Telehouse plays it safe Data centre operators use intelligent fire prevention solution - WAGNER Group GmbH
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
T HE WA GNER GROUP C US T OMER M A G A Z INE 1/ 2 019 Telehouse plays it safe Data centre operators use intelligent fire prevention solution NEWS PRACTICE WORLDWIDE TECHNOLOGY Trends at LogiMAT & A cool project in the US The right fire prevention FeuerTrutz 2019 with oxygen reduction for machine tools
EDITORIAL
Dear business partners,
Dear readers,
Four billion people around the world use the Internet – well over half
of the Earth’s population. Most modern business industries, par-
ticularly those involved in retail and financial services, rely on digital
processes. And digital interconnectivity plays a key role in industrial
manufacturing, transportation, and the medical world as well. Our
computing power and data volume needs are growing rapidly, and
data centres need to rise to that challenge. This means that safety
precautions like fire prevention need to be adapted as well, in order
to protect these critical processes reliably. Downtime (caused by
fires, for example) can cause long-term damage to the company –
often far beyond its actual material losses.
The Frankfurt am Main-based company Telehouse Deutschland
GmbH operates one of the city’s biggest data centres, one that is
directly connected to the German Commercial Internet Exchange
(DE-CIX), which is among the world’s largest Internet exchange
points. So when it comes to fire prevention, the colocation providers
are playing it safe with the help of an innovative WAGNER Group
solution. The intelligent system combines gas extinguishing tech-
nology, oxygen reduction, and highly sensitive fire detection. Turn
to page 6 to find out more about how the concept was applied at
Telehouse.
Museums serve as humanity’s collective cultural memory. When
a fire consumes millions of historical objects, like the one at the
Brazilian National Museum in Rio de Janeiro this past September,
it means part of the world’s irreplaceable cultural heritage is lost
forever. Our article on page 9 explains how comprehensive, reliable
museum fire prevention works.
Machine tools are the heart and soul of many industrial manufac-
turing environments. What happens when one of them catches
fire and the value creation chain breaks down abruptly? The article
starting on page 12 takes a closer look at fire prevention solutions
for these systems.
The new issue of WAGNER Impulse has all of this and much, much
more. We hope you find this month’s articles inspiring, and we wish
you a great start to 2019.
Torsten Wagner Werner Wagner
Managing Directors of the WAGNER Group GmbH
2 WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019
CONTENTS
4 NEWS
News from the world of WAGNER
Trends at LogiMAT and FeuerTrutz 2019
6 COVER STORY
Safety first: Frankfurt-based data centre
operator Telehouse turns to a new concept
for fire prevention
9 NEWS
History in flames: protecting historical
buildings and cultural treasures
10 NEWS
All about risks: The significance of
fire protection in storage and logistics
12 TECHNOLOGY
Perfect fit: fire prevention for
machine tools
14 PRACTICE WORLDWIDE
We’re staying in Great Britain
A cool project in the US
IMPRINT
Published by: Project management: Image sources: All rights reserved. Com- !
WAGNER Group GmbH Katharina Bühmann Stefan Effner plete or partial duplica-
Schleswigstr. 1 – 5 (Telehouse photos) tion of this publication is Would you like to stop receiving the
30853 Langenhagen Editorial staff: Felipe Milanez, only permitted with writ- WAGNER Impulse customer magazine?
Phone: +49 511 97383 0 MT Medien Wikimedia Commons ten consent and specifi- Has your contact information changed?
info@wagnergroup.com Katharina Bühmann (Brazilian National cation of the source.
www.wagnergroup.com Katrin Strübe Museum photos) Send us a message at
Torsten Szypulski Förderverein Berliner Brand names or product redaktion-impulse@wagner.de
Responsibility in terms Stefan Jakubik Schloss/eldaco, Berlin names are registered or visit us at
of media law: © stock.adobe.com/de trademarks of their res- www.wagnergroup.com/impulse-daten.
Dipl.-Ing. Werner Wagner Layout and image pective manufacturers
editing: Item no. 68-30-3428 and organisations.
Andreas Luczyk Issue 01/2019
Annika Sunder © WAGNER Group GmbH
Editorial staff contact:
redaktion-impulse
@wagner.de
WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019 3
NEWS
News from the world of WAGNER
Right on track
WAGNER fire prevention solutions really get
around – especially when they’re on board a train!
All around the world, we’re keeping passenger
areas, train stations, and signal boxes safe.
A real eye-catcher: Another win for
Rail model at TITANUS®: Berlin
City Palace to install
InnoTrans 2018 additional air sampling
It’s nearly three metres long and smoke detectors
packed full of innovative features, so
it’s no wonder that the model train Back in 2017, WAGNER’s Berlin sub-
WAGNER Rail brought to InnoTrans sidiary received an order for around
2018 piqued a lot of visitors’ curiosity. 300 TITANUS® air sampling smoke
The train features an LED-illuminated detectors SILENT-version; the systems
control panel displaying a wide variety were destined for the Berlin City Pal-
of WAGNER fire prevention technolo- ace, which is currently being restored.
gies, including TITANUS® fire detec- The customers were so impressed
tion in the passenger area, a fire alarm with the technology that they’ve now
system control unit, a smoke monitor- commissioned WAGNER Berlin to
ing unit, water-fog fire extinguishers, put in even more TITANUS® systems.
and nitrogen and aerosol fire suppres- These air sampling smoke detectors
sion systems for subfloor areas and have a unique feature, too: they’re all
technical equipment. The model was being fitted onto prefabricated alumin-
highly effective in demonstrating the ium base plates. The plates make the
different technologies, and is guar- detectors easier to integrate uniformly
anteed to make future into the narrow recesses in the pal-
appearances. aces lime-sand brick walls. Originally
inhabited in 1451, the palace has been
under reconstruction since 2013.
The Humboldt Forum – a city district
with various museums, scientific and
cultural institutions – is scheduled to
open there at the end of 2019.
WAGNER gives wings
Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Airbus: They all receive components from the Spanish
aircraft parts manufacturer Aciturri. Two of the company’s production sites
modernised their fire alarm systems in 2018. More than 20 TITANUS PRO∙SENS®
devices are now part of this system – distributed by WAGNER’s Spanish
partner company Grupo Aguilera. The air sampling smoke detectors are
particularly suitable for monitoring large areas of up to 5,760 m² – which is very
much in line with local conditions, as the carbon fibre blades need space when
produced!
4 WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019
NEWS
WAGNER Rail See you there? – join WAGNER
arrives in the USA at LogiMAT and FeuerTrutz
The train manufacturing company The fire prevention industry is starting the new year off right, with two trade
STADLER is scheduled to begin delive- fairs showcasing new trends in fire protection. WAGNER’s fire preven-
ring double-decker rail coaches to the tion experts will be attending both LogiMAT, which will be held February
US in 2019, Also on board: WAGNER 19 – 21 in Stuttgart, and FeuerTrutz, which takes place in Nuremberg on
Rail GmbH’s Rail 138 fire alarm system February 20 – 21. Christian Jargstorff and Karl-Heinz Schapfl will be part of
control units, as well as point- and the trade show team.
linear-type heat detectors. The electric
trains will be used on the Caltrain line
running from San Francisco to San
José in the Silicon Valley, where it
will accommodate the areas rapidly
increasing numbers of passengers. The
project represents
WAGNER Rail’s Mr. Jargstorff, which solutions Mr. Schapfl, what products will
first in the Uni- will WAGNER’s trade fair booth you be presenting?
ted States. be presenting? Nowadays, comprehensive fire
Our focus will be on fire prevention prevention concepts involve more
and earliest-possible fire detection. and more components. So we’ll be
We’ll be setting up our OxyReduct® showing a variety of solutions: our
cabin to allow visitors to experience OxyReduct® active fire prevention
oxygen-reduced atmospheres. The cabin, the VisuLAN® risk manage-
cabin is our way of demonstrating ment system, the BC 600 fire alarm
WAGNER Hamburg that there are time-tested solutions
to ensure active fire prevention.
system control unit, TITANUS® air
sampling smoke detectors – which
protects signal boxes we’ve also installed at the Elbphil-
What trends do you expect to harmonie – and the FirExting® gas
If there’s one thing Hamburger see in intralogistics in 2019? extinguishing system.
Hochbahn AG wants to be sure Mainly, new solutions related to
of, it’s that its trains always travel automation and robotics. Customers What trends are you expecting
into the right direction. How do within the supply chain are having to see?
they do it? With signal boxes, to rely more and more on highly The industry is starting to work with
which use powerful comput- automated processes, which makes more digital tools to assist with
er systems to control railway it all the more important to prevent planning, designing, and controlling
switches on its track lines – operational interruptions like fires. security technology, so VisuLAN®,
some of which are more than a a risk-management system for
hundred years old. Of course, a Anything you’d like trade fair centralized management of all of a
fire in one of these boxes would visitors to know? company’s safety-related systems,
quickly stop a large part of People often ask me whether oxygen will be playing an important role on
the city’s public transportation reduction using OxyReduct® is safe our booth.
system, so as part of its current for human beings. In our cabin
project to modernize its sig- on our booth, we lower the oxy- How important is this trade show
nal-box network, the company gen content of the air to the same for you?
has asked WAGNER Hamburg level as we would in our customers’ It’s becoming more important every
to equip two of the signal boxes warehouses. The reduced oxygen year. These days, practically every
with extinguishing systems. levels are comparable to hiking in well-known company and supplier
WAGNER’s gas-extinguishing the mountains – enough oxygen for in the fire prevention industry uses
technology offers one major human beings, but not enough for FeuerTrutz as a platform for show-
advantage for complex comput- fires. casing their products.
er systems and data centres: the
gas is not electroconductive and
quenches flames without leaving Contact: Contact:
residue, so it causes no damage Christian Jargstorff, Karl-Heinz Schapfl, Managing Director
to the expensive technology. International Key Account Manager WAGNER Bayern GmbH
Phone: +49 172 619 4828 Phone: +49 89 45055143
Mail: christian.jargstorff@wagner.de Mail: karl-heinz.schapfl@wagner.de
WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019 5
C OV E R S T O RY
Safety first:
Frankfurt-based data centre operator Telehouse
is using an innovative fire prevention concept
Frankfurt am DE-CIX. The site is subject to the would have severe consequences –
Main is home to highest security requirements, as for Telehouse customers, their
one of the larg- countless transactions of Cloud customers and for the data centre
est data hubs in providers, online providers, travel operator itself.
the world: the agencies, insurance companies
Deutsche Com- etc. must still run smoothly even Colocation service is used by
mercial Internet in the event of a fire. sector giants
Exchange (DE- As a colocation provider, Telehouse
CIX) with peak Telehouse requires that the highest Deutschland GmbH provides its cus-
data volumes of 6.7 terabyte per security requirements are met. This tomers with a data centre space with
second. Telehouse Deutschland applies for all aspects of security tech- the corresponding physical infrastruc-
GmbH operates one of the largest nology, right through to fire preven- ture. This includes all electrical and air
data centres in Frankfurt, which tion. An interruption in data availabili- conditioning components, proper-
has a direct connection with ty due to loss of power caused by fire ty management, security and fire
6 WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019
prevention. The customers, who are are located in two mezzanines of the
mainly international Cloud providers, building with room volumes of 730
sector giants in the field of E-Com- and 1,700 m³. The Telehouse data
merce and entertainment, as well centre uses as much electricity per
as other large service and industrial year as a small town with 30,000
companies, use their own IT racks inhabitants. Yet, despite the high
in the data centre. And these aren’t volumes of electricity flowing from
just a significant addition in terms of one building into the other, the fire
weight – a server rack can weigh up prevention concept for the tech-
to two tonnes: “A rack can easily cost nology building did not include fire
one million Euro; that’s by no means prevention – neither detection, nor
rare. But the data stored on it is sev- extinguishing measures. Not even for
eral times more valuable”, explains the two highly sensitive mezzanines.
Asko Hamberger, Safety and Security “But that is an extremely important
Management at Telehouse GmbH. part of our site. If a fire breaks out
“It is therefore extremely important there, the consequences for us and
that we keep our customer servers our customers are enormous”, says
in operation 24/7”. And individual Hamberger.
fire prevention is a major part of this.
“In environments with a high level of Innovative idea becomes reality –
technology, something can always go solution with a two-stage concept
wrong.” Telehouse therefore searched for a
suitable fire prevention solution for
Fire prevention for technology the two essential mezzanines on its maintenance work, repairs, search-
buildings was not included in the own. The first idea was active fire ing for causes), no switching off the
requirements prevention through oxygen reduction. power in the event of a fire, fire pre-
When planning new data centre areas However: “A fire prevention solution vention in place at all times (systems
in an existing Telehouse building with a permanently reduced oxygen not switched off for maintenance
three years ago, Telehouse had its level didn’t seem like the optimal work, for example) and a high level of
own technology building built for the solution for us, as this would mean security against false alarms. Even-
required technical infrastructure. The that the area can only be accessed by tually, Telehouse drew the planner’s
technology building is connected to health-medically examined person- attention to the WAGNER Group,
the existing building via two central nel”, explains Hamberger. We had to which offered an impressive solution:
supply corridors. The supply lines for find an alternative, which also had to the two-stage concept. “That was
air conditioning and power supply, cover the following security goals: exactly what we were looking for”,
which are essential for operation, Constant accessibility (for planned said Hamberger, who was won over
Worth protecting: the two supply corridors The new two-stage concept combines
primarily house AC and power supply lines gas extinguishing (small pipe) and oxygen
to the data centre. reduction (large pipe).
WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019 7
C OV E R S T O RY
This guarantees maximum protection
for the assets of both Telehouse and
Schematic diagram of two-stage concept with refilling its customers at all times. “It’s an
all-round great solution that fulfils our
requirements completely”, stresses
Protected area Hamberger, who, by the way, is also
TITANUS® air sampling smoke privately involved with the subject of
fire: He takes a leading position in the
O2 sensors / display / alarm volunteer fire brigade of his home-
N2 N2 N2
town.
N2 N2 N2
Organisation
Fire alarm / extinguishing control
Alarm and
fault alerts and
shutdown
OxyControl
Ambient air Nitrogen generator FirExting® High-pressure
compressor
The two-stage concept cleverly combines fire alarm technology,
fire extinguishing, and oxygen reduction technology. This concept i
reduces operating costs compared to alternative options.
by the solution in the fire laboratory, again; this time to 13.8 vol%. At this
among other things, during a visit to oxygen level too, Telehouse employ-
WAGNER in Langenhagen with his ees can still access the protected
colleague. area to remove the cause of the fire.
The OxyReduct® P-Line maintains this
Strong connection: Traditional gas level for as long as necessary.
extinguishing technology with The function of the two-stage low-
oxygen reduction ering to the minimum oxygen level Telehouse Deutschland GmbH
The two-stage concept combines tra- of 13.8 vol% was verified with test
ditional gas extinguishing technology floodings, reports WAGNER Project Telehouse operates 46 of its own
with oxygen reduction and earliest Manager Marco Bachmann. And the data centres throughout Asia,
possible fire detection to create an in- function can be tested again at any Europe, Africa, and the United
telligent fire prevention solution with time using the installed solution. States. As a subsidiary of the
maximum safety. If the highly sen- KDDI Corporation, Japan’s sec-
sitive TITANUS® air sampling smoke On-site refills: Minimum expense, ond-largest telecommunications
detectors detect a fire in the earliest maximum security company, it offers ITK services
stages, the oxygen level is reduced The gas extinguishing cylinders emp- on a global scale (in more than
first of all from 20.9 vol% to 17 vol% tied during the test floodings can also 170 countries). A true pioneer
by gently introducing nitrogen from be refilled on site in the future. The in the field of data-centre IT ser-
stored pressurised cylinders. Reduc- nitrogen generator (P-Line) is used for vices (in 1989 they opened the
ing the oxygen concentration signif- this, which generates the required in- world’s first location exclusively
icantly reduces the fire behaviour, ert gas with maximum purity and fills dedicated to that purpose),
meaning that the fire should ideally it into the emptied gas extinguishing Telehouse is a well-established
go out at this stage. An OxyReduct® cylinders via a high-pressure compres- partner with vast market and
P-Line then maintains the lowered sor. “With the number of cylinders technology experience at all
oxygen level of 17 vol% for as long we have, having them filled externally levels of data centre comput-
as necessary by generating nitrogen would have cost around 75,000 Euro. ing-power scale, capable of
on site. This means that Telehouse We wouldn’t be carrying out a test handling any challenge related
employees can look for the cause of flooding at that cost, explains Ham- to cloud computing, colocation,
the fire and remove it thanks to the berger. With WAGNER’s N2Fill solu- system integration, or connec-
freely accessible protected area. If the tion, the test flooding incur no extra tivity.
TITANUS® devices still detect a fire, cost and the fire prevention system
the oxygen concentration is lowered also doesn’t need to be switched off.
8 WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019
NEWS
Protecting historical buildings
and cultural treasures
History in flames
On the evening of September 2, Why? They are neither appropriately
2018, a fire broke out at the Bra- stored nor protected. The walls and
zilian National Museum in Rio de windows lack proper insulation against
Janeiro. Within just a few hours, heat, cold, and moisture, and the
around 20 million objects had been building itself still requires a modern Protecting the world’s cultural
destroyed – artefacts spanning over fire prevention system. heritage
11,000 years of world cultural his- For decades now, WAGNER has been
tory – along with the building itself, developing fire protection solutions
which dated back to the early 19th
Natural-science collec- tailored to individual protection needs.
century. The world reacted with tions have two enemies: These may include TITANUS® air sam-
horror and outrage; calls for better pling smoke detectors for earliest pos-
protection of historical and cultural
fire and water. Anything sible fire detection, FirExting® nitro-
treasures are growing louder every that isn’t burned up in the gen-based gas extinguishing systems
day. and the OxyReduct® fire prevention
fire will be destroyed by the system – either as individual solutions
Images like those from Brazil call more fire fighting operations. or in combination. WAGNER’s refer-
and more fire scenarios back to mind, ences include renowned institutions
such as the one at the Herzogin Anna Prof. Johannes Vogel, Director of the such as the British Library, the Bolshoi
Berlin Natural History Museum
Amalia Library in Weimar, which oc- Theater, and the Berlin Natural History
curred on the very same night 14 years Museum. OxyReduct®, in particular, is
prior. Brazil is a newly industrialising Safety in doubt quickly establishing itself as the stan-
economy. Newspapers report that the Like many other countries, Germany dard solution for protected areas with
National Museum was decrepit and has numerous legal and actuarial fire more challenging requirements. It not
urgently in need of repairs, that it didn’t protection requirements in place. If all only protects exhibition show cases,
even have a fire protection system of those requirements are met, surely repositories, and archives effectively
in place. The building had no risers, nothing can happen, right? Maybe. against smoke and flames, but also
and two of the hydrants outside were But just how safe is safe? Generally eliminates the danger of damage
non-functional. According to media speaking, fire protection requirements caused by other extinguishing agents,
reports, on the night of the fire, re- can be broken down into two types: such as water. Active fire preven-
sponders were forced to bring in water legal requirements (laws to protect tion provides continuous protection
from a nearby lake. But the situation at people and the environment) and against the effects of fire without the
the National Museum in Rio was just actuarial requirements (which some- risks associated with reactive protec-
the tip of the iceberg – museums and times go above and beyond the legal tion systems, which have the potential
historical collections all over the world requirements). But what about an for failure or faulty activation. Most
are in severely lacking condition. Parts institution’s own individual interest in importantly, it poses no limitations on
of Berlin’s Natural History Museum, protection its collection? What about people, nature, the environment ...
which was destroyed in World War all the damage that smoke, flames, or or, of course, the cultural treasures
II, were reconstructed and renovat- even the extinguishing agent itself can themselves.
ed from 2006 to 2010. Even so, as do to valuables? Museums, especial-
Museum Director Prof. Johannes Vogel ly, need to find comprehensive fire
explained in a newspaper interview, protection solutions that put the focus
nearly 70 % of the building and its col- back where it belongs: on preserving
lections – more than 30 million objects millennia-old artefacts and irreplace-
– are not currently open to the public. able, priceless exhibit pieces.
WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019 9
NEWS
The importance of fire protection
for warehouses and logistics
Risk analysis using a deep-freeze high-bay warehouse as an example
Increasing globalisation and Fire prevention concepts/certifi- The requirements listed above, for
ever-greater digital networking of cates example, would yield the following
production and logistics processes Pursuant to Section 2, Paragraph 4, protection objectives:
(IT systems, Industry 4.0) mean Item 18 of the Model Building Regula- Preserving delivery capabilities
that maintaining business opera- tion, high-bay warehouses whose top Securing operational readiness
tions has become an extraordinar- storage level is higher than 7.5 metres Protecting stored goods
ily important priority. Disruptions are considered special constructions. Protecting customer relationships
to critical business processes at This means that deep-freeze high-bay Avoiding loss of business image
certain points along the value cre- warehouse builders must always pre-
ation chain can even put the entire sent a fire prevention concept/certifi- From there, a risk analysis can
business’s future in jeopardy. cate. These fire prevention concepts/ derive the systematic fire protection
certificates must be inspected and measures that will provide optimum
Rapid technological developments in approved by the building authority or protection for deep-freeze high-bay
the storage and logistics fields have by authorised fire prevention auditors, warehouses.
yielded new solutions using automa- depending on the individual state.
tion and robotics. Storage facilities are Risk assessments on fire outbreak
being packed ever more densely, and Fire prevention concepts/certificates potential in deep-freeze high-bay
many facilities are being designed for primarily assess the measures put warehouses
flexible use, making conventional fire in place to protect persons and the There are a wide range of usage-spe-
prevention solutions insufficient for environment. In deep-freeze high-bay cific fire hazards to take into account
today’s challenges. Customers within warehouses, however, protecting when conducting technical risk anal-
the supply chain are having to rely goods and preventing operational yses and evaluating fire dangers in
more and more on highly automated interruptions are major considerations deep-freeze high bay warehouses:
processes, which makes it all the as well, so protective measures will Usage of flammable construction
more important to prevent operational also need to be defined and planned and insulation materials
interruptions like fires. with those factors in mind. Additional fire hazards related to
technical operating equipment
Besides the immediate financial loss- Requirements on deep-freeze (refrigeration units, defrosting and
es, interruptions of the logistics chain high-bay warehouses heating equipment, heat exchang-
can have a wide variety of negative Deep-freeze high-bay warehouses ers, packaging equipment, etc.)
consequences, including damage to need to fulfil special requirements, in- Stored goods that are highly sensi-
the company’s reputation or losing cluding an uninterruptible cold chain, tive to heat and/or smoke
customers by failing to meet delivery high storage density and energy Extremely dry atmosphere
obligations. efficiency, low throughput times, and
minimal error rates in commission- There are other fire outbreak hazards
Is loss-of-revenue insurance the ing and delivery. They also need to to consider in deep-freeze high bay
answer? ensure that, if a fire occurs, the stored warehouses as well, such as lighting
Companies can transfer their fire- goods will not be contaminated with systems, battery chargers (industrial
related risk to a suitable insurance toxic smoke gases and thus require trucks, pickers, etc.), and the like.
policy. Loss-of-revenue insurance, for disposal. Electrical systems, in particular, are an
example, can minimise the financial area of special focus when it comes
effects of disasters such as large- Protection objectives to fire outbreak (ignition sources). Fire
scale fires. However, they do nothing The effects of fires can sometimes put statistics show that 44 % of fires are
to compensate or prevent immaterial the future of the company in jeopardy; caused by electrical systems (Source:
damage such as loss of reputation, those who want to minimise their VdS 2032). And the usual sources of
missed market opportunities, or loss exposure to such risks will need to elevated operational risk commonly
of customers or knowledge. As such, define protection objectives. found in warehouses apply to deep-
part of the risk remains with the com- freeze high-bay facilities as well:
pany, non-transferable.
10 WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019Tall, narrow rack construction Technical fire protection time, TITANUS® family of air sampling
(rapid fire expansion due to WAGNER offers individual, plant-spe- smoke detectors is another pillar of
chimney effect) cific fire prevention solutions tailored WAGNER’s protection scheme. It
Tightly packed pallets and goods to deep-freeze high-bay warehouses’ detects fires with great sensitivity, as
with little space between them specific risk analyses. early as possible, allowing users to in-
(limits fire detection options for itiate counteractive measures quickly
plants and facilities; greatly im- Fire prevention solutions using active and avoid contamination from smoke
pedes effectiveness of defensive oxygen reduction have proven highly and soot. WAGNER has air sampling
fire suppression efforts) effective in automated deep-freeze smoke detectors in its portfolio that
Additional fire load created by flam- high-bay warehouses. The OxyReduct® are specially designed for use in deep-
mable products, packaging, trans- system creates a protective, perma- freeze applications. They work reliably
portation means, or storage aids) nently oxygen-reduced atmosphere at temperatures as low as -40 °C,
Arson risks in order to minimise fire risk. The VdS and feature special mechanisms for
Spark-forming activities (use of GmbH-certified system does this by blowing ice crystals away from the air
welding equipment, abrasive enriching the protected area’s atmos- sampling points to prevent blockage.
cutting, etc.) phere with nitrogen, lowering oxygen
concentrations to a precise level just Hundreds of customers around
Moreover, deep-frozen products are below the ignition thresholds of the the world are already successfully
often more sensitive to smoke con- materials under protection and then relying on WAGNER’s plant-specific
tamination, which creates additional maintaining that environment continu- fire prevention solutions. WAGNER
requirements as regards fire preven- ously. Such an atmosphere eliminates has already installed more than 800
tion. Even the small amount of smoke the possibility of an open fire develop- systems. Thus far, the largest storage
that develops from a small incipient ing: the remaining oxygen is no longer facility WAGNER has worked on was a
fire can render the stored goods unus- sufficient to sustain a fire or permit it Preferred Freezer deep-freeze high-
able, or even completely unfit for sale to spread. In the optimum protection bay warehouse with a protection vol-
in the case of frozen foods. for persons and valuables while effec- ume of over a million cubic metres.
tively preventing operational down-
Want to find out more
:
about fire prevention in
deep-freeze high bay
Sample system The nitrogen can be distributed
through a pipeline system or
warehouses? Right this
way!
via the warehouse ventilation
system.
Protected
The generated nitrogen is
distributed throughout
the protected area via a
pipeline system.
The current oxygen
values are shown on
the sector display. The required
nitrogen is
generated by
an OxyReduct®
system.
Sensors positioned at
various heights monitor
oxygen concentration levels
and report their readings to TITANUS® air sampling The OxyControl control
the OxyControl control panel. smoke detectors provide the panel regulates the entire
earliest possible fire detection. fire prevention system.
WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019 11T E C H N O L O GY
A perfect fit: fire prevention
for machine tools
Gas extinguishing systems protect systems
and manufacturing processes
Machine tools are the heart and soul disastrous consequences ... a lesson No damage is done to the
of many industrial manufacturing one German automotive supplier was environment
environments. Without these partially forced to learn the hard way. When a No damage is done to the
or fully automated machines, entire technical defect sparked a large-scale company’s image
branches of industry would grind to a fire at a production hall in Witten The company’s creditworthi-
halt: engine parts, gearboxes, steer- which manufactured injection-mould- ness and insurability
ing mechanisms, axles, and brakes ed parts for well-known vehicle remain intact.
couldn’t be produced; advertising brands. According to the press, the
posters wouldn’t be in colour; and valuable machines had been installed In order to attain these protection
aeroplanes would be stuck on the only a few years before. Injection objectives, the machine tool operator
ground. The sheer range of machine moulding production was stopped for will need to carry out a risk analysis
tools out there seems infinite: lathes, several months at the facility, caus- on the subject. According to Volker
millers, honing machines, eroding ing delivery bottlenecks on multiple Flügel, WAGNER Group fire preven-
machines, generation and profile models for two auto manufacturers. A tion expert, the risk factors associated
grinders ... the list goes on and on. catastrophe, in other words. But what with machine tools include “the lack
Machine downtime – due to fires, for do reliable fire prevention concepts for of trained operators on so-called
example – not only hobbles the pro- these types of equipment look like? ‘ghost’ shifts; the flammable liquids
duction process itself, it also disrupts How can a company comprehensively (oils) used as cooling lubricants, which
complex value-creation chains and protect machine tools with elevated are applied to both tools and work-
often results in major consequences. risk of fire, along with their associated
From mid-sized industrial firms to production and delivery processes?
major auto manufacturers, a wide
range of businesses are turning to The first step: analysing risks and
tailor-made fire-protection solutions defining protection objectives
using extinguishing gas. An ideal fire prevention concept is
tailored to the facility as a whole – an
Proper machine handling does not optimum combination of individual
equal total fire protection solutions. Such a concept allows
In its Guidelines for Workplace Fire machine tool operators to achieve
Prevention (VdS 2000), the Organisa- the following protective objectives
tion of Property Insurers notes that if worse comes to worst:
the specific properties of mechanical Production and delivery capabi-
equipment (such as curing and drying lities are maintained
ovens, propulsion engines, conveyor Manufacturing processes are
belts, compressors, hardening baths, not interrupted
machine tools, hydraulic systems, Damage to expensive machines,
and many other types of equipment) many of which have extremely
often pose particular fire risks, such long delivery times, is minimised
as extremely high surface tempera- (or, ideally, prevented)
tures, flammable gases and vapours, The fire is brought under control
flammable substances such as oil or quickly, without damaging other
fuel, and overheating due to friction. parts of the production line, goods,
As a result, even properly handled or the building itself
machine tools represent an elevat-
ed risk of fire – one that companies
should never underestimate. And in
these environments, fires can de-
velop with astonishing speed, with
12 WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019pieces at high pressures; the sparks include automatic inert-gas extin- extinguishing control panel, a fast and
that develop when tools break down; guishers, which the organisation says reliable fire detection mechanism, and
and tools overheating due to dull are often used in areas with flamma- a variable selection of gaseous extin-
cutting edges.” Another fundamental ble liquids, such as machine tools, guishing agents. FirExting® Compact
fire risk-related problem is that, even lacquering machines, and electrical systems save a great deal of space –
when machines are handled prop- or electronic equipment – “wherever they are built into a steel cabinet with
erly, they themselves are continually water is unsuitable as an extinguish- an integrated support frame, which
radiating energy into the protected ing agent”. Finally, operators want can hold up to two containers of
area, for example in the form of the the product components of the fire extinguishing gas, the pilot cylinder, a
heat generated when processing prevention system to be installed in pneumatic time delay device, a block-
workpieces. “As such,” Flügel says, the most space-saving way possible. ing mechanism, and the control panel.
“the company’s fire prevention solu- After the gas extinguishing system
tion must always be tailored to the The solution: gas extinguishing is triggered, a local service team can
specific circumstances at that facility.” with FirExting® ensure that machine tools are up and
German Social Accident Insurance What companies need are solutions running within a very short amount
agrees. According to Regulation BGI/ that can be tailored to their individu- of time. “These types of tailored fire
GUV-I 719, “Extinguishing agents and al production conditions. One such prevention concepts have proven safe
integrated fire detection and suppres- solution is the FirExting® Compact ex- and effective in many different indus-
sion systems on machine tools are to tinguishing system, which is designed trial companies, as well as among our
be selected based on the degree of with small to mid-sized room volumes partners in the automotive industry,”
potential danger to persons, valuables, in mind. Thanks to its modular design, Volker Flügel remarks.
and the environment.” the system covers all the bases –
from a small-scale fire extinguishing At present, WAGNER is realising
Fire prevention solutions must not system pursuant to DIN 14497 to a several systems of this type for a large
disrupt normal operations VdS-certified inert-gas extinguish- automotive firm in Southern Germany,
Here at WAGNER, years of experience ing system, including the personal to protect lathes used in manufactur-
have shown us that many companies protection and alarm systems required ing crank shafts. “This way,” Flügel
have the same needs when it comes by the Employers’ Liability Insurance concludes, “our customers can be
to operating machine tools. They want Association. The solution’s primary sure that what happened in Witten
to be sure that the fire prevention sys- components are a fire alarm and won’t happen to them.”
tem itself will not disrupt machine op-
eration or the subsequent production
processes, and they need maximum
flexibility in production planning, for
example in terms of moving ma-
chines. Also, the extinguishing agent
used must not cause any additional
damage. As the Organisation of
Property Insurers says in its Guidelines
for Workplace Fire Prevention (VdS
2000), “In areas of operation that are
exposed to high fire loads and contain
high concentrations of value – areas
where the outbreak of fire might result
in rapidly spreading fire and smoke,
resulting in major losses – automatic S 6040001
fixed-location extinguishing systems
are advisable.” Among others, these
WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019 13P R AC T I C E WO R L DW I D E
We’re staying for everyone involved. The country
is divided. Some people seem really
astonished at just how extensive the
in Great Britain
consequences are going to be. So it
baffles me a little that there are only
a handful of initiatives in the country
working to either stop a hard Brexit
from happening or to prepare for it
The WAGNER Group stands behind its activities thoroughly.
in the United Kingdom despite Brexit How’s business?
Good! In the last fiscal year, we man-
aged total turnover of three million
Germany and Great Britain have Mr. Schober, the subsidiary in the British pounds – which is more than
enjoyed a close business rela- UK is going to remain open. Was 3.4 million euro. We only started
tionship for decades. In fact, the that a difficult decision? sensing changes over the past few
UK is among Germany’s top five No, we’ve been putting a lot of time weeks. Companies are becoming
trading partners, while Germany and energy into our team there since increasingly hesitant about large
at the top of the British imports 1999. Regardless of what happens investments.
list. Great Britain is currently pre- with Brexit, we’re going to keep
paring to leave the EU, though the working in the UK, because we’re How is Wagner preparing for
exact circumstances surrounding very happy with what we’ve achieved Brexit?
the exit are still unclear, nor can through our subsidiary there. Gen- We’re doing our best to follow the
anyone say with certainty how it erally speaking, there’s a huge need situation as it develops, so that we
will affect trade relations. Many for fire prevention solutions in Great can prepare for new challenges in
companies are growing increas- Britain. And even under new trade good time. We’re doing pre-produc-
ingly uncertain, but when it came agreements, we’ll still have a good tion and building up stocks right now,
to our own subsidiary in Great chance of continuing our successful just to make doubly sure that we’ll be
Britain, WAGNER’s position has development in terms of both our able to meet delivery requirements
been clear since day one. We sat extinguishing systems business and no matter what.
down with Andreas Schober, the our retail business.
European Division Head of Opera- What do you hope the future
tions, to discuss the situation. What’s the mood like in Great brings?
Britain? I hope they find a way to sign a deal
Brexit is creating a lot of uncertainty before the deadline, in order to pre-
vent a hard Brexit. I’d also like the tran-
Our UK projects sition period to be extended, so that
everyone has enough time to put new
A selection of WAGNER’s previous projects regulations in place. But WAGNER’s
already experienced in trading with
Belfast non-EU countries, and has been very
successful outside of Europe, So
we’re confident that our products will
Leeds continue to sell well in the UK even
Dewsbury without the domestic market advan-
Macclesfield tages.
Liverpool Lincoln
Crewe
Wisbech
Birmingham
Want to find out more
Cambridge
Worcester about the WAGNER team
Colchester in Great Britain? Click here.
Oxford
Gloucester
Fire prevention London
(OxyReduct®) Canterbury
Fire detection
(TITANUS®)
Newquay
Fire extinguishing
(FirExting®)
14 WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019i
NewCold Tacoma by the
Cool Project in the USA
numbers
around 700,000 m³ total volume,
of which
approximately 610,000 m³
From Smoked Sockeye Salmon to Solution reduces fire risk and
protected with OxyReduct®
Alaskan Fish & Chips, the New- energy costs
14,558 m² high rack storage
Cold storage facility in Tacoma, For a fire protection solution that
area (41.8 meters)
stores Trident Seafoods products in addresses the challenges presented by
100,000 pallet storage spaces
610,000 cubic meters fireproofed deep-freeze environments, NewCold
8 automatic pickers
by active oxygen reduction. deployed an oxygen reduction system
-20 °C temperature in storage
in its Tacoma facility. “OxyReduct®
area
NewCold, a company based in the adds just enough additional nitrogen
Netherlands, specializes in operating into the protected area to reduce
automated, deep freeze storage facilities the concentration of oxygen to the
and handles distribution for leading required safety level,” explains Florian preventive measure versus firefighting
food companies around the world. Its Buchner, Sales Manager West Coast offered by sprinkler systems.”
most recent, and one of the largest US at WAGNER. This minimizes the
deep freeze warehouses in the US, possibility of a fire while also offering Award and follow-up project
was built in Tacoma, Washington (US), several other advantages: “Sprinklers In November of 2018, NewCold’s
and began operations in May 2018. commonly used in the US become Tacoma facility was awarded the “Built
NewCold chose OxyReduct® technolo- ineffective depending on ceiling height. by the Best” Award by the Interna-
gy to protect their latest enterprise from Additionally, their use comes at an tional Association for Cold Storage
the threat of fire. “Our first project for additional cost to the facility as it loses Construction (IACSC). By Spring 2019,
NewCold in the US presented us with storage capability near the ceiling,” NewCold’s second, fully automated fa-
major challenges,” says Frank Siedler, says Buchner. By contrast, OxyReduct® cility is slated to open in Burley, Idaho.
VP Business Solutions, Americas, at allows pallet racks to extend to heights With the construction design success
WAGNER. “Not only did we have to of over 40 meters, increasing the stor- of its first project in the US, NewCold’s
meet the national and regional compli- age volume for goods. second project will once again feature
ance requirements within the American WAGNER’s OxyReduct® technology,
market, we had to coordinate project Jonas Swarttouw, US Country Manag- this time protecting 17,000 square
partners from seven countries. Add to er of NewCold, states “For us, oxygen meters of McCain frozen French fries.
that the time difference between the US reduction technology is the optimal “I don’t see anything standing in the
and Germany and you’ll get an under- way to protect our facilities from the way of future collaborations with New-
standing of the organizational hurdles risks of fire and the frozen goods Cold,” said Siedler, “and we’re looking
we had to overcome.” entrusted to us by our customer. It is a forward to it.”
Thanks for your feedback!
79 %
Positive resonse: Impulse readers responded to our survey and gave our
of respondents gave the WAGNER
magazine an overall grade of “Good”. In particular, they gave high marks
Impulse a grade of “good”
to the general information we provide on fire prevention, and to our project
reports. Readers also felt that the magazine covered news sufficiently well. 18 %
They saw room for improvement with regard to international perspectives, of readers called our customer
changes in laws, and information about trade fairs and events. We’re wor- magazine “very good”
king on those. As requested, the WAGNER Impulse will also be available
3%
as a print magazine in the future. You can also subscribe to our newsletter,
of customers call the
or just check out our LinkedIn page, which is where we post the newest of
publication “satisfactory”
the new. Thanks very much to all the readers who took the time to partici-
pate in our survey, and congratulations to the winners of the BestChoice
gift certificates.
WAGNER IMPULSE | 1/2019 15Experience WAGNER Group fire Visit www.wagnergroup.com for
protection solutions live! additional upcoming events and to
contact your partners at WAGNER
19/02/2019 – 21/02/2019
directly
LogiMAT, Stuttgart
20/02/2019 – 21/02/2019
FeuerTrutz, Nuremberg
20/03/2019 – 22/03/2019
Global Cold Chain Alliance, Brussels
?
GUESS AND
The sweepstakes in WAGNER Impulse issue 3/2018
was extremely popular. Our winners are Ralf Düll-
berg (Meerbusch) and Karl-Heinz Mast (Munich) –
WIN! congratulations to you both!
If you’d like to win an Amazon voucher valued at
€ 50, € 100, or € 150, just answer our quiz question:
THE BIG WAGNER What’s the name of WAGNER’s solution for
IMPULSE refilling extinguishing gas containers?
SWEEPSTAKES
Submit your response to www.wagnergroup.com/
en/impulse-competition by March 15, 2019.
You can also scan the QR code for easy access
via smart phone.
The correct answer and the winnersí names will be revealed in the next issue of WAGNER Impulse. The names of the winners will be drawn after the closing date. The winner
of the draw will be informed by e-mail shortly after. Persons over the age of 18 are eligible to enter. WAGNER Group employees and their families are excluded from participation,
as are all those involved in the design and implementation of the sweepstakes. No cash awards will be made. The competition is not subject to legal recourse.You can also read
