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PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: High-tech fire protection systems require specialized expertise Engineered Fire Systems specifies, designs and installs
state-of-the-art industrial fire protection
systems for a wide range of clients Alan Bailey PNA Contributing Writer
Whether it’s a question of installing smoke detectors in your home or fitting an automatic sprinkler system in an industrial facility, fire protection has become an essential feature of any modern structure — fire protection sits near the top of most people’s list of safety concerns.
Engineered Fire Systems Inc. has been providing fire protection expertise and systems in Alaska since the mid-1980s. Kidde PLC, an international corporation that specializes in equipment for fire prevention, fire detection and fire fighting, bought the company in March 2000. Engineered Fire Systems is now based in Seattle, Wash., and operates a major center in Anchorage.
“Our motto is ‘Life, safety and asset protection specialists,’” Don Maupin, general manager of Engineered Fire Systems, told PNA. “We protect the high-risk assets for the oil fields and the (oil) production facilities.” Maupin also explained that his company provides fire protection systems for power generation plants, computer server farms, fishing boats, mines, museums and a variety of other applications.
Fire protection systems can include fire alarms, automatic sprinklers, water deluge, foam fire suppression and remote monitoring equipment.
The company also sells safety equipment and safety supplies, including fire-fighting equipment.
System design and assembly Although Engineered Fire Systems can install a complete fire protection system at a client site, the company more typically assists a construction contractor with the design and assembly of the system, as part of a larger project.
“Typically the contractor ... will do the installation of the systems — we’ll build all the cabinets here, design them and ship them out,” Maupin said. Engineered Fire Systems technicians will go to the work site to assist with checkout and certification, he said.
Although installation and final checkout occurs at the work site, Engineered Fire Systems also tests the systems at its own facility.
“We do the fabrication of the panels here, we do a factory acceptance test on our systems before they ship to the client,” Maupin said. “The clients will come to our office here ... we fabricate the systems to a 100 percent acceptance test and have the clients witness it.”
Engineered Fire Systems’ technicians also train client staff in the use and maintenance of the systems.
On a small project, Engineered Fire Systems may itself do the complete installation for the client. In this type of assignment the company may use its own crew to do the installation or it may subcontract the work.
“Depending on the size of the scope and on our schedules and how much assets we have available ... we’ll do what’s best for the client’s schedule and for the best value to the client,” Maupin said.
Integrated systems With increasing automation and the evolution of industrial control technology, the fire protection systems are becoming integrated into the control systems.
“It’s got more and more to where they’re meshing the production automation systems with the fire and gas detection, so we work hand in hand a lot with the automation specialists,” Maupin said.
For example, Engineered Fire Systems is now progressing the second phase of a project to design, build, test and provide technical support for the integrated fire and gas detection and suppression systems for Forest Oil’s Kustatan production facility and Osprey offshore rig. The detection and suppression systems link via ModBus into the control systems, to provide system status displays and for integration into control functions such as the safety shutdown of the facilities.
Because of its SIL II safety and integrity rating, the Autronica integrated fire and gas system used in this project is one of the most reliable and versatile systems, specifically designed for industrial applications such as oil and gas facilities.
Security systems With the tendency nowadays to install complete system packages that include both fire protection and site security, Engineered Fire Systems supports a wide range of security devices.
For example, the company has a contract for the maintenance of the Municipality of Anchorage’s fire protection and security systems.
“We ... do their security systems — their card access, closed circuit TV systems, and other low voltage controls,” Maupin said.
And in the healthcare industry our company installs and supports nurse call systems and infant security systems, Maupin said. We have installed and now service such systems at Providence, Alaska Regional and Valley hospitals. Technical expertise Keeping up to date with evolving technology has become a major challenge, especially with the wide range of devices that Engineered Fire Systems supports.
“The main challenge is maintaining a core support group and maintaining that competency level that we can service the systems that we install,” Maupin said. “We’ve developed a few select individuals that are very competent in those systems.”
The company maintains a workplace that encourages retention of these skilled experts.
“We’ve just created an atmosphere where we don’t have a lot of (employee) turnover,” Maupin said.
The company also understands its clients’ expectations for employee safety and it provides safety training, safety equipment and personal protection equipment for its technicians.
“We go to a lot of extra effort to keep our people trained on safety, such as proper lifting techniques, how to properly use a ladder, how to use a fall harness and other safety related items,” Maupin said.
Business development Although Engineered Fire Systems has been operating in Alaska since the 1980s, the past couple of years have seen some significant changes in the company’s focus and direction. In particular, the company has moved away from bidding on every possible contract that it might be able to do. Instead, the company focuses on those prospects that match its core strengths and expertise.
For example, we used to try to provide large installation crews for big jobs, Maupin said. As a result, the company became involved in work that was not particularly profitable and did not generate value for the client.
“If you spread yourself out too thin, you cannot serve the client very well,” Maupin said, “so we’ve gotten down to where we’re real comfortable with our core competence in what we’re doing.”
Maupin also views the recent takeover by Kidde as a very positive move. With its international reputation in the fire safety industry, Kidde has supplied fire protection systems for a large range of applications, including the Smithsonian Museum and 95 percent of the world’s civil aircraft. Kidde recently won the contract to supply the fire protection system for the new U.S. tactical fighter.
“One of our largest strengths ... is being owned by Kidde,” Maupin said. “We have all their (worldwide) resources available to us at any time.”
And the changes in company strategy and ownership are paying off, with a steady growth in business — with its diverse clients and specialist expertise, Engineered Fire Systems expects to remain a major player in the Alaska fire protection and security business.
“The company is very solvent and profitable and we see a steady growth in market share here in Alaska,” Maupin said. “We see oil and gas as our largest growth potential, but we don’t want to shift all of our resources towards that ... we try to remain as diversified as we can.”
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