29
Jan

High-hazard facilities reviewed

Ferm Engineering is adept at preparing designs and implementing fire safety systems for high-hazard facilities.

The team is currently working on three storage facilities in Qld for major companies Quantem, Recochem and Chevron.

At Quantem’s Pinkenba site, Ferm Engineering is preparing designs for potential restructuring of the facility’s fire safety systems. Concept designs were presented last December and the phase one upgrade is now in progress. The project has three phases, estimated to be implemented over 18 months.

Quantem operates bulk liquid storage tanks across Australia and New Zealand. The Pinkenba site has more than 100 tanks with a capacity of more than 62.55 million litres, storing fats, oils, and combustible, corrosive and flammable liquids.

At Recochem’s Lytton facility, Ferm Engineering has just completed the second and final stage of a fire safety upgrade. Ferm also completed a full site audit and an Australian Standard AS 1940 (flammable or combustible liquids storage and handling design, construction and operation requirements) review with engineers from TfA Project Group, a project management, design and engineering consultancy.

Recochem manufactures and supplies automotive coolants and heavy duty cleaners for the auto industry. It also supplies industrial solvents and chemicals to industries from agriculture to mining.

At Chevron’s Eagle Farm bulk storage fuel tanks, Ferm Engineering has started concept work to replace standard aqueous film-forming foams with environmentally friendly fluorine-free foam. Ferm is also auditing existing fire systems, given some buildings on the site are more than 100 years old.

The six-to-eight-month-long project involves preliminary works in stage one and larger system upgrades in stage two.

Ferm Engineering CEO Steve Burton says “protection with new fire-fighting foams, like the fluorine-free variety, is not a simple exchange process. Compliance can be lost if equipment is not adjusted to suit”.

The concept design is the critical first step in developing fire safety systems for high-hazard facilities. “You only get one shot with fire safety systems; you must get it right, first time.”

Ferm Engineering has specialist expertise in high-hazard facilities and in 2020 added  Fire Systems Consultant Matt Negrin to the team.

Matt is an experienced fire services designer and accomplished in designing sprinkler, hydrant, hose reel and special hazard fire systems.

He will assist Ferm Engineering to deliver fire services design, supply, and certification from concept to completion, to satisfy market demands and insurance risk audits across Australia.