Fire Protection Contractors and Building Owners Drive Inspection, Testing and Maintenance Compliance with IoT
Code driven fire system inspections are a crucial part of maintaining compliance for businesses. It’s not every building owner’s favorite topic, but having confidence that their contractors are testing every device on their property cements a bond between the two organizations that is hard to break. Although inspections are time consuming and inevitably disrupt day to day operations, there are new tools available for fire protection contractors that provide transparency across the entire process.
The industry has seen a flood of inspection, test and maintenance software providers that help contractors and building owners organize their operations. The days of three-part forms are ending (hopefully) and the next era of documentation is upon us. However, these advanced platforms still require manual entry.
After a team of technicians complete their visual and functional tests of all system devices, they must then take all of the information from the inspection and enter it into one of these platforms. This can not only be time consuming, but commonly result in human error due to the manual interpretation of events. IoT enabled collection and processing tools provide the missing link between the fire protection contractor inspection process and the ITM platforms.
With IoT fire technology, contractors and building owners can use automation to perform a variety of tasks, such as data processing, filtering, and analysis, as well as managing device communication. An IoT device can be installed on a fire panel to record all verification signals during routine inspections. This data can then be transmitted to the edge gateway, which can analyze and report on it in real-time. By automating this task with an IoT device, contractors can save time and reduce the risk of entry error that comes with manual entry.The real-time reporting capabilities of an edge gateway can improve communication and collaboration among contractors and building owners when emergency service is needed at their location. By transmitting data to the cloud, stakeholders can access inspection reports and deficiencies in real-time, allowing for quick and informed decision-making.
The implementation of an edge gateway and IoT device can provide significant efficiency gains for fire protection contractors and improve confidence for business owners. By automating the data collection and analysis process, contractors can save time, reduce errors, and improve communication and collaboration with stakeholders while providing next level verification that their customers have received the best service available. The real-time reporting and data analysis capabilities lead to increased safety, reduced maintenance costs, and improved code compliance. As technology continues to advance, we can expect to see more innovative solutions like these that help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fire protection systems.