When international fashion chain Mango considered how best to protect its €60m logistics centre in Barcelona, Spain the ASOS blaze must have sharpened minds.
In choosing VESDA-E by Xtralis it wasn’t necessarily a case of paying a higher premium to better insure themselves against the risks of fire. After all, the Dublin-based innovator in very early detection life safety and security solutions would argue that its technologies actually reduce the total cost of ownership.
Recently completed, the enormous logistics centre is protected by more than 200 VESDA-E detectors – which sounds like a lot, but not for a 395,000-square-metre facility.
“The ultra-sensitivity of VESDA-E combined with very long pipe runs to provide wide areas of protection is the right choice for the Mango logistics centre,” says Mango construction managing director Oscar Arias. “This project uses fewer detectors to cover a very wide area packed with valuable assets. The high ceilings [46 metres no less] and airflow also provided challenges that VESDA-E was able to solve.”
The Mango deal was struck less than a year after the launch of Xtralis’ VESDA-E series of detectors. “Mango logistics centre in Spain is enormous even by warehouse standards. The VESDA-E VEU introduces a host of new features and product improvements including increased area coverage and improved detection capabilities, and those are essential in this particular facility because of the extremely high ceilings and large area,” says Richard Taylor, SVP of Product Management in Safety at Xtralis.
“You need a detection technology able to cope with the extra volume of air in such a huge area. VEU offered a very compelling argument with its extended pipe runs versus alternative technology and competing ASD solutions, the VEU can be located at an easily accessible location while providing reliable very early warning.”
To mark this achievement and the company’s growing presence in the retail sector generally the provider of very early warning life safety and security solutions has published a case study on how the deal was sealed and the technology installed and operated.
Winning the trust of a €2bn-revenue Spanish retailer vindicates Xtralis’ belief that its latest detector range allows it to expand rapidly not just in retail but office buildings, educational and healthcare facilities and a host of other sectors that it believes are poorly served by traditional detection technologies. Supporting up to 120 individually addressable sampling points networked to a single central detector the VESDA-E VEA, the latest model in the VESDA-E series, surmounts the hurdle hampering the Aspirating Smoke Detection (ASD) technology to break into new markets.
Very early detection of smoke, gas and other threats – an Xtralis speciality refined further still by VESDA-E VEU’s ‘Flair’ detection technology – increasingly appeals, unsurprisingly, to more sectors. “Through a philosophy of expanding to new markets, we’ve grown our business to become the fourth largest detection company in the world,” says Taylor.
Analytics
The VESDA-E VEU detector also introduces the concept of analytics. Able to monitor for the presence of dust, overheating wires or diesel engine exhaust particulates, it makes Xtralis an appropriate choice for industrial environments. “If you know a little bit more about the notification and what is causing it you can provide a more effective and efficient response,” says Taylor.
Business continuity
The VESDA-E series offer benefits to installers and retailers alike. “With the new VESDA-E series we offer direct access through an application called iVESDA,” says Taylor. “On your tablet you can dial in and check the status of your network or devices from anywhere in the world”
“Customers like that because it gives them the ability to monitor an incident to see whether it’s been resolved or review if a service engineer has conducted a successful visit, for example.”
Bare minimum legal standards have nothing to say about the commercially critical science of business continuity. “People want to protect their business, which sometimes means providing protection greater than what is mandated by code. Code compliance gives you the ability to evacuate people and protect buildings but does not necessarily protect your business and the consequential loss from fire.”
Speaking of compliance, VEU’s approvals include UL, ULC, CSFM, VdS, CE, ActivFire, FM, EN 54-20 and ISO 7240-20.
Unique challenges posed by warehouses
Warehouses are invariably large – in all three dimensions. Diluted with clean air and losing heat as it rises smoke takes longer to detect by traditional spot detectors mounted on high ceilings. Huge roller doors are constantly open for deliveries, diluting smoke further still.
Yet while traditional detectors are slow to alert responsible persons, fires are spread rapidly by storage racks full of often flammable goods. Sprinklers, which can often cause water damage to goods, are no panacea.
It’s easy to see why VESDA-E VEU, which provides 15 times higher sensitivity than its forerunner, VESDA VLP, should appeal to retailers.
“Business continuity is very important – that’s an overriding message in a number of industries, especially in retail,” continues Taylor.
“Mango is the perfect example. They’re protecting their logistics distribution business to make sure they can get their products to the shop and sell them. Of course if you disrupt the logistics & supply chain then your retail business runs out of stock.”
“Many retailers own their own logistics facilities; it’s a competitive advantage to them; that’s why they’re looking to protect the supply chain.”
Minimising disruption
Xtralis aims not just to prevent fires but minimise disruption during routine maintenance or the assessment of incidents. Mounted on ceilings, conventional detectors are difficult to maintain.
It’s very easy to understand how difficult it can be to reach the ceiling with a ladder in a crowded store. You’ve got racks of clothes or products to get out of the way and you have to do it out of business hours, yet some shops open seven days a week.
By contrast extended pipe runs mean a VESDA-E VEU can be mounted at an accessible location. ASD offers detection with remote servicing outside the protected area – ie, the shop floor or stock room.
“With ASD the service engineer goes to the back of the shop where the detector is located, services the detector and the shop can operate as normal. So the non-intrusive servicing is of great value and servicing one detector rather than multiple detectors so it’s much quicker.”
When spending thousands on the design of your retail store, aesthetics of ceiling-mounted spot detectors often irk interior designers and end users. VEA surmounts this problem by drawing air through a network of microbore tubes connected to addressable sampling points located in the protected area and analyses for the presence of smoke particles in a centrally located detector that can provide up to 120 addresses.
Installer benefits
Diagnosing faults and conducting some maintenance remotely, installers can cut transport costs and service more clients in a given time frame, as Taylor explains. ”By providing access to device status with iVESDA it is now much easier for a service engineer to check a device’s status before they get to the site, select the correct components, and go. Maintenance, testing, or servicing can be completed in a single visit to resolve an issue rather than multiple visits.” Small wonder that “the industry is migrating to greater visibility for remote management to reduce the overall cost to the customer.”
VESDA-E VEA also achieved a 90% reduction in service time during tests.
The VESDA-E VEA aspirating smoke detector (ASD), which was launched in June 2015, is ideal for retail outlets. “While we have protected a number of retail facilities in the past, the new VESDA-E VEA provides an even better fit for the front end of the retail industry.”
“Our expansion into retail markets is starting to accelerate now that we have a solution that better fits into where traditional spot detectors may have been used in the past.”
Says Justin Siller, senior manager of security and building technologies at IHS: “Addressability, centralised detection and significantly lower test and maintenance times are attractive features for fire protection in markets like healthcare, education, and retail and office buildings. VEA is a disruptive innovation that could reshape fire detection markets by bringing aspirating smoke detection to commercial applications previously dominated by optical and multi-sensor detectors.”
Xtralis has just held a competition offering a VIP trip for two to Barcelona – where the Mango logistics centre is based.”
We thought it’s a great tie-in with Mango, where this project is located. It helps raise awareness of the real value VESDA-E delivers to the retail industry, and Barcelona is a wonderful vacation spot.” added Taylor.
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