building safety<\/a> industry<\/strong> is under pressure to keep up.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSafecility CEO Cian O\u2019Flaherty fundamentally believes that those responsible for buildings are going to be asked for more information and at a higher quality in the future, and the only way to achieve that in an acceptable way is through technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTechnologies are going to have to talk to each other,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have a vendor for emergency lighting<\/strong>, a vendor for smoke and fire, a vendor for water. So the skill-sets needed are going to be very different from having a qualified technician with a sheet of paper and a van.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cManagement and responsiveness is also going to be tracked. Half of compliance is doing the testing, the other half is correcting the failures, and building owners are really going to need to account for both of those.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Routine maintenance is very important for everything that we do, but new technologies help us to ensure everything is working properly on an ongoing basis.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>David Vaughn, Light Solutions Managing Director<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nConnectivity will continue to be key for David Vaughan, Managing Director of Light Solutions, a provider of LED retrofit solutions to reduce energy costs. \u201cWe fit a lot of intelligent gear to lighting products so that they can communicate to a centralised control room,\u201d says Vaughan. \u201cNowadays, everything is connected to control systems and you can see if everything is working. That has huge benefits for safety systems because you can plan your maintenance checks. For example, you can look at a thousand products in one installation system and immediately see any faults. We can then programme a response to ensure the system is fully functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continues: \u201cIn our industry there\u2019s the system called DALI (digital addressable lighting interface), which is similar to being connected on the internet, as every lighting product can be connected. Routine maintenance is very important for everything that we do, but new technologies help us to ensure everything is working properly on an ongoing basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business model innovations and falling hardware costs have made it affordable for housing authorities to implement estate-wide Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. For Safecility\u2019s clients \u2013 typically asset, estate and facilities managers \u2013 it always boils down to one simple concern: a solid return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re always looking at achieving more with less when it comes to new technologies,\u201d explains O\u2019Flaherty. \u201cAnd proving concepts and apps that justify spending money on is difficult. But we think we\u2019ve done exactly that. We can see, on the one hand, that the need for compliance is growing and, on the other hand, budgets are shrinking. So we sit in a position where our customers can achieve more compliance with less spend, and that\u2019s really key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PCCE Training\u2019s Paul Condron highlights how he has embraced advancements in technology in his role as a consultancy and training expert. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to get into stuff like automatic test systems for emergency lighting<\/strong>,\u201d he states. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt when they become commonplace in Ireland, they will again increase in sophistication and the ease at which you can monitor your systems. There\u2019s a lot of advances going on \u2013 it’s just a matter of using the technology that\u2019s there and getting clients to understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nRepetitive tasks are incredibly difficult to maintain concentration for and fire safety maintenance is an incredibly repetitive task. Handing that responsibility over to a system that is proven to be engaging and responsive when something isn\u2019t working is the sensible option.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>Cian O Flaherty, CEO Safecility<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThe impact of emerging technologies on fire safety is going to be incredibly positive, according to O\u2019Flaherty. \u201cKeeping people alive is the critical mission of fire safety systems. Mistakes really can cost lives, but mistakes are human. Repetitive tasks are incredibly difficult to maintain concentration for and fire safety maintenance is an incredibly repetitive task. Handing that responsibility over to a system that is proven to be engaging and responsive when something isn\u2019t working is the sensible option.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Limerick City and County Council\u2019s Rosie Web thinks the construction industry will be the next sector to launch into digital maintenance and operations. \u201cDatabases are becoming more and more sophisticated,\u201d she says, \u201cand information is being gathered to allow for a certain amount of intelligence to build up about our buildings. We can easily work together to come up with some solutions, once we know exactly what the problem is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n