1. LED lighting:
Modular systems
June2015
the journal for hazardous area environments hazardexonthenet.net
LED lighting:
Industrial applications
Fire safety:
Automotive sector
risks and solutions
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LED lighting:
Modular systems
Arc Flash:
Risk management
Control systems:
Fieldbus in
hazardous areas

2. www.hazardexonthenet.net
The potential cost of an
automotive manufacturing
plant fire ensures that safety,
detection and preventive measures
should never be compromised.
Fires such as the one in 2012 at
BMW’s Tiexi (China) plant and the
automotive parts plant in Revesby
near Sydney (Australia) demonstrate
the consequences of a major
conflagration.
Michael J Pickford of fire detection
specialist FireVu gives his insights
into the consequences, challenges
and solutions for the automotive
manufacturing sector.
Automotive manufacturing fires do
not always make the news. There is
understandable sensitivity around these
incidents, and often companies will not
want them to be made public. But when
they do reach the media, the illustration
of the devastating costs of a fire can be
illuminating.
BMW’s Brilliance plant in Tiexi, China – a
1.5 billion Euro investment - suffered a
large fire just two months after opening
in 2012. The fire lasted nearly three hours
before being extinguished by more than
100 fire crews.
BMW tried to play down the incident,
claiming the fire was quickly brought under
control and manufacturing would continue
as normal. The alternative view, voiced by
Chinese media, estimated that the damage
could reach 100 million Euros.
While the big manufacturers make
the biggest headlines, we should not
overlook the effects of automotive supplier
manufacturing fires. These can be even
more devastating to the industry.
German chemical manufacturer Evonik
Industries AG produces an obscure
chemical called CDT. When a fire engulfed
its Marl factory in 2012, a good proportion
of automotive production worldwide was
threatened. CDT is used to manufacture a
resin called PA-12 that is essential to brake
and fuel line production for cars -a third
of the world’s automotive industry supply
came from that one source.
The fire led to as many as 200 automotive
industry representatives meeting secretly in
Detroit to try to hammer out an industry-
wide emergency plan to deal with the
shortages.
Automotive sector fires:
an insight into the risks and
fire detection solutions
21Fire safety

3. www.hazardexonthenet.net
Fire safety22
Even a minor fire could prove costly,
and any disruption is going to hit the
bottom line.
For instance, the 4,000 workers of BMW’s
Oxford plant annually make around
200,000 customised MINIs for consumers
across the globe. Any disruption, such as
a precautionary fire evacuation, can be
measured in the hundreds of thousands of
Pounds. The unnecessary release of fire
suppressants can be just as costly. These
are hidden issues, but there is no doubt
that such incidents plague manufacturers.
The dangers inherent in
manufacturing processes
The sources of danger are as diverse
as the many different processes
within plants, but certain core dangers
can be identified. These include
ball bearing and other components
failures, production techniques that
create intense energy often in close
proximity to flammable debris that
can accumulate over time, the use of
lubricants and sprays and conveyor
belts jamming.
Then the manufacturing safety
professional must consider the space
that car making plants occupy: the
height of assembly areas and the large
ground area they cover. We can also
factor in storage spaces for flammable
and volatile chemicals and substances,
and holding areas for finished products
before they are distributed. Also, many
of these areas are unmanned for long
periods.
Fire detection technology
standards
Fire detection for UK manufacturing
environments is governed by BS5839.
This requires a qualified professional
to be responsible for conducting a risk
assessment. If no-one is assigned to
the task, the responsibility will be moved
up the hierarchy as high as director or
even owner level.
BS5839 requires that an assessment
of the level of protection is made. The
highest level – L1 – includes automatic
fire detection in all rooms, on all escape
routes and in all voids over 600mm in
height. Sounders positioned throughout
the building must achieve a minimum of
65dB(A).
This UK standard will have its
equivalents elsewhere in the world,
which may well differ in detailed
requirements.
Fire detection options
The following three technologies are the
key solutions used for early detection
of potential fire danger within the car
manufacturing sector.
The BMW Tiexi plant in Shenyang, China. A fire broke out in the paint shop soon
after it opened in 2012, causing significant disruption - Photo: BMW

4. 1. Infrared Detection
Infrared detectors (IR) are simply
transducers of radiant energy,
converting energy in the IR spectrum
into a measurable form.
Detecting IR energy emitted by objects
takes away reliance on visible light and
so obscured conditions should not affect
its effectiveness, although thick smoke
is an issue, as is oil and grease. A direct
line of sight is required.
Most IR detectors are designed to ignore
constant background IR radiation, and
focus on the modulated part of the
radiation. When exposed to modulated
non-flame IR radiation such as sunlight,
IR detectors become more prone to false
alarms.
Operator verification ensures appropriate
action can be taken, minimising false
alarms.
2. Aspirating Smoke
Detectors
Aspirating Smoke Detectors (ASDs)
work by assessing the presence of
smoke particles suspended in air that
have been drawn through sample
holes in a pipe network into a detection
chamber.
ASD is highly sensitive, often detecting
smoke before it is visible to the human
eye, which is particularly valuable
in slow growth fires or where a fire
develops in inaccessible or obscured
locations.
However, the sensitivity to distinguish
between smoke and dust in early stage
fires can be compromised, as the size of
dust and smoke particles can be similar.
There are technological approaches
to reduce nuisance alarms, but
compensatory technology may impact
the sensitivity of a smoke detector and
early warning reliability.
Future integration of ASD with intelligent
detection systems, including remote
monitoring and verification, will improve
its effectiveness.
3. Video Smoke Detection
Video Smoke Detection (VSD) is a
proven technology and detects danger
by looking for smoke patterns, often
at points that might be particularly
vulnerable to fire risk.
Rather than waiting for a signal to trigger
specific sensors, VSD can offer early
warnings by cameras pointing at the
subject space and looking for changes in
variables. Problems arising from smoke
stratifying and not reaching detection
equipment are eliminated. It can also
survey large open sites remotely.
If a complex has areas that could trigger
alerts from signals that might resemble
smoke, such as dirt from recycling
plants, then such areas can be isolated.
This allows safety staff to concentrate on
the key danger areas.
Safety operators can work on site or
remotely. With high quality video, they can
determine if an alert is a real fire risk and
take appropriate action. Alerts can be
studied after the event to improve safety.
Conclusion
All manufacturing sectors are at risk
from fire, but given the complicated
supply chains and potentially massive
consequences of disruption, car
manufacturers and component suppliers
have more to lose than many, as those
dependent on Evonik Industries found to
their cost.
This makes it particularly important that
risks are fully reviewed, dangers assessed
and systems put in place to detect and
suppress fires at the earliest possible
stage.
www.hazardexonthenet.net
Michael J Pickford is a business
development manager at fire detection
specialist FireVu, part of the AD
Group. Prior to joining the company,
he gained extensive experience in the
manufacturing, IT and retail sectors.
About the author:
Visual Smoke Detection system operator screen in car manufacturing plant.
The coloured segments show the start of a fire with smoke building up -
Photo: FireVu
23Fire safety