Naim Audio
Fire protection upgrade, including
latest remote access control
One of the most commercially
successful, privately owned
British audio companies, Naim Audio
designs and manufactures world class
audio equipment from its headquarters
in Salisbury, where it also designed
the premium in-car audio system for
Bentley Motors. It has recently won its
second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in
International Trade, which acknowledges
the company’s export success and
overseas growth over the past six years.
Project background
Chris Lewis Fire & Security has maintained
the fire alarm, intruder alarm and
CCTV system at Naim Audio’s Salisbury
headquarters for over ten years. The
original fire alarm system was reaching
the end of its useful life and much of the
equipment was obsolete and no longer
supported by the manufacturer. As part
of its maintenance contract, Chris Lewis
Fire & Security had begun advising the
company on its options for upgrading or
replacing the system. Naim Audio took
the decision to completely replace the fire
system when its insurance broker found
that the existing system no longer provided
adequate coverage.
Project scope
Fire system upgrade
Naim Audio asked Chris Lewis Fire &
Security to design extensive new fire
protection that would meet its revised
insurance requirements. The company runs
its entire operation from its headquarters
in Salisbury and the new fire system had
to cover the whole site, incorporating
three buildings which accommodate
research and development, sales and
administration, production and product
support departments, as well as despatch,
delivery and stores.
Neil Carden, Manufacturing Director, Naim
Audio commented, “Chris Lewis Fire &
Security is a trusted and valued supplier.
We were confident that they understood
our complex fire protection requirements
and would be able to install the new
system without any unnecessary disruption
to our business.”
Chris Lewis Fire & Security Unit 3 & 4, Pony Road, Oxford OX4 2RD t 01865 782 444 e info@chrislewis.co.uk chrislewis.co.uk
Naim Audio
“
We’re delighted
with the speed and
smoothness with which
our fire alarm upgrade
has been completed.
The team at Chris
Lewis Fire & Security
has taken the time to
fully understand how
our business uses our
premises, and it has
recommended the best
equipment to meet our
needs. I have complete
confidence that we’ve
now got one of the
best fire alarm systems
available.
Neil Carden,
Manufacturing Director
Naim Audio
”
The solution
Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s engineers
conducted a thorough assessment of the
headquarters before designing a number
of solutions with varying budgets for Naim
Audio’s management team to consider.
The fire system that was installed
comprises an Advanced Electronics fire
panel and repeater, and over 150 Apollo
fire detection points. It is networked
to an IP gateway to enable remote
management, and the system design
takes into consideration the very specific
needs of each area of the building. For
example, multi-sensors were installed in
the production areas where soldering is
regularly carried out during working hours.
The sensors are set to function as heat
sensors during the day and switch to a
higher level of sensitivity, which includes
smoke detection, at night. This ensures
the sensors provide maximum protection,
whilst avoiding accidental activation by
solder smoke.
It was essential that the installation of the
new system did not disrupt Naim Audio’s
production processes. Our engineers
worked closely with the company to agree
an installation schedule that would cause
minimal disruption to its operations. This
included completing work where noise and
dust were inevitable outside core working
hours.
Neil Carden commented, “We produce a
very high quality product and cannot afford
quality or output to drop. We were more
than impressed with Chris Lewis Fire &
Security’s management of the installation
process and the way they minimised
disruption to our business. They worked
extremely hard to operate around us and
always left the place clean and tidy.”
The results
Naim Audio’s new fire protection system is
a robust, extendable and intuitive system
that satisfies the company’s insurance
requirements. With the design taking
into consideration the specific functions
and requirements of each area of the
building, the company can have complete
confidence that it is adequately protected
from smoke and fire at all times.
Having the system networked to an IP
gateway enables our engineers to provide
remote management and fault diagnosis,
which delivers faster resolution of issues
and reduces the need for call-outs.
Neil Carden, Naim Audio added, “The
remote access will be extremely useful. It
will mean that if we experience a problem,
Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s engineers can
check it out either from their office or their
on-call engineer can log-on and take a
look. It will mean problems get fixed faster,
with less hassle and should also mean a
reduction in call-out costs.”
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Chris Lewis Fire & Security Unit 3 & 4, Pony Road, Oxford OX4 2RD t 01865 782 444 e info@chrislewis.co.uk chrislewis.co.uk