Join the Midwestern Higher Education Compact as they host Johnson Controls for a make-up session from this year's Master Property Program Loss Control Workshop.
The fire protection industry is largely dependent on periodic on-site inspections throughout the year to ensure fire suppression systems are operational. In some cases, this frequency may not be enough to identify potential risks in time and could result in costly interruptions, system failures and unsafe building conditions. More frequent on-site inspections may provide additional insights to overall system health, however, this comes at a cost.
In recent years, industrial and commercial IoT (Internet of Things) applications have been implemented in a variety of ways to reduce cost and improve safety. With this in mind, a study was conducted to investigate the potential benefits of continuously monitoring key aspects of a fire suppression system to prevent unintended system failures. This was accomplished through installing a network of pressure, temperature and water presence sensors that wirelessly transmitted information to a cloud platform where it was collected and analyzed.
This concept was piloted at 20+ sites to monitor wet, dry and pre-action systems. The data gathered provided new insights pertaining to the relationship of air and water pressure, water accumulation and temperature fluctuations. Our findings showed that extending internet connectivity to fire suppression systems is useful in recommending system design and maintenance alterations that can prevent costly interruptions such as pipe freezing and false system trips.
This approach provides valuable new information that can enable a variety of facilities, including universities, to shift their maintenance from reactive to proactive and improve overall system health.