MSA, the Safety Company, has unveiled its recently renovated testing facility for fixed gas and flame detection (FGFD) products. Located at MSA’s corporate headquarters, the FGFD Test Center hosts live, on-site and online flame detector demonstrations that show how MSA’s FlameGard® series of detectors have raised the bar in flame detection, setting a new industry standard.
False alarms can prove costly, particularly when welding. Combining a precision multi-spectral IR sensing array with highly intelligent neural network processors, the FlameGard 5 MSIR detector reliably discriminates between actual flames and nuisance false alarm sources such as arc welding or hot objects.
Conducting testing for false alarm immunity and corroborating the company’s claims regarding its products’ capabilities has never been easier with the modernised facility. MSA can now demonstrate how detectors react to a real fire, in real time. To illustrate how its FGFD products operate as a system, over a dozen applicable products can be tested.
The centre boasts a remote-start flame chamber that is designed to test gasoline, methane and propane. Flame detectors are mounted on a cart for mobility and can be set from 5ft to 230 feet. Strobes are attached to illustrate how various competing products react to the fire, e.g., which sees the fire first, which sees the fire longest and which sees the fire at the greatest distance. These strobes are triggered at first sight, and then stay lit until the detector goes out of alarm.
When on-site demonstrations are not feasible, a host can demonstrate off-site with a PC or iPAD. A split screen image shows the fire and reaction time of the products simultaneously. The host can move the camera remotely to highlight different products or employ zoom capabilities to focus on flame detectors.