It has been proven that people respond better to clear instructions about how to proceed in an emergency. This is where the new developments in voice alarm systems come in – instead of a universal siren or bell, the alarm can be tailored to specific situations.
Many voice alarm systems now allow the building manager to indicate whether the sound issued to occupants is a call to evacuate, a warning to stand by, or simply an alarm test. This is making their use more popular.
Sounding off
Various companies are now developing different elements of voice alarm systems. Ranging from whole control systems to public address system extensions and voice sounders, the technology provides a variety of ways that messages can be delivered in an emergency.
The Millbank JustiFire is one such alarm system. Designed to form part of a BS 5839-8 (BS EN 60 849) compliant system, this single channel, four-zone voice alarm and evacuation system is particularly suited to smaller office blocks, warehouses, factories or retail units.
The product can take up to four input channels and feed to four different zones. Each input triggers a digital stored voice message up to 40 s long.
Jean-Philippe Duvillard, brand manager at Millbank JustiFire manufacturer Federal Signal, explains: "In the past all fire alarm systems had bells and sirens. This doesn't give an indication of the nature of the danger. Then people started to connect the fire alarm system with the public address system to tell all those in the building what was happening." It is from this notion of providing clearer information that the Millbank JustiFire product was developed.
Duvillard says that the principle behind the system is quite a simple one. "There is now a British Standard for voice alarm systems. The JustiFire is basically a public address system designed to comply with all British Standards. When you have a fire somewhere you press one button on the fire panel to tell the unit to send a message to all the loudspeakers in the building."
Operating in a similar vein is the Voice Alarm 4 Max by Ampekko, part of its Running Man range. This is a control centre that fits together with other manufacturers' products to create a unified bespoke system.
Neil Voce, sales engineer for Ampekko says that the company sees itself as providing the central nerve centre for the fire alarm system. "Our input into the voice alarm side is to get the control working. A lot of intelligent installers like to choose their own selection of items from different brands. You can use [the 4 Max] with whatever brands of amplifiers you want."
Voce is certain that voice alarm systems have significant advantages over traditional sirens or bells: "Say for example you had a small fire by one entrance and you wanted to keep people away from that entrance. If you use the voice alarm you could say: 'Leave by the west entrance not by the east entrance'. It is intelligent and it enables you to bring what you really want people to do to bear."
Installation issues
How will this changeover of systems affect the skills needed by electrical contractors? One might think that only specially qualified people can fit this kind of system. Not necessarily so, says Voce: "We do have engineers that can attend and assist with specific commissioning problems, but they're designed with the idea of being pretty straightforward to fit. Customers are more interested if the contractor they know and use can do it."
Using systems like the JustiFire and 4 Max is one way of getting spoken messages onto a fire alarm system. Another way is the use of a voice sounder. The Fire-Cryer, manufactured by Vimpex, is one such product.
Unlike the controller systems, installation of the Fire-Cryer can be as simple as removing the existing alarm bell or sounder and replacing it with the new unit. This will provide a single voice message in the event of a fire. The system is also available as a multi-message device – this is only marginally more complicated, involving the installation of an interface – to provide four different messages depending on the situation, including foreign language options.
Vivian Jones, managing director of Vimpex, reiterates the idea that voice alarms are more effective than traditional sirens. "People ignore bells and sirens and are confused by them, but it's quite clear what the Fire-Cryer signal is. It emits an attention-giving signal and then gives a short verbal message. That verbal message could be a coded message that would alert members of staff only or a general alert."
Jones is confident that the product will appeal to m&e contractors: "The advantage of the Fire-Cryer is that it can be retrofitted. An electrical contractor capable of fitting an existing alarm bell or fire alarm could fit it easily."
The awareness of voice alarm technology has certainly been growing over the past few years. While perhaps not everyone understands the intricacies of each individual system, most can grasp the basic principles of how they work.
It's not just a case of the m&e contractors understanding the systems though, customers need to be made more aware of the different options available to them. Duvillard believes that although they may have been slow to take off initially, the market for voice alarm systems is certainly likely to grow over the next few years. "Voice alarms were a niche market at the beginning because people were not aware of the advantages of the system. We think that insurance companies will start putting more pressure on businesses in the future to get voice alarms," he predicts.
With products in the voice alarm market developing all the time, it seems that the interest in these products is unlikely to wane for some time. Their application in public buildings, where occupants and visitors can be given clear instructions about how to proceed when an alarm sounds, are clearly worth looking into.
The relative ease with which voice alarms can be combined with standard public address systems or existing fire alarm systems is another feature that tips the balance in their favour. As Voce points out: "With voice alarms customers get the best of both worlds."
Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
