Safety first for all creatures great and small

~ Director of industrial fire and gas safety company becomes a minor media star after rescuing an angry swan from the busy M4 ~

Industrial Design’s Mike Fikuart was driving to work on the busy M4 motorway last month when his journey came to an abrupt standstill. A swan had made its way onto the road and taken up residence, refusing to move and adding to the already congested traffic. Little did Fikuart know that his actions that morning would be the cause of fifteen minutes of fame when he stepped in to help; safely guiding the swan off the motorway! 

Mike Fikuart takes matters into his own hands and clears traffic

As the traffic crawled past junction three at Hayes, west London, and the bird strolled gracefully along enjoying the sunny weather, Fikuart waited in his car like all the other commuters. After pausing on the middle lane, the swan extended its wings to slow the approach of an oncoming lorry.

Fikuart then decided to take matters into his own hands and help the poor creature off the road. He got out and escorted the confused bird across the hard shoulder to safety. As he did so, a freelance photographer snapped him in action and later sold the photos to the Daily Mail, Metro and several local papers who all later published the story.

“The M4 seems to be the place where I spend most of my time,” joked Fikuart. “I was fed up waiting and decided to do something. I was in a rush to get to a meeting and I feared for the swan’s safety; it looked very confused and scared because of all the noise and commotion around it,” concluded Fikuart.

The swan went down the bank to the quiet seclusion of the Grand Union Canal Way in search of a more ‘bird-friendly’ habitat.

Following health and safety procedures until the end

Thinking outside of the [alarm] box

~ Industrial Design demonstrates the benefits of flexibility and customer understanding at Oxford based children’s and young adults’ hospice ~

When branding experts sit down to decide what attributes they want to associate with a company, it’s a cliché that flexibility is regarded as a must-have. This is particularly true for the fire and gas detection sector; where a project often has to be completed without interfering with a rigid customer schedule. However, flexibility has never come further to the fore than when Oxford based children’s and young adults’ hospice houses Helen & Douglas House addressed chlorine gas detection in its Jacuzzi suites. Here, Mike Fikuart of gas and fire protection specialist Industrial Design outlines the challenges his company overcame to help protect the children and young adults at Helen & Douglas House from harmful gas emissions. 

Opened in November 1982, by Sister Frances Dominica, Helen House was the world's first children's hospice.  The charity grew out of the need for respite care and support for children with life-shortening conditions. It was set up to help families cope with their situation by providing occasional respite care. The hospice was modeled on a home environment and everything from the surroundings to the staff’s approach is tailored to the children’s individual needs.

Douglas House, the world's first hospice specifically for young adults aged 16-35, opened  in February 2004. It provides a young person with the time to do the things they enjoy with the support of the nursing and care teams.

The two hospices offer specialist symptom and pain management, medically-supported short breaks and end-of-life care, as well as counseling and practical support for the whole family.

Part of the care Helen & Douglas house’s young visitors are provided with includes physiotherapy and water relaxation treatments. For this reason, there are two Jacuzzi rooms on the premises, with one located in each building. As part of a risk assessment of the facilities, Deric Miles, the head of estates at the hospices, identified the need for additional gas protection in the two rooms.

The automated dosing system for maintaining the PH levels in the two therapy Jacuzzis uses two types of chemicals: sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydrogen sulphate. When they come into contact, the two substances release chlorine gas, which is toxic and highly irritant for the respiratory system. Additionally, chlorine gas is a strong oxidizer, which may react with flammable materials.

Recognising the harmful potential of the substance, Miles decided to have an early warning gas detection system fitted.  He enlisted Oxford based Industrial Design to come up with a system suitable for the two Jacuzzis. The company produced a design incorporating Crowcon gas detectors, a Crowcon Gasmaster control panel and alarm system into a custom made application to suit the hospice’s needs.

Crowcon Detection Instruments manufactures a range of portable and fixed gas detection products. Mike Curtis, fixed systems area-sales manager at the company describes the relationship with Industrial Design; “As a company, Industrial Design is very easy to work with and very approachable. As well as commercial applications like Helen & Douglas House, they do a lot of work in the oil and gas industry and I've even spoken to the MD when he's been sat on a sand dune in a dessert. For me this illustrates the flexibility of the company. We speak the same language."

Due to the fact that because of their conditions many of the hospice’s  young visitors are sensitive to noise, Industrial Design had to be very adaptable in terms of when they completed their initial risk assessment.

This sensitivity to noise also led to an interesting re-design later in the project.

The initial version of the application used traditional audible alarms as well as visual beacons. This was agreed on by both parties but after the first installation, Miles observed that it would have been better to have a primary visual alarm, followed by an audible alarm later.

“We are genuinely grateful that Industrial Design could change the project mid-way through to meet our needs,” recalled Miles. “The hardware they installed initially had to be re-assessed so that the beacon would show before the siren rings. Moreover, they did it at no extra charge, which was a pleasant surprise.

“What we needed was more than just the fitting of a new piece of equipment. The stay our guests have with us gives them and their carers the chance to have a break from the routine. The young people here feel very much at home and many of them are active through the night. This is why the facilities have to remain open 24/7, and outside disruptions must be kept to a minimum.”

“Industrial Design took this into account when commissioning the application. The visual indicator helps keep the facilities quiet and minimises distress and panic otherwise induced by penetrating and sharp sounds.”

“Industrial Design should be commended for the level of customer service they offer. Nothing was too much trouble for them and they kindly agreed to complete to project in stages, as and when it was convenient for the guests and staff. We would definitely work with them again,” concluded Miles.

The installation of the system was conducted by Helen &Douglas House’s preferred contractor, SES Electrical, based in Oxford. “The team at SES proved to be not only very knowledgeable, but also very understanding of the delicate situation we have here,” explained Miles. “If a contractor is not flexible enough, then we’d rather go somewhere else. We won’t risk exposing our Guests to stress caused by noise and strangers. Everything has to be done as discreetly as possible,” he concluded.

“The project posed a series of challenges we rarely encounter,” explained James Ward, Technical Director at Industrial Design. “Nevertheless, finding the best solution to suit every client’s needs is the key to completing a successful application. The only way to do that is to remain receptive and listen to what the end user wants and that’s what we did here.

“When faced with a delicate situation, one must remain flexible and adaptable. Working for this unique children’s charity has been great experience for Industrial Design, and we are really pleased with the results,” finished Ward.

While flexibility is such a commonly touted unique selling point it has become something of a cliché, it seems that there are multiple levels of flexibility. There is the level that branding experts talk about and there is a deeper level, the value of which Industrial Design proved at Helen & Douglas House.

When mission critical truly means mission critical

Most suppliers to the oil and gas industry will claim to offer a ‘mission critical’ service. But very few can back that claim up in the same way that fire control systems business Industrial Design can. The company provides fire and gas detection, suppression and emergency shutdown systems to companies across the globe. And, given that nothing can shutdown a facility quicker than the merest hint of flame, it’s clear what mission critical really means in the oil and gas industry. Quite apart from the devastation that could be caused by a serious fire or the accidental release of gas, the cost of the downtime created by a minor incident or false alert can be heart stopping.  

"Going the extra mile: Industrial Design boasts extensive global experience. To date, the company has developed a strong position on the international market in eleven countries, notably Africa and Europe. With a total of 75 successful projects to date, Industrial Design has built a reputation in the sector as being highly adaptable to new environments. The company’s senior management team makes around 25 trips worldwide every year, totalling 75,361 Km of international travel, which is no mean feat for the Oxfordshire based fire and gas protection specialist."

Unlike many suppliers in their industry, Industrial Design doesn’t manufacture and sell gas detectors. Instead, it supplies those produced by companies such as Draeger and Crowcon. This means that the customer is provided with an independent view of the best equipment for their needs. This independent view is maintained right down to the electromechanical control equipment in a panel, where Industrial Design continues to maintain an independent supply chain.

The company would argue that its capability is in the dynamic supply, design and installation of fire and gas protection systems. Industrial Design believes that safety comes down to decision making in the design process.  That is reflected in the action the system takes as a response to stimuli. Decisions like whether to use beacons, remote sounders or local sounders, when gas is detected and whether these should prompt evacuation or plant shut down are where the company’s expertise lies.

Industrial Design understands the true meaning of 'mission critical' 

“We wouldn’t dictate the procedure,” explains managing director Mike Fikuart. “There are established guidelines that tell you what has to happen in different circumstances. But we can help our clients navigate their way through these guidelines to find the safe and compliant response. For instance, in the event of an uncontrolled release of flammable gas, one has to stop the gas from igniting. This sounds obvious, but you have to consider air conditioning shut down and the shutdown of the intakes into anything with a source of ignition, such as a motor?”

One also needs to consider the build up of other gases, such as carbon dioxide and similar gases that can become toxic when they reach hazardous levels. One needs to be very certain of exposure levels.”

In most cases a gas detection system is integrated with a fire safety system. For instance, at the end user level, most public buildings with a licence to serve alcohol store that alcohol in a cellar. Because of the carbon dioxide stored for use in the pumps, a system to detect leakage is required. As a result, in such cases Industrial Design tends to recommend equipment that can detect carbon dioxide or a lack of oxygen in the air and raise an alert without necessarily linking that alert to a fire.

Despite the fundamental principles of accidental-release gas detection being common to those of gas monitoring for process control, Fikuart believes it not to be a specialised art. “These are elementary calculations but at the same time it’s very different from gas detection for engineering,” he explains. “

Many of the projects Industrial Design is involved with are refurbishments and changes to existing systems. However, the company finds that new projects, while not as common, are an opportunity to bring a different skill-set to bear. “One of the reasons clients choose us is the concentration of industry knowledge within the company,” explains Fikuart. “We have a very broad base of experience and that means we can apply skills developed in one set of circumstances in another context. This can be reflected in the design and installation of a system or in the training, expertise and guidance that can go hand in hand with that process.”

Industrial Design provides fire and gas detection systems for oil & gas sector

Fikuart continues, “The future looks very positive at the moment because, on a local level, the UK energy sector is moving towards a greater dependence on imported gas in the short term globally, countries are going to have to be less reliant on coal. This means that, even though it’s not a long term solution, the next two or three decades will see an increase in the use of gas for energy.

For us this is a positive set of circumstances because gas and fire detection is synonymous with the oil and gas sector,” explains Fikuart. “We grew up around this industry so its second nature to us.”

Industrial Design is clearly a company that understands what is at stake in the oil and gas sector; it’s very rare to find them using the phrase ‘mission critical’ lightly.