Industrial Fire Prevention

Every month we come across several news stories related to industrial fires. Some of them are unavoidable, caused by weather conditions or factors outside the factory’s control, but many others occur due to processes carried out at high temperatures that are not monitored. We used to believe that these fires were primarily related to industrial processes, but after conducting research and speaking with some of our clients (we’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their feedback), we also discovered that they occur in other areas such as warehousing, electrical transformers, and the handling of hazardous substances.

After half a century of providing sensor technology to the industry through Grupo Álava, we realized that the very same technology we use for process quality and predictive maintenance could help mitigate these fires. These fires generally result in major disasters: material and economic losses, environmental damage, and, in the worst cases, evacuations of the population or loss of life.

To address this issue, we devoted all our knowledge and efforts to developing a technology that would enable us to help. That’s how our Aidan solution came about, which combines thermal imaging cameras, visible-light cameras, and software we developed in-house. Through these sensors, the solution helps prevent fires and avoid false alarms, allowing users to manually configure settings based on the temperatures typical of common materials or processes. Of course, if temperatures above normal parameters are detected, the system will also alert safety personnel and can activate fire suppression systems.

At Grupo Álava, we are very proud to see how our solutions—in addition to contributing to industrial growth and the resulting technological innovation—can have such a positive impact on society.