Based in the Nigerian city of Lagos, Mouka Limited makes branded mattresses and foam-based products such as duvets. Due to the highly flammable nature of foam and polyurethane materials, fire safety at factories is a prime concern. However, when Mouka was looking for a solution that detects fire and smoke in less than 30 seconds – before fire can spread and potentially harm employees – if felt the market had nothing to offer. The reason: common point-type detectors, detecting smoke particles in the air, rely on smoke particles to rise, which can take several minutes – especially when detectors are mounted on high warehouse ceilings.
Bosch offers AVIOTEC, a VdS-certified product for visual fire monitoring detecting smoke and flames at the source, which is the product firm says much faster than common point-type detectors. Software inside each device analyses the video images for visual patterns associated with fires like specific motion and shape characteristics or colour changes. When connected to IP-based video management solutions the video images provide additional information such as for alarm verification or localisation of the fire. AVIOTEC was much closer to insurer requirements than any other solution on the market, Bosch reports.
Working with the three Mouka Limited factories in Lagos, Benin and Kaduna, Bosch provided 34 AVIOTEC devices for video-based fire detection, alarm sounders, strobes and a third-party sprinkler system, all connected to a Bosch addressable Fire Panel 1200 Series.
With its ability to detect flame and smoke at a very early stage, the Bosch video-based fire detection system shortens alarm response times and thereby minimises the risk of potential damage to equipment and product inventories. And analysis of video images of a fire allows for root cause analysis after an incident. That the system offers fire detection has been appreciated by the insurance provider setting the insurance premium for Mouka facilities.
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