IFSEC Global catches up with William Makant, CEO and Co-Founder at Plumis, to discuss the company’s recent Active/Passive Fire Project of the Year Award win at the Security & Fire Excellence Awards for its sprinkler-alternative for active fire protection, Automist Smartscan Hydra.
William Makant, CEO and Co-Founder at Plumis
After being named ‘highly commended’ in the same category at last year’s awards, the Plumis team was thrilled to accept the Active/Passive Fire Project of the Year Award at this year’s Security & Fire Excellence Awards.
Speaking on the win, William commented: “It was great to be crowned winners alongside our installer MCFP, for the work we’d done to increase protection for vulnerable residents living in sheltered housing.
“We’ve won various awards in recognition of our innovation as a company, but this one is particularly special because it validates the use of that innovation, and how it can make a real difference to people’s lives.”
The Automist Smartscan system is a sprinkler-alternative for active fire protection that is connected to multi sensor detectors and is electronically triggered, helping to improve detection and activation times.
The wall-mounted sprayheads feature infrared sensors that, when triggered, scan the room to identify and locate a fire, before targeting it with a dense fog of watermist to suppress or extinguish fire.
Speaking on the challenges faced during the installation process for the project, William comments: “For this particular project, the biggest challenge was that work to install Automist had to be carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst residents were still living in their homes.
“We designed Automist so it is easy to retrofit and can connect to the existing domestic water supply, enabling us to avoid any communal works, the need for a large tank or a water supply upgrade.
“Each installation took just a day each, with our installer showing extra care to minimise disruption, dust and noise, as well as taking additional precautions to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.”
Plumis was awarded a Smart Grant from Innovate UK in 2020 in order to enhance the functionality of the Automist Smartscan Hydra.
William concludes by stating that the company is currently, “working in partnership with five social housing providers as part of a DINLabs discovery programme to see how our system can not only increase fire protection, but also be used to support more people to independently live safely in sheltered accommodation for longer.”
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