The safe production of one million cellulose pulp per year was possible thanks to the sum of state-of-the-art human and technological resources. The experience and knowledge of Notifier's local integrator made it possible to design the largest early fire detection structure in South America.
by Mercedes Sune-Weaver*
A paper production plant can be more combustible than you think. From the time the wood is cut and the cellulose is obtained until the paper is manufactured, a number of chemical processes take place that make paper production a highly complex task. However, making this a safe production in the largest pulp mill in South America was even more complex.
But great challenges always find great people who take them on. That is why, when Marcelo Oronoz, from Genper S.A - Notifier's integrator company in Uruguay - received the call that would embark him on the greatest challenge in his history as an integrator, he knew he could respond to the challenge. As Head of Engineering, he had been in charge of several projects of design and integration of fire detection systems although this one was different.
"Industrial projects always present a slightly greater risk because they interact with slightly more diverse areas," explains Marcelo. "The challenge was to be able to assemble the system in the times when the client needed, that is, to protect between 18 and 20 buildings in a year and a half," he says. The facility was to begin in 2005 and be completed and fully operational in 2007. These times required a company with experience and knowledge to guarantee a fire detection system at the height of the installation.
A demanding system and the right integrator
At that time, Genper S.A had a 10-year career in the security industry of the Uruguayan country. In 2010 it became Prosegur Uruguay and although some years have passed since that experience, it continues to be the most representative in the recent history of Uruguayan electronic security although with a great chance of being surpassed by the new paper plants that arrive in the country. "It was the largest project in Uruguay in recent years and therefore demanded a lot from local suppliers," Marcelo recalls. "There was a shortage of materials and this made it difficult to continue the work," he clarifies.
But the design was even more demanding. Botnia had a pulp mill in Finland, whose fire detection system was to be emulated by the new plant in Río Negro, Uruguay. To achieve this, it appointed a team of Finnish experts to indicate the scope of the new security system. "It was the first time we interacted with foreign technicians," Marcelo recalls. "And for me and the rest of the participants in the team it was very enriching," he says.
One of the first things Marcelo remembers about that process was the need to set up a parallel company. As genper S.A.'s facilities were located in Montevideo and the pulp mill 300 kilometers away, they had to double the operating staff. With the human resources team ready, Marcelo chose the technological resources that would provide the early and appropriate response. At this stage he did not hesitate to opt for Honeywell's Network of Notifier detection and notification centers. "A product that we have known for a long time and with which we feel very comfortable," he says.
Challenges in design
The Botnia plant in Uruguay not only houses the pulp production plant but also a chemical supply plant and another for systems and equipment for paper production. The design of the detection system required a solution appropriate to the nature of each area of the plant that extends over 500 hectares. There are 20 different buildings there: power plants, offices and chemical input plants. In the chemical input plants, systems suitable for areas with the presence of hydrogen had to be installed. "It was an area of engineering development in which we had no experience and it was a product line that we didn't normally handle in commercial applications," explains the integrator.
Areas that work with chemicals have very combustible atmospheres and material. In addition, the products derived from there can be toxic. For this, a gas detection system with notification was designed and the mass notification system is used to send different tones. "Each area of the plant has its importance because it is a series of processes and none can stop working for the overall process," he explains.
Another requirement was to interconnect the entire system through a fiber optic network, an aspect that the Notifier systems managed to solve favorably. Normally the networks are of shorter distances and their installation is done by copper. "The need to command the mass notification from a point far from the plant, it was possible to solve it with the fiber optic interface that Notifier had already developed," says Marcelo.
International standards and state-of-the-art technology
The main objective of the system was early detection. Its design was made based on European standards. The integrating company adapted this design to the American standards that were those that at that time guided the security facilities in Uruguay in the absence of local regulations. A Panel of Notifier's Onyx Line was installed in each building. In the areas of offices, laboratories and warehouses, a group of initiation devices, point detectors, manual initiation devices and water extinguishing devices were installed. And in those areas where no people remain working, the buildings of electrical installations, early detection systems were installed.
One of the client's main requirements, based on his experience in Finland, was the automatic printing of drawings. That is to say that in addition to the system notifying the alarms, the information was received through a text screen and that a plan was printed indicating where the alarm had originated and that in turn sent an SMS to the firefighting brigade. In Finland this system had worked with excellent results and this plant could not be left behind. "I think we improved what they had in Filandia because of the quality of the print," Marcelo explains.
SIC had to make its own technological development to make this possible but would not have achieved it if it were not for the fact that it had Notifier. "This platform allows you to send signals in a universal language for the system that was installed," Marcelo recalls. And this was just the beginning of a great long-term relationship between integrator and customer. "We have done processes of updating operating systems and components and as a policy our company has to keep customers updated with the latest software and hardware installations, free of charge, as Honeywell policy," he explains.
At the time, this project positioned Genper S.A as a company in the security sector capable of carrying out important technological challenges. "We faced a project of this magnitude with the established guidelines and although I understand that currently in the country there are some projects of the same size, from this project I learned a lot," he concludes. We save lives, we protect vital processes, we safeguard investments.
* Mercedes Sune-Weaver is International Communications Manager of Honeywell Fire Systems America's, if you want to contact her you can write to the electronic coreo [email protected]
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