Colorado School of Mines
The Colorado School of Mines offers a challenging, hands-on curriculum to just over 8,000 students a year covering topics like mineral exploration, renewable energy sources and technology.
The university, with headquarters in Golden, Co., was established in 1874 and has since expanded to 46 different buildings and over 50 undergrad and graduate programs spanning from computer science to geophysical engineering.
Students at the university undergo a rigorous courseload designed to provide them the technical expertise and foundational knowledge to succeed across technical fields and industries.
The institution prides itself on operating a world-class engineering and applied science university.
The Challenge
The university was making upgrades to its aging, campus-wide fire protection system and needed a way to streamline its monitoring, maintenance and inspection workflows.
Prior to Tech’s involvement, Campus Fire Alarm Technician Jason Forrester conducted testing and inspections for NFPA 72 compliance reports with pen and paper. For a campus with 46-plus buildings and thousands of edge devices, this was not a tenable solution.
The existing system was not providing the visibility or connectivity, that Forrester needed to effectively do his job.
In addition to updating the existing network of fire alarm control panels from older series models to new ONYX and Notifier Inspire series panels, Tech also implemented a gateway for Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) from Honeywell.
“We implemented a reliable, strong and scalable foundation that was simple to bring online with room to grow with the needs of the campus,” said Fire Technology Director Casey Bennett.
The Solution
CLSS provides unprecedented visibility to a fire alarm system, allowing Forrester and Bennett to view the condition of any of the thousands of devices on the network from panels to edge devices like detectors.
“Tech Electronics has been phenomenal through the whole process,” said Forrester.
Tech is also continuing to work on campus installing new self-testing detectors from Honeywell, further streamlining the maintenance and inspection of the system, all while ensuring full compliance with local, national and international requirements.
“We do all our testing using the app and the self-generated NFPA 72 form,” said Forrester. “It’s all electronic now so that’s been a huge help.”
Forrester wanted to commend Technician Anthony Gine who he said was an excellent addition to the project.
“He was amazing, very knowledgeable. Anthony came out and implemented it, and we were able to do the whole campus in a day,” said Forrester.
Forrester also noted the improved visibility had already made a difference in his work as the university was impacted by a rolling blackout. Using the visibility provided by the CLSS Gateway, Forrester was able to monitor the system remotely, establish which devices were coming back online, and what parts he would need to conduct repairs.
For more information about how Tech can bring the latest in fire protection to your campus, schedule a consultation.
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