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    Maintenance of the Fire Alarm,
    Intruder Alarm and CCTV System

    One of the most commercially successful, privately owned British audio companies, Naim Audio designs and manufactures world-class audio equipment from its headquarters in Salisbury, where it also designed the premium in-car audio system for Bentley Motors. It has recently won a second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, which acknowledges the company’s export success and overseas growth over the past six years.

    Naim Radio Chirs Lewis 1
    Naim Radio Chirs Lewis 2

    The Challenge

    Chris Lewis Fire & Security has maintained the fire alarm, intruder alarm and CCTV system at Naim Audio’s Salisbury headquarters for over ten years. The original fire alarm system was reaching the end of its useful life. Much of the equipment was also obsolete and no longer supported by the manufacturer.

    As part of its maintenance contract, Chris Lewis Fire & Security had begun advising the company on its options for upgrading or replacing the system. When its insurance broker found the existing fire system no longer provided adequate coverage, Naim Audio decided to completely replace it.

    Naim Audio asked Chris Lewis Fire & Security to design extensive new fire protection that would meet its revised insurance requirements. The company runs its entire operation from its headquarters in Salisbury and the new fire system had to cover the whole site. This incorporated three buildings which accommodate research and development, sales and administration, production and product support departments, as well as despatch, delivery and stores.

    Neil Carden, Manufacturing Director, Naim Audio commented, “Chris Lewis Fire & Security is a trusted and valued supplier. We were confident that they understood our complex fire protection requirements and would be able to install the new system without any unnecessary disruption to our business.”

    The Solution

    Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s engineers conducted a thorough assessment of the headquarters before designing a number of solutions with varying budgets for Naim Audio’s management team to consider.

    The fire system that was installed comprises an Advanced Electronics fire panel and repeater, and over 150 Apollo fire detection points. It is networked to an IP gateway to enable remote management, and the system design takes into consideration the very specific needs of each area of the building. For example, multi-sensors were installed in the production areas where soldering is regularly carried out during working hours. The sensors are set to function as heat sensors during the day, then switch to a higher level of sensitivity, including smoke detection, at night. This ensures the sensors provide maximum protection, whilst avoiding accidental activation by solder smoke.

    It was essential that the installation of the new system did not disrupt Naim Audio’s production processes. Our engineers worked closely with the company to agree an installation schedule that would cause minimal disruption to its operations. This included ensuring work that would create noise and dust would be conducted outside Naim’s core working hours.

    Neil Carden commented, “We produce a very high quality product and cannot afford quality or output to drop. We were more than impressed with Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s management of the installation process and the way they minimised disruption to our business. They worked extremely hard to operate around us and always left the place clean and tidy.”

    Naim Audio’s new fire protection system is a robust, extendable and intuitive system that more than satisfies the company’s insurance requirements. The design takies into consideration the specific functions and requirements of each area of the building. That way, the company can have complete confidence that it is adequately protected from smoke and fire at all times.

    Having the system networked to an IP gateway allows our engineers to provide remote management and fault diagnosis. The result is faster resolution of issues and a reduced need for physical technician call-outs.

    Neil Carden, Naim Audio added, “The remote access will be extremely useful. It will mean that if we experience a problem, Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s engineers can check it out either from their office or their on-call engineer can log-on and take a look. It will mean problems get fixed faster, with less hassle and should also mean a reduction in call-out costs.”

    The Tech We Installed

    Advanced Electronics Fire Panel and Repeater, networked to an IP gateway
    Over 150 Apollo fire detection points, specified to the use and needs of each area of the building

    A very happy client

    “We’re delighted with the speed and smoothness with which our fire alarm upgrade has been completed. The team at Chris Lewis Fire & Security has taken the time to fully understand how our business uses our premises, and it has recommended the best equipment to meet our needs. I have complete confidence that we’ve now got one of the best fire alarm systems available.”
     
    Neil Carden, Manufacturing Director Naim Audio

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