Manufacturer of hot fire training equipment Simulation Ltd chose SMC Pneumatics to construct the ultra-safe control panel on a hot fire training simulator at Birmingham International AirportMost of us would be worried to see weeks of work go up in flames. For the staff of Simulation Ltd in Derby, it's literally what they expect and look forward to - "We design and manufacture hot fire training equipment," explains Howard Perkins, Simulation's Operations Manager. "Our skills are all about producing repeatable fires, primarily for civil airports, military airbases, local authority and private fire services.
Our customers need controllable fires - which they can switch on and shut off within seconds.
With our rigs, the trainer can extend a range of fires manually, and can vary the combination, manually or automatically - instantly, depending on the challenges he wants to give the firefighters and according to their response."
Simulation is unique in Britain for being the only company that not only designs but also manufactures in-house, as it is backed by Buckley and Sullivan Ltd, a leading general fabrication shop.
Simulation provides a complete service - design and build, and full maintenance for their own and other training rigs.
Only just past its first birthday, it has already seen remarkable successes, including completing two major projects: a hot fire training simulator at Birmingham International Airport; and a multi-purpose fire simulator for the MoD.
Simulation's rigs are built with robust steel shells, and internal chambers designed to simulate conditions within an aircraft.
The rig built for the MoD's Fire Service Central Training Establishment (FSCTE) at Manston in Kent incorporates features of a Tristar wide bodied aircraft, Tornado jet fighter, Sea King helicopter and Hercules transport plane.
The rig at Birmingham International is based on the shape of a typical medium-sized civil aircraft.
Today, the environmentally acceptable solution for fire training simulation involves LPG [liquid petroleum gas], Simulation's preferred medium.
"While LPG is relatively smoke-free we can introduce non-toxic synthetic smoke from other sources," says Howard Perkins.
"Our rigs can produce a wide variety of fires and effects.
For example, the new rig at Birmingham International has seven points with pilot lights to set off specific fires.
They can be used singly or in a variety of sequences and combinations."
Simulation also provide a dual fuel option, with rigs that can fire up with kerosene [aviation fuel] or LPG, using separate pipework systems.
The company's objective is to see safety and danger working together in the right balance, as Howard Perkins explains.
"Fire training is only effective if the hazards are realistic enough, and tough: the H and S Executive accepts that training can only be useful if the hazards trainees are exposed to are realistic and challenging; and it recognises that so long as the training is relevant, then for it to be genuinely useful, some exposure to a hazardous environment must be part of that training - but you have to be absolutely certain you can rein a fire back fast.
So you're constantly asking yourself - is it dangerous enough, and is it safe enough?" Simulation's use of LPG means you can produce and then shut down an inferno in seconds, whereas a carbonaceous fire takes time to get going and cannot be safely extinguished so quickly.
LPG liquid is used for Simulation's external fires, vaporising at the nozzles and providing intense heat almost instantly.
With internal fires, LPG vapour is used, and Simulation's rigs monitor the layers of heat with temperature probes.
If higher than 70 degrees C at 1m, or 250 degrees at 2m, the system automatically shuts down.
"Simulation's rigs mean repeatability," says Howard Perkins.
"As often as every half-hour, you can provide an exercise exactly the same, again and again, daily, hourly, week in week out.
With timber fires, at best you might manage two exercises a day."
At the MoD's FSCTE, the rig is used five times daily.
This is possible partly thanks to a fuselage watercooling system which keeps the shell of the rig drenched in water, supplied from firefighting appliances connected to the rig.
The system keeps the skin temperature of the rig down to about 150 degrees - without the cooling, it would be over 400 degrees.
Says Howard Perkins: "Our rigs are typically designed for 10 years' use, but I'd anticipate them lasting much longer, since the watercooling reduces the stress on the shell."
At Birmingham International, Simulation's rig fits the bill perfectly, according to Paul MacDonald: "We have to be anywhere in the airfield in two minutes, from call to the point of fire, so the rig must give training that tests us hard.
The 'pre-burn' lasts no more than one minute: the firefighters have to be able to get the fire under control in less than a minute."
For the Birmingham contract, Howard Perkins chose SMC Pneumatics to construct the ultra-safe control panel.
"For years I've found SMC always helpful, and keen: for this new project they readily provided samples which we could show and discuss with our customer, and they became fully involved in the project."
"SMC put a lot of thought into what the customer really wants rather than pushing people into buying products from a catalogue.
And the panel they designed and built for us is far superior to similar products I've seen from competitors."
The controls are housed in a shelter about 30m from the rig.
The components include special over-size shrouded control buttons (easy to use with gloves on) and pendant control, with an umbilical cord allowing the trainer to stay in split-second control.
In Simulation's rigs, the banks of stainless steel, anti-static, fire safe valves which send the LPG down fire rails, have to be close to the action, "but even if we melted the seals, the valves are designed to be gas tight for at least three more operations, metal to metal, without danger.
The valves are quite expensive, but safety needs investment," observes Howard Perkins.
This is a specialist world, but the competition is fierce.
Simulation are carving themselves a niche by combining very competitive pricing with very high design specification and quality of build.
"lt's a balancing act," observes Howard Perkins.
"You've got to watch a customer's budget, and you've got to deliver the best solutions."
"You have to invest in quality, and keep a sense of proportion - for example, in relation to whole budget, the cost of best quality and special products in the pneumatics has been a very small price to pay for an excellent solution."
There's no industry standard yet, but Simulation is setting the pace, committed to high specifications, for example with hardened steel hinge units, which require less maintenance: Howard Perkins finds that typically competitors' rigs require more maintenance than Simulation's.
"Each rig is very heavily constructed, able to withstand the rough handling it will see for years.
We believe in engineering them better, to ensure longer life and lower maintenance costs."
Last words from two satisfied customers: At Simulation's offices in Derby, Howard Perkins is completely satisfied with his association with SMC: "We've seen the best service, from a company that's really prepared to put themselves out.
We can see we've had best value - it's a combination of products and people that really counts, and we find it is excellent working with SMC."
And, at Birmingham International Airport, Paul MacDonald has been delighted with Simulation's work: "We've very pleased with the rig, which has been our first venture with Simulation.
The build quality is exceptional, and installation and support everything we could ask for."