The Northern Line Expansion Project: ensuring the safety of the project with WES+
Ensuring fire safety on large-scale construction projects presents unique challenges, especially when dealing with temporary site accommodations and underground construction. The Northern Line Extension project in London, led by the Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O’Rourke (FLO) Joint Venture, faced such challenges and turned to the WES+ wireless fire alarm system as a solution. This article examines the fire safety concerns encountered and how WES+ effectively addressed them.
Challenge
Fire safety on construction sites, particularly those with temporary buildings or accommodations, requires a reliable and compliant system. A major challenge is ensuring compliance with fire safety regulations, as stipulated in the 9th edition of The Joint Code of Practice (JCOP), which mandates that construction site fire alarms meet the EN 54 standard.
Given the scale of the project, FLO needed a system that was not only fully compliant but also adaptable to the evolving needs of the construction environment. Another challenge was installing a robust and portable fire detection system that could be easily expanded and tested over time. Additionally, ensuring comprehensive site-wide alert coverage in case of fire was essential to protecting both personnel and infrastructure.
Løsning
WES+ was selected as the ideal solution due to its compliance with EN 54 and its ability to provide reliable, wireless fire protection tailored for construction sites. The system was installed in the above-ground temporary site accommodation and at the Battersea shaft site, meeting the stringent requirements set by JCOP. WES+ offers a flexible, scalable solution, with 15 units currently in place and plans to expand the system further.
The system’s wireless network allows for easy installation and relocation as construction progresses, providing a seamless safety solution that aligns with the project’s dynamic nature. The WES+ fire alarm call points, strategically placed in Temporary Accommodation Units in accordance with the site fire plan, create a secure and responsive network. The system can be manually triggered from any call point, while 24/7 protection is ensured by automatic smoke and heat detectors. A central WES+ base station provides site-wide alerts, ensuring immediate response in case of fire detection.
Billy Killian, Site Manager at FLO, Northern Line extension project, explained: “We’d used WES+ systems on parts of Crossrail and already had systems installed at the Kennington Shaft, so when it came to upgrading our systems above ground at Nine Elms and Battersea, WES+ was the obvious choice. «We also needed a robust and portable system that could be easily tested and added to over time; we currently have 15 WES+ units in use across the Northern Line extension project, and plan to add at least another 15 units over the coming weeks and months».
We also needed a robust and portable system that could be easily tested and added to over time; we currently have 15 WES+ units in use across the Northern Line extension project, and plan to add at least another 15 units over the coming weeks and months.” The WES+ fire alarm call points are fixed in the Temporary Accommodation Units in accordance with the site fire plan, creating a completely secure, wireless network. The alarm system can be manually triggered from any call point. 24/7 protection is also provided by the WES+ smoke and heat detectors, which automatically activate the system in the event
of a fire.
A WES+ base station provides a site-wide alert across all units in the network as soon as a manual call point is pressed, or if fire is detected by the automatic heat or smoke detectors. The WES+ system uses Category 1 receivers (ETSI 300-220-1) throughout, ensuring maximum signal reliability and does not interfere with life means the units will provide long-term operation before the need for servicing.
Paul Henson, Sales and Marketing Director at Ramtech Electronics, said «With WES+, FLO and its clients know that the complete system – and every unit in the system, including base station, fire call point or smoke and heat detection unit – have been tested to the relevant parts of EN54. Our WES+ fire alarm systems has been used on Crossrail for a number of years and we are delighted that it has now been chosen for the Battersea site». The Northern Line extension project is targeted for completion in 2020.