Digital maintenance documentation for fire shutters

Flap open, flap closed.

Requirements

Every year, all fire shutters and smoke extraction flaps in the Allianz Arena have to be checked and serviced. And there are plenty of them: over 1,200 are installed throughout the stadium, in countless ventilation channels and in places that are sometimes difficult to access. In addition, the number and position vary due to the many refurbishment measures FC Bayern is investing in to offer a visitor experience at the highest level.

Fire shutters are installed in ventilation channels between fire sections to prevent fire flashover and smoke spread in an emergency. In normal operation, the fire shutter is open to allow air to pass through. Fire shutters are installed in ventilation channels between fire sections to prevent fire flashover and smoke spread in an emergency. In normal operation, the fire shutter is open to allow air to pass through. It closes automatically in the event of a fire, thus preventing the spread of fire and smoke, as can be seen in the animated graphic above, provided to us by Trox, leader in the developing and producing of fire dampers. A component with an important function that you don’t notice as a guest. A component with an important function that you don’t notice as a guest.

In normal operation, the fire shutter is open to allow air to pass through.Documenting the inventory of fire shutters and their condition cleanly and completely year after year, using individual data sheets for each shutter, was a major challenge for the technical operations team. The goal was to create a system that would assist with maintenance and ensure complete documentation of the fire damper inventory and maintenance status. The documented records also had to be quickly retrievable for regular inspections by TÜV or DEKRA.

Implementation

Companeer developed a custom application for the client. The users and their needs were included in the development. Great attention was paid to an ergonomic design of the mobile app.

In this development process it came out that smartphones were much more practical to use than tablets. During maintenance work, it is often necessary to climb ladders or climb through narrow inspection doors. The mobile app on the smartphone was designed to be used one-handed on site for each input step. The consistently more powerful cameras and LED lights were another argument in favor of smartphones instead of tablets.

The location of each fire shutter can be marked on a plan section in the system as well as with barcodes on site. Maintenance technicians can record all necessary information on a fire shutter’s condition on site and then sign off directly in the mobile app.

For the operations team at Allianz Arena, the application offers many list views that allow daily monitoring of the inventory of flaps, their condition, possible defects, and the progress of maintenance work. Fire shutters removed in the course of construction work can be archived while retaining the maintenance history, and new shutters can be added. What is helpful here is to always be able to refer to the current plan inventory that Companeer has created (see here).

Auch im Betrieb der Lösung unterstützt Companeer. To relieve Allianz Arena’s technical operations team, administration tasks such as creating new users or starting new maintenance cycles were handed over to Companeer. Both maintenance technicians and the Allianz Arena operations team can receive first-hand support at any time. This is important to us, because with the knowledge gained from being close to the users, it has been possible to add further important functions to the system over time.

Our services

• Create and operate a digital platform for recording the inventory of fire shutters and smoke flaps, and for documenting maintenance work performed as well as defects and their repair.