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Advanced Panels Protect Flagship Crossrail Station

Travellers passing through the flagship Tottenham Court Road Station on London’s Northern Line and the new £14.8 billion Crossrail network, set to open in 2018, will be protected by intelligent fire systems from Advanced.

The combined Crossrail and London Underground station, which originally opened in 1900 as part of the Central London Railway, also serves the Central Line and the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line. The entire station has undergone a major reconstruction to integrate with the Crossrail service and it is expected to cater for up to 200,000 passengers every day once the new line opens.

Transport for London (TFL), specified Advanced’s industry-leading MxPro fire panel range for the station due to its quality, reliability and ease of use. Installed by NG Bailey there are currently two MxPro 4 networked panels installed in the station, which will increase to four when two MxPro 5 panels are added to the Crossrail sections which is due to be completed in 2018. The flexibility of MxPro means that these can be integrated seamlessly into the existing system, along with additional components.

Peter Patrick, Senior Project Manager and spokesperson for NG Bailey said: “The MxPro 4 panels are one of the best open protocol panels currently on the market and Advanced is the one of the preferred panel suppliers for London Underground control and indicating equipment. We find installing and configuring Advanced systems easy.”

MxPro offers customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. MxPro panels can be used in single loop, single panel format or easily configured into high speed, multi-loop panels in 200 node networks covering huge areas. Advanced’s legendary ease of installation and configuration and wide peripheral range make it customisable to almost any application.

Amanda Hope, Advanced’s UK Business and Development Manager, said: “The new Crossrail system has been in the planning for many years and is scheduled to open in 2018. It’s a key part of the London transport infrastructure and will be used by millions of passengers, so a high quality and reliable fire system is absolutely essential. We believe that the MxPro panels tick all the boxes for the combined station at Tottenham Court Road, delivering a future proof solution with the option to expand and enhance the system in future.”

The MxPro 4 system is fully compliant with relevant EN54 Parts 2 and 4, and backed up with Advanced’s renowned customer care and technical support. MxPro 5 its more advanced successor is approved to EN54 parts 2, 4 and 13 and is backwards compatible with MxPro 4.

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. Its legendary performance, quality and ease-of-use sees its products used in prestigious and challenging locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large multi-site networks. Advanced products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishant controls and fire paging systems.

More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com.

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Cembrit: across the board coverage

Technical Editor, Bruce Meechan hears from Ged Ferris of Cembrit about the wide selection of board products the manufacturer can offer for internal and external construction applications.

The term one-stop-shop may be over used in the UK building products supply chain, but the range of boards offered by long-established manufacturer, Cembrit can provide specifiers with solutions to every sort of challenge from interior refurbishment and the creation of wet rooms within social housing units, to some of the most daunting logistical demands faced by burgeoning offsite or MMC sector.

The majority of the board options offer not just excellent physical characteristics, but a strong lineage and a long track record of service, both here and on the Continent.
As UK Marketing Manager, Ged Ferris, commented during our interview: “We have the product range to facilitate the needs of everyone from offsite system fabricators to refurbishment specialists and the growing self-build market.

Not just a Five-star range, but a range with five main stars and many product variations: Cembrit’s flat boards encompass all the key performance parameters including moisture resistance, fire resistance and structural strength, as well as providing a versatile substrate for commonly used finishes.

THE RANGE General purpose and specialist requirements solved by Cembrit’s boards

The product within the range which has shown the most rapid growth across the market is PB: a versatile tile backer or render backer board, mainly being used for the refurbishment of bathrooms, it is popular due to its low weight and ease of cutting which facilitates installation, and the robust long term performance. Cembrit has developed a version called Flex which can be fixed down to radii of just 150 mm. Both conventional PB and Flex features polystyrene spherules and an edge reinforcement detail that uses a special fabric allowing butt jointing and fixings close to edges for maximum rigidity. Flex installations might then form a column casing that would be rendered over or covered with a small format mosaic.

Where social housing providers are seeking to fit out full wet rooms for those who might need assistance with personal care, then there is also a Special Performance board which was originally developed for use in places like swimming pools.

The biggest seller still, though in terms of volume is Cempanel which is primarily specified for dry-lining and sheathing: the internal skin to a rainscreen cladding build up. Depending on dimensions, Cempanel can also take racking loads: being produced in thicknesses of 8, 10, 12 and 16 mm. It is also often used as a render carrier in exterior applications.

The FR board can provide up to 120 minutes of fire resistance and is widely specified for soffits in corridors, lift lobbies and other communal areas to buildings where the consideration of escape routes and combating the surface spread of flame are essential.

Ged Ferris added: “We see our board range as being of particular value to manufacturers of modules, pods, timber frame panel systems and other prefabricated solutions. They could even form the face to SIPs (Structural Insulated Panel) systems.

“As well as the merchant stockist, clients can also purchase through ‘optimizers’ – board cutting specialists who supply the exact sizes they need to make our standard product coordinate with elevation widths, window openings and things like flues or other service penetrations. It will also be a real advantage to customers that such a comprehensive selection is available from a single source.”

Responding to market demand, Cembrit is also making its cladding boards available as BIM objects in partnership with its Scandinavian parent company. These can be viewed via the company’s website at www.cembrit.co.uk or by contacting the company’s technical advisory service via email.

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