Fire protection solution in the right location

SWAROVSKI OPTIK specializes in the development and production of binoculars, scopes, telescopes and optronic devices. These are sent from the central warehouse in Absam to demanding users in the three target groups hunting, bird watching and outdoor. In order to boost throughput and productivity, relieve employees and meet their own high innovation standards, optical precision instruments will be transported fully automatically from storage to picking and manufacturing in the future.  The special thing about the manufacturer's warehouse: The work processes are vertically structured and take place at different levels. The AutoStore grid was installed on the roof of the hall in a newly built structure. The order is picked at 6 swing ports on the ground floor, just under 8 meters below the AutoStore. That was when Swarovski Optik brought Siemens' experts on board. “We have already worked successfully with Swarovski Optik, in particular in the areas of fire protection, video surveillance, access systems and control center technology,” says Christoph Dibona, Siemens sales representative.

Dual fire protection lasts longe
rSiemens has installed a total of six smoke extraction systems for smoke detection on the ceiling of the new storage area. “Automatic fire fighting takes place as soon as at least two of these detectors detect a source of fire,” explains Dibona, stressing that this new system has of course also been integrated into the existing fire alarm system, which, like all other systems, is operated and monitored with WinGuard SiControl X4. The fire itself is extinguished using nitrogen in record time in order to nip the spread of an incipient fire in the bud. The Siemens Sinorix NXN gas extinguishing system ensures this. At Swarovski Optik, this consists of a total of 96 extinguishing agent containers using 300-bar technology, each with a container volume of 140 liters. The number of containers alone illustrates the dimension of the extinguishing system. “The redundancy of the gas extinguishing system was extremely important for our customer,” reports Christoph Dibona. Since all 96 extinguishing agent containers are activated during an extinguishing process, there would be no efficient fire protection until the refilled containers were restored. However, due to the circumstances, dismantling, refilling and installing the containers may take a few days — ultimately not in satisfactory condition. To fill this gap, the experts from Siemens installed a complete second backup system with a further 96 extinguishing agent containers, which ensures the warehouse is protected during this time — thus ensuring maximum safety. The fire alarm and extinguishing system is completed by optical or handheld fire detectors, acoustic and visual alarm and information systems and several extinguishing control panels. 

The information from all these components is collected in the proven FS-20 fire alarm control panel from Siemens. The Siemens expert points out another important point: “The nitrogen contained in the extinguishing agent containers could pose a risk in the operating room in the event of an unintentional leak, which is why we have installed permanent leak monitoring. ”

A secure investment for the future T
he Siemens specialists demonstrated flexibility during the construction of the new warehouse area, because the fire alarm and extinguishing system could only be brought into and installed in the new building during a specific, precisely defined time frame. The fact that Siemens is able to respond precisely to individual needs and requirements is a major advantage and guarantees a planned timeline. “Another huge plus for our customer was that all of our systems could be seamlessly integrated into Swarovski Optik's existing building management system,” says Christoph Dibona. “Isolated solutions or parallel systems are thus avoided, and operation and service are simple and efficient.” The motto “everything from a single source” is lived here. And the maintenance contract guarantees reliable operation and investment security for the future.