety. The end user ensures that the coverage of the system is complemented by two annual drills in each office, "which guarantees that all occupants are safe."
Caja de ANDE also has its own emergency brigade certified by the Costa Rican Fire Department, because "although in the offices there is a low probability of a fire outbreak, there is an immediate attention program", complemented by what he qualifies as "the best fire detection equipment".
From the Department of Occupational Health and Environment of Caja de ANDE they affirm that they are satisfied to have chosen this system, for "the robustness of the equipment, the technology that will allow in the future to expand its functionality and transform it into a general emergency notification system".
