For this edition of the magazine VENTAS DE SEGURIDAD we bring you a success story advanced by the company Securiton Argentina S.A. in the buildings of the Judicial Power of the Province of Buenos Aires.
by Duván Chaverra
The project developed in one hundred buildings of the Judicial Power of the Province of Buenos Aires, according to Jorge Mereghetti, representative of Securiton Argentina, initially consisted of providing advice to the user on what and which of the detection systems should be applied for each situation. Technical seminars were also held for the staff of the engineering and construction department, and with the entity in charge of the projects, the Ministry of Public Works of this country.
Mereghetti warns that none of the buildings in question had fire detection systems, and there was great concern from the entire security corps of these and the firefighters in each area, this being one of the reasons that drove the development of the project between 2007 and 2010.
In the project, as mentioned by the representative of Securiton Argentina, SecuriPro smart panels, monitoring and control boards with LCD display, high sensitivity smoke detection systems by aspiration, linear temperature detection systems, multi-criteria detectors (smoke and temperature combined in the same head) with Cubus Adaptation technology, systems for protection of SecuriLosch racks, were used. graphical user interface with dual monitor and remote monitoring capability via network, smoke/flame detection through video signal analysis from CCTV cameras.
In summary, as indicated by our guest "a very wide range of technologies and products, which really made each installation a work of art, where each case was treated in a special and very professional way, with an engineering and development department behind that allowed to project each building, each environment and each problem with the appropriate technology in pursuit of a single objective, the protection of people and extremely early warning to all authorities so that they could act as quickly as possible in the event of a declared emergency."
In the same way, explains Jorge Mereghetti, a marked difference with other competitors, is that there are not many that can provide coverage with such a wide and varied range of products and technologies.
"Usually they are all limited to offering Panels and Detectors of the Spot type, but not special systems. Others choose to join several brands of different origin trying to imitate the mono brand model offered by Securiton, but many times it is rejected for lack of experience in special applications, since all they do is try to imitate a product model without having the practical support of the installations made or for being only similar in appearance, but when it is going to deepen the provision only partially complies, "says the representative of the Argentine industry.
Prevention is part of safety
In Argentina there is no regulation regarding fire safety and therefore there are no requirements from the authorities, and it becomes quite difficult to convince the user that there is an imperative need to have electronic detection and early warning systems that can alert these situations that are difficult and dangerous.
In the specific case of the buildings of the Judicial Power of the Province of Buenos Aires, according to Mereghetti "we observe that the Department of Architecture of the Judiciary works very seriously with respect to this issue and take the examples of the central countries from their experiences, from the standards and from the technologies and products that are applied."
He also relates that "it is usual to see that both a small administrative building in some city in the interior has a conventional system according to its size, usually associated in conjunction with the theft detection and alarm system, and also medium or larger buildings where we can find a much more elaborate project".
These systems, as our guest comments, are almost always under European regulations, since they are the ones adopted because they are the most demanding and appropriate for the type of buildings, similar to those found in the old continent.
"There are many coincidences with the American regulations, but the adoption of one of them in the specifications tries to clearly define product qualities and support from serious manufacturers, avoiding that low quality equipment or a mixture of brands and technologies not compatible can appear generating problems of compatibility, of suitability at the time of a technical response, monopolistic and with a lack of local representation," says the representative of the integrating firm with South American headquarters.
Monitoring and integration
On the other hand, with regard to the next stage of the project, which will be the monitoring process, it will be carried out from the Central Palace, in the city of La Plata, where it already works, in the security bunker, the central that attends the more than 1,000 detection and warning points that they have installed.
"The idea is to add the communication servers so that from Securiton's SLS-Pro graphical user management system, which works there, the rest of the buildings in the Province of Buenos Aires can be monitored, some more than 700 kilometers away. It will also be possible then to carry out the audit and control of the maintenance service of each branch, since we will be in line with each and every one of them, "says Jorge Mereghetti.
Notwithstanding the above, our guest explains that there are currently no integration projects with other systems, but the possibility in the future of incorporating some delegations, elements of theft detection taking advantage of the versatility of the SecuriPro panel, which allows the coexistence of these systems.
Satisfaction and efficiency
Regarding the approval achieved after the installation, Mereghetti affirms that the opinions of different sectors, including operators, safety managers of each building, city firefighters and inspectors or construction prosecutors are extremely positive.
Already dealing with the issue of the increase in safety indices, our interlocutor emphasizes that "yes, of course, the safety and tranquility indexes of the client regarding fire risks have increased significantly, the costs in insurance premiums were considerably reduced, a better working environment was generated since employees feel more cared for from the installation of the system and the semi-annual drills that are carried out. in every building."
