Jet Engineering Technology Case Study

Security and Safety at New Premises

Established in 2004, JETS is a technical support organisation serving the business aviation and regional airline sectors. It specialises in the maintenance and repair of Hawker Series, Dornier 328, and Bombardier Challenger aircraft.

There aren’t many places where security standards are more stringent than at international airports. When JETS decided to relocate to new premises at Bournemouth Airport, security and safety were two of the first issues its General Manager needed to tackle.

JETS’ new facility consists of two aircraft hangars, office space, and storage facilities. With 30 staff on-site and a steady stream of visitors and contractors, JETS needed a robust fire and security system to bring the premises up to airport safety standards.

JETS turned to Chris Lewis Fire & Security to advise on the best protection for the facility. Martin Gibbons, General Manager at JETS commented, “We were working to very short timescales and Chris Lewis Fire & Security worked hard to make everything happen very quickly, from being available at extremely short notice for our initial meeting to getting proposals and quotes to us.” He added, “We understood airport security requirements, but didn’t know what systems we needed to achieve them. Their engineers are clearly very knowledgeable and were able to design a fire and security system that met our requirements exactly.”

Preventing unauthorised access onto the airport’s runway was of paramount importance. Because both hangers have open airside access, JETS needed a read in/read-out access control system on its internal and external doors. They also wanted to prevent unauthorised access to the buildings when unoccupied, be able to centrally monitor and control access across the site, and be given early and clear warning in the event of a fire.

JETS needed to make absolutely certain that unauthorised personnel could not gain access to its hangers, and from there onto the airport’s runway.

Access Control System

The fire alarm system was integrated with the access control system to ensure that if a fire alarm is activated, locked doors will automatically open to allow personnel to evacuate quickly. Martin Gibbons added, “Linking the fire and access control system is extremely useful. We’re already looking into acquiring an additional building at the airport, so having an IP system means we can easily expand in the future.”

Fire System Design

Having carried out a fire risk assessment, Chris Lewis’ engineers designed and installed a new fire system incorporating Apollo fire detectors and an Advanced Electronics panel. The fire system design needed to take into consideration both the aircraft hangers’ size and the vibrations caused by aircraft engine noise. While optical beam detectors were the best option for the scale of the buildings, in order to prevent vibrations from causing false alarms, the detectors were cushion-mounted onto the steel framework of the hangars. Apollo smoke and heat detectors and manual call points were installed in the office and storage areas, and in line with the recommendations of the fire risk assessment, 34 fire extinguishers providing water, CO2, foam and powder suppression, were also supplied.

Intruder Alarm

To ensure the facility is fully secured when unoccupied, a Texecom Premier intruder alarm was installed.

Integrated System

Collaboration

The installation of the fire system required close coordination with other refurbishment work on the premises. Martin Gibbons explained, “The facility needed a major refit including new floors in the hangers. Chris Lewis’ team of engineers had a very tight window in which they could bring in lifts to get up to the ceiling and mount the sensors. To their credit, they managed the whole process and it all just happened seamlessly without me having to step in or worry about it.”