As in other environments where people are constantly present, it is indispensable today that life safety is provided against natural disasters such as fire and earthquake in industrial facilities. In general, each of the environments such as factories, oil refineries, thermal/natural gas/hydroelectric power plants, petrochemical facilities, textile production facilities, waste recycling facilities, wood/plastic factories, paper and printing facilities, etc. that we can group under the title of industrial facilities, have their own different environmental characteristics and challenging operating conditions. Therefore, in the design and installation of the systems to ensure the life safety of people working in such facilities, the environmental characteristics and conditions of these facilities must be taken into account.
In addition to fire detection systems, an audible/light warning system for warning and evacuation purposes, which must be designed in full harmony with these systems, is also located at the center of the life protection systems. The audible warning can be made with sirens as well as with human voice.
When the emergency evacuation of people in the building is concerned, it is very important that the emergency announcement systems meet the criteria specified in the standards. The criteria specified in the standards provide the minimum requirements for the systems to operate uninterruptedly, effectively and in accordance with their purpose in case of emergency. In the relevant articles of the Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings, it is stated in which type of facilities it is mandatory to install emergency announcement systems.
The type of speakers to be used, frequency of placement and operating powers are determined according to the measured ambient sound level. According to the relevant articles of the Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings and the relevant articles of EN54 standard, which is also valid in Turkey, the sound level of the evacuation announcement to be made by using human voice should be at least 10db above the ambient sound level.
Another initial criterion is the determination of the alarm zones. After this point, which can be considered as the beginning of the whole design, the lines, zones, power calculations and central equipment are designed.
One of the most common problems that may be encountered due to the ambient conditions during the application of emergency announcement and voice evacuation systems, which have a very important place in ensuring life safety, is that the audibility and comprehensibility of the announcement made becomes difficult due to the high ambient sound volume. For example, the fact that people in a production area where there are machines operating at a high noise level cannot hear the evacuation announcement due to the ambient noise will cause a serious vulnerability in terms of life safety. In order to prevent this vulnerability, the sound level of the ambient must be known during the design of the emergency announcement system. For this purpose, before the system design, if necessary, a site survey should be made and the ambient noises should be measured, especially under the normal operating conditions during the process of such environments.
Another difficulty in the installation of emergency announcement systems in industrial facilities is the ambient conditions that can adversely affect the operation of the speakers. There is a risk that speakers to be used especially in external environments may be exposed to dust or moisture. In order for these speakers to operate properly without being affected by dust or moisture, care must be taken that the IP protection classes, which are a protection criterion determined by international standards, are suitable for the exposure of the environment to dust, moisture and water.
Environments where explosives are present or where there is a high probability of explosion are also examples of hazardous ambient conditions that may be encountered in the industrial facilities. In such environments, explosion-protected (Ex-proof) speakers should be used and the installation of these speakers should comply with these ambient conditions. When selecting the ex-proof speaker, the speakers with the appropriate protection class should be selected by taking into account the ambient explosive class (Zone-0,1,2 etc.) specified in international standards.
Consequently, when designing, product selection and placement of emergency announcement systems to be installed in the industrial facilities, an approach should be taken to minimize the risks and hazards related to these facilities by having a knowledge of the specific environment and operating characteristics of these facilities together with the principles of the standard application. Ensuring full and complete life safety should be the primary goal of both the enterprise and the contractor, even at the expense of increasing the cost.
Emergency Announcement and Public Address Systems We Install »
Our Complete Building Solutions for Industrial Facilities »
Key Points to Consider in Emergency Announcement System Design and Implementation »
