The rise of smart buildings and the need for powerful and sophisticated fire detection systems

Smart buildings are on the rise. Using integrated technology systems, these intelligent structures can control and automate procedures and processes as well as gather data to improve energy efficiency, air ventilation and enhance employee experience through the application of the ‘Internet of Things’. For example, in a smart building used for commercial purposes, there might be a level of connectivity of intelligent networks, powered by software and interfaces that can set and adjust the temperature depending on the number of people in the building. Or in the case of the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea skyrocket employees to the 121st floor in just one minute. Some, however, have gone one step further, for example Denmark's capital Copenhagen has recently been ranked as one of the top 5 smart cities in the world.

Linked to these modern buildings, however, there is also the complex responsibility of protecting the people who use them and the technology inside them. In this article we explore what has driven the rise of the smart building, how they are protected by the integration of fire safety systems into smart buildings and the key considerations when selecting a building life safety system.

Why are we seeing a rise in Smart Buildings?

According to Fortune Business insights report, titled “Smart Building Market”, globally the smart building market is set to grow at CAGR of 12.6% between now and 2026, with efforts to reduce carbon footprint, improve user experience and ‘ease of use’ being cited as being the main drivers.

Smart buildings can take all manner of forms, from mega data centres which power our love of on demand TV and social media, to huge distribution centres that deliver our obsession with online shopping. Beyond this there are luxury hotels and apartments, super hospitals using the latest AI to care for patients, as well as sophisticated office blocks, such as the Crystal Building in London, which uses a building management system (BMS) to track every kilowatt of electricity consumed. The new Microsoft 18,000 square metre office in Lyngby, near Copenhagen, makes uses the “natural rhythm of the day” to improve the energy efficiency of the building and comfort levels for those working inside.

Mega malls like the Siam Paragon in Bangkok which is home to culture, cuisine and entertainment and sees thousands of consumers visit daily, to smart sports stadiums such as Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in the USA, which boasts an interactive 63,000-square feet, 360-degree HD video screen that goes around the entire top section of the arena. Smart buildings do not have to be mega buildings either, they can be smaller but equally sophisticated structures, for example cultural centres such as museums and commercial buildings such as car show rooms. As technology continues to develop at a rapid rate, we are seeing every aspect of our lives become more intelligent, and so it is only natural that the buildings we move in and out of become smart too.

As the number of smart buildings increase so too does the need to protect them from fire related events. For a smart building to operate safely it requires a life safety system that is smarter than all the other technology put together. A fire safety system within an intelligent building must be user friendly and simple to operate but also interface with every device and function in the building in an emergency, ensuring the people inside can escape quickly and safely and that important cultural items and modern technology such as server rooms can be protected.

The importance of research and development of life safety systems

Technology develops at a rapid rate, and that is driven by the companies who are listening to their customers. These companies are taking that insight and feeding it back into their technology teams, that ‘almost’ perfect relationship between business and customer is the catalyst for improvement.

Investing in Research & Development (R&D) is important for businesses because it provides powerful knowledge and insights, leading to improvements to existing processes where efficiency can be increased, and costs reduced. It also allows businesses to develop new products and services to allow it to survive and thrive in competitive markets.

A great example of a piece of smart technology which is constantly being updated and improved is the iPhone from Apple. Anyone who owns one of these smart devices will be familiar with the software updates that are required from time to time, fixing bugs and improving the user experience and general operation of the phone itself. It is, and should be, the same for life safety equipment manufacturers.

When choosing a new life safety system, building management teams should be looking to work with system integrators and manufacturers who listen to and act on feedback from customers, and most importantly who then invest time and money in their R&D department. This is what drives innovation and ongoing improvements. These are the fire safety designers who will be challenging themselves to use the latest and most advanced methods in the market. When people's lives, building contents and data are at risk no compromise should be made when it comes to investment into the research and development of smart life safety technology.

In an emergency, simple user experience is vital

If you build something that is easy to use and handle, more people will use it. A product gains popularity not only by the way it works but also through the look and feel and whether that experience is a good or bad one.

Products with a good user interface give businesses a competitive edge in a constantly growing world where companies are starting to realise the importance of good user experience. As a result, these companies are creating solutions that are functional and elegant while enhancing people’s everyday lives. Or in the case of life safety equipment saving lives.

When we think of what makes a good user interface, we might think of how it looks. Visuals make software and hardware approachable as they bridge functionality and aesthetics. For a fire indication system this ensures better user experience because it makes inherently hard to understand tasks accessible and “easy”.

A good piece of design shouldn’t need to be explained, it should feel instinctive, straightforward, and simple to use. There is nothing more frustrating than when technology lets you down or the tasks you are trying to complete are over complicated. Now throw in an emergency, where every second counts, and that frustration suddenly becomes life threatening. Therefore, installing a life safety system that has an easy to operate user interface is vital.

A great example of this is the latest life safety system from Hochiki. Combining the very latest in hardware and software L@titude is a powerful control and indication system which is sophisticated enough to operate anywhere in the world, in multiple languages, across all manner of buildings. From small office blocks to skyscrapers filled with thousands of office workers, apartment blocks and entertainment venues, cultural and commercial spaces as well as manufacturing warehouses and logistics hubs. The system has been designed to be simple to configure and easy to use by anyone, utilising touchscreen technology with a graphical user interface to help display vital information.

The system you choose to integrate in your smart building needs to not only be simple to install for trained experts such as fire engineers, but also easy for non-experts to operate. It may sound obvious, but many manufacturers overlook this, and over complicate something that in an emergency needs to be as simple as possible to understand and operate effectively.

Fire detection systems that are scalable to meet demand

Buildings need to meet the demand of the services they are required for in the short-term, as well as being flexible enough to accommodate building improvements, additions or renovations that may be required in the long-term. This means that any smart system installed must be future proof; choosing a life safety system that has this in mind is a key consideration for building management teams.

Systems which use ‘plug and play’ modular components will provide a more flexible design - allowing your life safety system to “grow” with the building. Having the ability to control thousands of different systems such as magnetic fire doors holders, lifts, lighting, and air conditioning units, a modular design enables your fire systems installer to design a fire detection system which is unique to your building and the way it is used.

For example, within a mega logistics hub (the biggest in the UK is over 700 acres) you may need to consider how you scale the life safety system to accommodate site size, levels of admin access and the number of teams who need that access. Your building safety team may look after the main system panels in a central control centre, but is there a requirement for repeater panels at various stations at the various departments and satellite buildings? Important considerations which mean the system must be networked to monitor the responses from a multitude of life safety equipment across the entire site which can spread across hundreds of acres.

For the safe and efficient operation of any business it’s incredibly important to consider how your life safety system will scale to meet the demands of the building(s) it is protecting.

For smart building designers and building security managers it is imperative to employ fire and security installation firms who work with forward thinking manufacturers of fire detection systems. Consider the ones who invest in their research and development teams, listen to their customers, and use that valuable insight to make improvements, are flexible to meet your building requirements and perhaps most importantly, design fire detection systems that are simple to operate.

In an ever demanding and changing world where we expect the buildings we live, work, and play in to meet our every desire in an instant, the life safety systems in situ must be ready to save us in an instant too.

Learn more about Hochiki Europe’s sophisticated life safety platform L@titude, newly launched and fully DBI approved, by watching the Jardine Motors Group customer story to understand how it could work for your building.