The benefits of a remote smoke control maintenance and monitoring solution
Smoke control systems need to be checked and tested weekly, monthly, and annually. The weekly and monthly checks will typically be carried out by the general maintenance or site management personnel for a building, but they can often be overlooked and forgotten. Routine checks might not be mandatory in all cases, but they are essential to the wellbeing of smoke control systems and building residents. To ensure the safety of smoke control systems in buildings, we have developed a remote smoke control maintenance and monitoring software called Eyeball. Eyeball takes care of the routine weekly and monthly checks. Not only does this reduce the risk of a system malfunction substantially, but it also frees up time for the maintenance personnel that is usually tasked with these time-consuming checks.
SCS Group’s Support and aftercare experts have outlined some of the benefits of remote monitoring and self-testing below. If you would like to read about smoke control maintenance, head over to our Ultimate Guide to Smoke Control Maintenance.
Monitor systems constantly
One of the key advantages of remote smoke control maintenance and monitoring is its ability to be carried out 24/7. This way, systems can send an alert any time of the day so that any issues and failures can be addressed immediately. Without remote monitoring or regular checks, an issue might go unnoticed for days or weeks. Therefore, if a fault occurs, the system or component would remain inoperable until the next scheduled maintenance visit, impacting the fire safety of residents.
Save time on lengthy maintenance visits
Being able to schedule regular weekly and monthly tests of every component on the system substitutes the need to manually check systems. Maintenance visits, more often than not, involve performing checks on every floor in a multi-storey building, which takes up a large amount of time that could be spent on more important work.
A remote monitoring solution such as Eyeball, can substitute some of these checks and let you focus your efforts in other areas. With a remote monitoring and self-testing solution, smoke control systems automatically self-test and send maintenance reports to the building operator or facilities manager.
Direct maintenance personnel straight to the area of concern
By being able to securely access, test and diagnose any issue remotely, buildings can avoid unnecessary visits. Moreover, maintenance staff can go straight to the affected system components, thus saving time and effort that they would otherwise spend looking for the source of the problem. For example, if a head of stair vent is stuck open because someone had used the override switch, then the system could be reset remotely avoiding an unnecessary visit. Additionally, control panels can have remote software updates from a service centre without the need for a site visit.
What remote smoke control maintenance and monitoring features does Eyeball provide?
SCS Group’s remote monitoring and self-testing solution, Eyeball, can remotely provide organisations with essential insights to the overall health of their system. Our software offers the ability to schedule a self-test sequence, as well as monitor a system’s functionality. This means that the system will cycle through all system components and submit a report detailing whether there are any faults that require further investigation. Eyeball can be set up so that system activations and faults are emailed and/or texted through to a nominated person who can then escalate as necessary.
SCS Group’s Support and aftercare team can remotely log into a system set up with Eyeball and view key events displayed on the system HMI (touch screen display). This enables our experts to vet issues and perform basic tests so a decision can be made about whether a callout is necessary.
What smoke control systems can use Eyeball?
Our remote monitoring and self-testing software is compatible with newly shipped or upgraded SCS/Easivent EV-300 shaft systems.
For use with older and 3rd-party smoke shaft systems, Eyeball is available with reduced capabilities:
- A Classic Remote Monitoring Service that provides monitoring of component and system alarms/events for existing installed SCS/Easivent EV-300 shaft systems and legacy ASI systems, or
- A Basic Remote Monitoring Service that provides a basic alarm monitoring solution for all SCS/Easivent legacy shaft systems and most 3rd-party systems.
These solutions do not offer self-test capabilities. If you are not sure on the suitability of your equipment, please follow the link below to contact our support team:
Contact SCS Support and aftercare
It is important to note that remote monitoring and self-testing does not replace the need for annual service visits. It does, however, provide safety and peace of mind in a situation where we should aim to avoid any unnecessary contact.
