Safety technology

“The actual panel will store a log of information about what’s happening to the system, whether it is changes in pressure or battery percentage, or whether somebody opens the panel and changes the settings on it,” he said. “All these things that happened with the panel are data-logged.

“In the event of an incident or if there is a problem with the system, we can go in and interrogate the panel and see what’s been happening.”

Muster 360 is a dedicated cloudbased portal used exclusively with Muster systems. It provides a framework for conducting a fire risk assessment, detailing system requirements and defining a bill of materials.

“Muster360 allows for the user to initially design a system layout, and to complete the commissioning paperwork following a system installation,” Sharpe said.

The Muster fire suppression system has more than proved its worth on a number of occasions, including one incident when a mine’s wheel loader caught fire very quickly.

“A fairly large wheel loader had a catastrophic turbo failure, which caused a catastrophic fire event in terms of its physical size, the intensity of the fire and the time in which it happened,” Sharpe said.

“The Muster system detected the fire automatically. It put the fire out and limited the amount of damage to a minimum, reducing the amount of downtime experienced following the fire event.”

Even with all the success Muster’s fire suppression system has seen, Atkinson said there will always be room for growth and improvement.

“Since these sorts of systems were first introduced, the actual mechanics of how they operate haven’t changed a lot over time, from the mechanical and pneumatic side of the system,” he said.

“Where it has developed has been from the electronic side.

“Dale works very closely with his customers, as do each of our regions globally. We get a lot of that feedback back into the Muster team, which we will look at and use in developing new products.

“We’re always looking at that continual improvement process with what we can do based on feedback coming from the field.

“It’s not just about engineers sitting in a room and coming up with an idea and saying it’s a fantastic idea in theory.”

Both Atkinson and Sharpe believe the fire suppression system complements each company’s portfolio.

“The largest product range JSG has is the lubrication and flow products, which is all industrial-related,” Sharpe said. “The Muster fire suppression product just slips in there very nicely.

“If there’s a fire system being installed, there’s always going to be an automatic lubrication system, so they all complement each other.”