Stamp of Approval

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

The United States Postal Service (USPS) Processing and Distribution Center in Dallas is part of a national network of mechanized bulk mail centers that process first class letters and parcels. This 439,959-square-ft. facility sorts and routes an average of 4.3 million pieces of mail each day.

Approximately 2,000 individuals are employed at the facility, which operates three shifts per day around the clock, seven days a week. Likewise, an additional 200 workers are hired during the busy winter holiday season. Given the importance of its federally protected contents and large number of occupants, the USPS decided it needed to upgrade the center's fire alarm system.

Built on 37 acres and considered one of the USPS' largest processing and distribution centers in terms of volume, the facility accommodates more than just letters and packages. It also houses an automotive repair shop for postal vehicle maintenance and a fuel and oil dispensing area. The presence of combustible materials greatly narrowed the choices for competent fire alarm systems.

The USPS upholds strict specifications when it comes to fire system installations. For one example, 100 percent of the system's wire must be enclosed within conduit throughout a facility. On top of national USPS requirements, this facility had its own demands. One of the area's integrators, APi Systems Group Inc., Garland, Texas, was chosen to retrofit the facility with a new E3 Series emergency evacuation system from Gamewell-FCI, Northford, Conn.

One E3 Series FACP (fire alarm control panel) with four loops containing 40 duct detectors, 54 pull stations and 450 horn/strobes provided the center with the required level of enhanced protection.

With so many employees located throughout the building at one time, facility management needed a way to perform ongoing fire alarm tests with little to no disruption to production. “We employed pushbutton controls that would enable and disable all A/V (audio/visual) circuits. This convenience allowed the customer to minimize any disruptions during testing,” says Roddy Bieber, branch manager for APi. “We also provided them a graphic map indicating the different groups of A/Vs so they could concentrate testing to one particular area at a time.” The USPS reportedly tests this system on a monthly basis.

Per the USPS, pushbutton controls were also utilized for manual shutdown of all air-handling units. Automatic fan shutdown is provided via the system's duct detectors.

Mounted to the front of the Gamewell-FCI E3 Series FACP is an LCD keypad controller used as a system interface for operations personnel. Equipped with a two-line 80-character LCD display, a full keypad and LED indicators, the controller displays immediate alarm information for first responders and building managers.

The same style LCD keypad controller is also installed in a remote cabinet to offer an even tighter level of monitoring and control. USPS facility management and first responders can now review system status, address fire alarm issues and enter specific text messages via either LCD keypad controller location. A networked printer also has been included to provide hardcopy details of various incidents, of which the system's history log can store up to 4,100 events.

“The system was set up just the way we wanted it,” says USPS Building Engineer Chuck Harper. “And with our regular fire alarm testing procedures, the panel's ability to temporarily shut off certain A/Vs prevents disruptions to postal operations.”

The modular design of the E3 Series allows for easy expansion, making it possible to support up to 64 nodes and more than 25,000 devices. The networking capabilities of the E3 Series are suited to the USPS' conduit requirements. Only two twisted-pair copper cables or fiber-optic cables are needed to network these fire alarm control panels. Less wire translates into less material and labor costs for the facility owner.

“It was easy to accomplish all that was required of this fire alarm's upgrade with the E3 Series,” Bieber says. “In fact, since the project was completed, APi has been awarded a fire system upgrade for another postal center nearby.”

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