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1615 Poydras

Computrols | 1615 Poydras

Project Type:

Fire Alarm

Location:

1615 Poydras St., New Orleans, LA 70112

Buildings:

1

Building Type:

Class-A Office Tower

Stories:

23

Situation

The base infrastructure of the property’s Fire Alarm System was a Farrady system that was installed when the building was erected in 1983. Over the course of 20 plus years, the building’s original system was occasionally expanded and upgraded. By 2011, the infrastructure had grown into a complicated system that combined 3 separate systems. At this time the property was also consistently plagued by false alarms. With both property management and building tenants frustrated by the unreliable and disruptive system, property management began investigating solutions.

In 2011, property management made the decision to upgrade the obsolete fire alarm system at the property. Although property management had received several bids for this project, they choose Computrols to address the property’s Fire Alarm problems. The major factors driving this decision were Computrols lifetime warranty and Computrols reputation for customer service and support.

Approach

As a part of the retrofit project, Computrols was able to leverage all existing wiring which saved the property thousands of dollars. Furthermore, this made for a smooth takeover process that did not disrupt tenants. The system retrofit was done systematically, floor-by-floor. Once a floor had been retrofitted to utilize new end devices, Computrols tested extensively to assure all sequences functioned properly. Computrols also integrated to the existing system so that coverage throughout the building was maintained throughout the retrofit process. The installation team was diligent in assuring that not only the new infrastructure functioned properly, but also that the new system accurately integrated with the existing infrastructure to assure the building maintained proper fire alarm protection throughout the project. This was done through a series of handshakes that Computrols implemented between the two systems during the retrofit process.

With so many components involved in ensuring proper coverage in the building, it was essential that Computrols stay in constant communication with the entire project team. The Computrols team constantly communicated and collaborated with property management, the projects design engineering team, and a representative from the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office. This enabled property management to provide tenants with current and accurate information regarding the retrofit. The communication and collaboration between all team members of the project made the project successful and incident free.

Prior to the installation of the Computrols CSimon fire alarm system, any building alarm would trigger strobes throughout the entire building. Computrols corrected this so that alarms would only effect the alarm floor and the floors above and below. Computrols also implemented positive alarm sequence at this site. This feature allows up to a 3 minute and 15 second window to investigate alarms prior to initiating notification devices.

Result

Building occupants and property management at 1615 Poydras are no longer disturbed by false alarms. The fire alarm sequence of operations is now able to follow NFPA 72 standard sequence of operations and, most importantly, property management can rest assured that they have a system in place that will last a lifetime.