In Sudan, a cement making factory has recently undergone a significant expansion that will allow the plant to increase its production capacity. As part of the upgrade, the factory was fitted with a variety of life safety products from the manufacturer, Hochiki Europe, to safeguard people at the plant, and combat hazards.
Sudan is well placed to make Portland cement – the most common type, because of the abundance of raw materials such as limestone, a key ingredient in the manufacture and one of the north African country’s natural resources. To meet the construction sector demand for the product, the cement plant outside of Berber was re-developed.
The plant is home to machinery which can increase risk of hazards; hence, a Hochiki addressable system was installed. The HFP system is described by the manufacturer as a complete life safety system which incorporated a range of control panels, extinguishant panels, smoke sensors, call points, heat sensors and speakers – covering all of the plant’s fire detection requirements.
The range is fully compliant to world-recognised standards and includes a chamber which allows for adjustable sensitivity settings, reducing the likelihood of false alarms and any unnecessary ceasing of production.
Derek Waddell, Technical Sales Manager at Hochiki Europe said: “In sites like the Berber cement factory it is extremely important to reduce the probability of false alarms to ensure that production goes undisturbed. This is why Hochiki systems were the perfect choice for this project as they are produced to meet the demands of the world’s industrial sector.”
Installation was not without its challenges. For suppliers, this was only the second time installing the system in a power plant, and this, besides the heat and dust, meant that the project was complex. The plant is also in a remote part of Sudan, an hour outside of the nearest city and several hours from the capital Khartoum, meaning installers faced long journeys while working on the project, meaning that complications during the project needed to be minimised.
When choosing the system, the developers had to take into consideration Sudan’s dusty climate, plus the dust produced on site; and install products that could be quickly fitted to withstand these conditions. Typically, dust can often cause severe interference to devices and result in false alarms being raised or device malfunction. Hochiki says its life safety products have a high tolerance to extreme dust and heat.
Hisham Abuzeid, Manager at Sorouh Advanced Works, Hochiki’s partner in the Sudan region said: “We recommended the Hochiki HFP system for the cement factory because of its versatility and reliability. The system features solutions that are perfect for demanding environments – making it the best choice of solution for the environmental conditions at the plant.
“Since the completion of the redeveloped plant, the customer has told us that there hasn’t been a single false alarm on site. They have also been extremely impressed with how user-friendly the interface and language of the panels are, as they are very easy to deal with for people unfamiliar with this sort of technology.”
For more about Hochiki Europe’s HFP range visit: https://www.hochikieurope.com/product/hfp.
