Fear of fire: Part 3

In this month’s feature I am going to cover all the benefits installers can experience if they include fire in their portfolio – the added revenue opportunities, how to give clients a fuller service, quoting for higher value fire business, and how to change from a basic SME to a major business.

That also means looking at the legislation that will drive the fire industry and create opportunities for bonafide fire installers/maintenance companies, along with joint initiatives to help you grow your business.

Over the last two features we have already answered all the likely questions which give installers cause to have a "Fear of Fire".

We have also looked at the training and the support available, testimonies from companies that have made "the jump", and a course of actions required to start you on the road to success within the fire market. Let's now set the scene for extra business by unpacking the requirements.

Q: What British Standards will I require to enable me to install/maintain fire alarms?

A: BS 5839-1:2002 (amended 1) and BS 5839-6:2004. I would suggest that you start by purchasing copies of each of these Codes of Practice, the first for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings, and the second for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings used as dwellings.

The BFPSA training seminars (detailed in Part 2, March 2005 edition) are based around these standards and these are the two reference copies you will use, although, as your skills and knowledge of the industry grows, you will probably come across systems and installations requiring more specialist equipment that is covered by other relevant British Standards.

In my opinion one of the best things to happen in the fire industry was the issuing of BS 5839-1:2002 (now amended Dec 2004), which superseded BS 5839-1:1988.

The new (revised) standard covers ownership (responsibility) for certification of design, installation, commissioning, hand-over and maintenance of a fire alarm detection system.

It also covers sighting of detectors, manual call points and sounders plus sound levels, and two types of fire resistant cable: standard (PH30) and enhanced (PH120), and where in a system they should be used.

Perhaps one of the most important parts is Section 3 on the limitation of false alarms. The responsibility of monitoring and reducing false alarms lies with the designer, installing company and/or the person responsible for the building/system.

To help reduce false alarms, the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) has issued a policy document that comes into force on April 1 2005.

"Reducing False Alarms – Reduction through Partnership" has been developed by the CFOA with the assistance of the British Fire Protection Systems Association (BFPSA) and the British Security Industry Association (BSIA).

This new policy is concerned with false alarms that are received from remotely monitored fire alarm systems.

The policy clarifies the relationship between those responsible for the protected premises, the alarm receiving centres (ARCs) and the Fire and Rescue Service (F&RS).

False alarms out of control

Like false alarms in the security industry, false alarms of fire alarm detection systems are spiralling out of control, and the impact of these false alarms on commerce and industry is significant in terms of disruption to production and lost time.

The rising number of false alarms have a great impact on the F&RS in responding to these calls, resulting in lost time and finance.

Like false alarms in the security industry, false alarms of fire alarm detection systems are spiralling out of control

It is estimated that up to 98 per cent of the responses made by the F&RS require no fire fighting action at the scene.

The number one aim of the policy is to issue URNs to RMFA systems to reduce the number of false alarms generated by requiring RMFAS to be designed, installed, commissioned and maintained to appropriate high standards.

The policy will be implemented over the next three years, and the CFOA positively promotes third party certification schemes as a means of demonstrating competence.

The law will place the onus on the individuals or organisations not covered by recognised approval schemes to demonstrate competence.

The Chief Fire Officers Association is committed to assisting and supporting users of fire protection products and systems to meet their duty of care responsibilities, by encouraging such users to use only registered companies whose competence and processes have been independently assessed by a participating third party certification body.

BAFE, NSI and SSAIB are all UKAS accredited third party certification bodies.

Q: How will legislation help grow my business?

A: Legislation is good for the industry and will benefit the companies working in the industry that encompass it. It will create greater opportunities for installation and maintenance in an ever-growing market in which a large proportion of existing companies are not geared up to work within the new legislation and will not apply for approvals. This will lead to a smaller base of installation /maintenance companies.

Q: Where are the added revenue opportunities for my business with installation, service & maintenance?

A: Firstly, I'll deal with installations. With training comes confidence in the knowledge of fire detection and fire alarm systems.

This, in turn, will allow you to sell and install profitably quality systems to BS 5839, thereby growing your turnover. In most cases quoting for a new installation of a fire detection alarm system on a site will also require emergency lighting, portable fire extinguishers or induction loops to meet DDA requirements … thereby turning the opportunity into a bigger sale.

Secondly, added revenue will come with servicing and maintenance. BS 5839-1:2002 Section 6:45 on inspection and servicing states it is essential that the system is subject to periodic inspection and servicing so that unrevealed faults are identified, and preventative measures can be taken to ensure the continued reliability of the system. This creates "recurring revenue" from maintenance contracts.

When servicing existing fire alarms, where possible bring them up to BS 5839, thus bringing in "revenue". Even if they are not up to the new BS 5839 they must be maintained to the new standard and a maintenance agreement should be in-place.

Thirdly, "extra recurring revenue" will come from multi-discipline service and maintenance contracts.

Inevitably, when you get involved in service and maintenance of a fire detection alarm system there will be opportunities to sign your client/customer up to a maintenance contract for emergency lighting, portable extinguishers, induction loops and so on.

Multi-tasking service/maintenance staff is the most cost effective way to run your business. It offers your customers and prospective customers the opportunity of a one-stop solution to maintenance and servicing, it can be carried out in one appointment, saving the customer the need to book several maintenance visits, and it also brings multi-recurring revenue streams from service and maintenance contracts.

Q: What other opportunities are there for me in the fire industry to grow my business?

‘Extra recurring’ revenue comes from maintenance contracts for emergency lighting, portable extinguishers, induction loops

A: "Firestu.com", for one. Working in partnership, BT redcare and Gardiner Security launched a joint initiative in October last year to help companies grow recurring revenue from their existing customer base with bells-only fire detection alarm systems (FDAS).

BT redcare will sign you up to a Working in Partnership programme and will target your customer base to convert them from bells-only to a BT redcare monitored system, thereby increasing your recurring revenue from monitored systems.

Gardiner Security produced “Firestu.com” to BT redcare's specification. It is a boxed 3-pin 24Volt Stu with a 1 amp 24Volt power supply (redcare ready) and can be used on existing and new fire detection and alarm systems.

It is a fact that less than ten per cent of all existing FDAS are monitored ... that leaves more than 90 per cent of fire detection and alarm systems to be converted to "Firestu.com"!

Recurring revenue opportunity

This is a golden opportunity for you to increase recurring revenue from monitored systems.

The average recurring revenue per monitored system per annum is £300 – plus the cost of the equipment. Therefore, if you install one per week x 4 per month x 12 months, that amounts to:

£14,400 in the first year, £18,800 in the second, £43,200 in the third and so on ...

The average life of a stu contract is seven years. Contact your local Regional Fire Sales Manager for more details of the "Firestu.com" Working in Partnership Initiative.

I think it is true to say that a monitored system is a managed system, and becomes a key tool in eliminating or reducing false alarms.

Reduce false alarms

Gardiner Security has also joined forces with Apollo Fire Detectors to launch a 'Reduce False (unwanted) Alarms by Choice' initiative.

Apollo is the UK's No 1 manufacturing company of fire detectors, with both a conventional and analogue addressable range of intelligent detectors, designed to compensate for environment changes and harsh environments, which eliminate or reduce false alarms.

So, that concludes this three part look at the sheer size of the fire sector the untapped revenue waiting for security installers in the fire market.

With the training, support and products available, all it really needs is for companies who seriously want to grow their business to truly recognise the opportunities on offer to them ... and to go for it!

Good luck – Gardiner Security will be right behind you, helping you make this important step in any way we can.