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How much is your spinning mill worth? Whatever the actual figure, it’s obvious that this is an investment you would be anxious to protect against a serious fire, which might have a catastrophic impact on your business.
A single stray spark could easily lead to disaster – which is why every mill has some kind of fire detection system in place. Unfortunately, not all mill fire prevention measures offer effective safeguards. Some are not sensitive enough to cover every hazard, and others damage production efficiency by causing unnecessary alarms. The USTER® JOSSI FIRE SHIELD, however, has the multi-sensor technology needed to identify every type of fire risk, right at the start of the mill process, combined with the sophistication to distinguish between dangerous heat sources and harmless electrostatic discharges. Potentially, the blowroom in a typical spinning plant is a fertile source of sparks, with dry fiber passing through metallic elements and transport ducting. Stone or metal particles left in the fiber can hit steel machine parts and cause sparks, or cotton can become entangled around fastmoving components and be ignited by friction. The airflow along the ducting heightens the risk and will quickly accelerate any flame.
Alarms, causes and problems
So, the more sensitive the fire detection system, the better for the mill? In fact, this idea is not entirely true. When a fire alarm is activated, the whole mill production comes to a halt, so that the cause can be investigated. Detailed checks can easily take an hour and more, but it’s a necessary precaution, since there are numerous possibilities: cotton fibers can wind around metal and cause friction, for example; or fire can lie dormant deep within a bale until the fibers reach the ducting. With the USTER® JOSSI FIRE SHIELD all of these hazardous occurrences are pinpointed, as the system detects, diverts and extinguishes the smallest embers and sparks before they can cause problems. With synthetic fibers and blends, their electrostatic properties can cause false alarms, and this is when other fire detection systems lead to unnecessary production downtime. Each electrostatic discharge is registered as a spark, and the mill stops working toinvestigate these alarms. Here, the technical superiority of the USTER® JOSSI FIRE SHIELD proves its value, as the only system with multiple sensors able to distinguish reliably between dangerous fire sources and electrostatic discharge. Fire detection is based on locating heat sources, but only the USTER® JOSSI FIRE SHIELD can separate dangerous long-wave heat sources from harmless short-wave sources from electrostatic discharge. This is a key benefit, which ensures production is stopped only when necessary, which of course has a major impact on mill efficiency and, ultimately, profit.
Compromise can be risky…
Certain other fire detection systems employ a risky option to cut down the number of alarm stoppages: covering the system’s single heat sensor with a filter to reduce its sensitivity. This, of course, also reduces its effectiveness at detecting all types of fire hazard – not only the harmless ones. Spinners should be wary of accepting any compromise of this kind, akin to playing ‘Russian roulette’ with their mill investment.
