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Our in-depth experience in origin and cause investigation provides the
basis for our fire engineering services. That helps us to save lives - and
help companies to survive in the event of a major fire.
Working together with the Allianz Risiko Service (ARS), we develop total
concepts designed to prevent fires. The need for such services becomes
especially obvious following a catastrophe. The spectrum of fire engineering
services provided by the Allianz Center for Technology includes everything
from the development of new fire-extinguishing concepts to experimental
investigation of new products during the development phase.
An Example: Semiconductor Plant
Welding work on plastic ducts in the exhaust system in a production facility
for integrated circuits resulted in a fire that immediately spread through
the polypropylene ducts to the rest of the building.
The result was damage which amounted to approximately 200 million euro. In a
report submitted following investigation, the Allianz Center for Technology
suggested the use of sections of non-inflammable material in the duct system
to prevent flames from spreading in the future. In addition, it was
recommended that the plastic ducts also be protected by sprinklers.
Development of Fire Extinguishing Systems
Production facilities must be certified for compliance with certain
regulations and standards in order to obtain industrial insurance coverage.
For example, AZT was involved in the implementation of a new safety plan for
a printing plant. A series of exhaustive experiments showed that a solid
aerosol can be used as an environmentally compatible extinguishing agent,
and the client was as a result able to obtain the desired insurance. When it
comes to obtaining insurance coverage for industrial facilities, cooperation
between equipment manufacturers, the company operating the facilities and
the insurance company is important.
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