Sprinkler Management and Remote Tracking

The SMART platform, the newest solution from Cegelec Fire Solutions.

• Remote monitoring
• Efficient maintenance
• Environmentally friendly
• Status of alarms and parameters in real time
• Resetting of malfunctions possible
• Smart control

Cegelec Fire Solutions strives day in and day out to further optimise customer installations. With SMART, we are now launching a new and innovative digital platform to increase the performance of sprinkler installations, reduce costs and take major steps forward in the digital transformation.

First and foremost, SMART (Sprinkler Management and Remote Tracking) is a monitoring platform that quickly and clearly communicates status updates of sprinkler installations. Currently, the control room only receives a notification of a malfunction or fire alarm. Is there a fire? Is there a problem with the diesel pump? Is a heating element broken? Or did someone simply enter the pump room, so that a malfunction was reported? The specific cause of the notification can only be viewed on the monitor of the central control unit in the pump room.

So it is not immediately clear where the problem lies, how it should be solved, and who should be sent out for it. Usually both a technician and an electrician are then sent out. Study shows that over half of these procedures can be handled more efficiently.

 

On a tablet or smartphone

The SMART platform changes all this. The monitor can be viewed remotely on a tablet, desktop or even with a smartphone application via a secure 4G connection. The administrator, owner and/or control room get a notification, see immediately what defect is occurring in what pump room or warehouse, and can determine whether or not it is urgent. The appropriate professional can be called in at once, or the malfunction can simply be reset via a smartphone or tablet. If needed, the fire brigade can also be called.

SMART works via the PLCs (programmable logic controllers) that are already built into all Cegelec installations, and so is available to all Cegelec customers. All measurable components such as limit switches and pressure switches can be included in these programmable modules, so that the SMART platform is freely configurable depending on the customer’s needs.

 

In real time

Via the interface, the administrator can consult the current alarms and real-time status of the operating parameters of the sprinkler installation. It is also possible to call up the alarm history of the last six months. The administrator can also specify the notification procedure, for example on the basis of the malfunction or depending on the technician on duty.

 

Weekly reporting

Sprinkler installations undergo weekly checks. An entire checklist must be gone through for this, which can be extremely time-consuming. SMART makes it possible to do this remotely with one push of a button. All the parameters of the installation are tested and put into a standardised and properly completed report for the customer. This way any problems can be identified immediately, and maintenance scheduled if needed.

 

Predictive maintenance

Currently, maintenance is always performed by two technicians. One does the procedures on the installations while the other monitors this on the central control unit in the pump room. With SMART in combination with a camera on the ceiling in the pump room, one technician can perform maintenance and follow the updates on his tablet. Moreover, SMART allows the various parameters of the installation to be monitored more closely. It is possible to check how long a pump has run, at what speed, with what pressure, and whether it has been properly started and stopped, at any time. This offers promising prospects in the area of predictive maintenance.

 

Smart control

The Sprinkler Management and Remote Tracking platform is more than just a monitoring tool, however. Thanks to the various parameters of the installations that are monitored, it is possible to do specific procedures promptly and take environmentally-friendly measures that reduce costs. For example, the test pipe can be managed. This pipe with a diameter of some twenty centimetres is drained monthly because of the frost risk. Consequently hundreds of litres of water are wasted. By continuously monitoring the temperature, and with smart control in the SMART platform, the test pipe can be drained only when there is a risk of freezing, and so waste of water can be avoided.

Another example is monitoring the jockey pump. Like a pilot light, this pump runs several times a day to keep the pressure constant in the sprinkler installation. With the aid of SMART, it is possible to closely follow the frequency with which the jockey pump is activated. When it operates more often than usual, the administrator knows that there is a leak. This leak can then be traced much earlier.

 

Remote control

To check whether it is functioning properly, the diesel pump of a sprinkler installation must operate some twenty minutes every week. Currently, Cegelec employs two technicians fulltime for this who travel from pump room to pump room every week to test the pumps.

When this can be done remotely, an employee can do it with the aid of SMART in a few days’ time, without having to go out on the road. This way the customer gets an overview of the status of his installations even faster. This also means an enormous improvement in efficiency and support of our operational teams. In addition, SMART also offers a partial solution for the mobility problem in this way, and the Cegelec Fire Solutions technician can work even more efficiently, which can only improve service provision to the customer.

With SMART, Cegelec Fire Solutions opens the door to the future in management of sprinkler installations. The platform enables the user to remotely operate sprinkler installations, and so prepares today for the regulations and opportunities of tomorrow.