A look at the latest display solutions to help increase your in-store purchases.

PRIDE OF PLACE

This year, Aico has achieved the successful deployment of its latest point of sale (PoS) units. These units have been efficiently distributed to over 500 wholesalers nationwide. This accomplishment is a testament to Aico’s dedication to supporting its supply chain.

Aico’s team of Regional Specification Managers (RSMs) worked in close collaboration with the well-established network of wholesalers throughout the UK as part of Aico’s commitment to providing continuous support throughout the process. The support offered by the RSMs extended beyond installations. It encompasses a comprehensive range of services, including in-branch marketing guidance, extensive training sessions for entire branch teams, and specialised attention to unique orders requiring extra care.

Tony Boyle, National Sales Manager at Aico, expressed deep appreciation for the pivotal role played by electrical wholesalers in the company’s supply chain, emphasising: “Electrical distributors are a valued and integral part of our supply chain and our route to market. Aico products can be purchased from nearly 2,500 trading electrical distributors across the UK. We are delighted that our distributor partners are showcasing Aico products and utilising our new point of sale display stands, which take pride of place at many a trade counter.”

Aico is dedicated to delivering exemplary customer service and regularly extends invitations to wholesalers to visit its Centre of Excellence in Oswestry to enable the supply chain to understand more about Aico and its products.

Ask Aico

Distributors also frequently host “Ask Aico” events with the support of their local RSM, providing installers with comprehensive information about domestic fire and carbon monoxide detection. For installers, Aico also provides Expert Installer Training at wholesaler branches, which is undertaken onboard Aico’s mobile training units that tour the country. Expert Installer Training provides invaluable insights for the supply chain, offering hands-on training to make sure installation is correct for the life safety devices that Aico supplies. This also enables the confidence extended from the knowledge delivered to ensure top-tier customer service.

Alongside new point of sale stands, wholesalers can now showcase Aico’s new Ei3030 Multi-Sensor Fire and Carbon Monoxide Alarm with specially designed wallboards and counter mats, which have already been successfully distributed to over 600 branches.

Aico’s range of wallboards and counter mats are available for wholesalers to order through their Aico online portal. They simply type in ‘POS’ and the list of products will appear.

To find out how your local Regional Specification Manager can support you, please click here

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This year Aico has been working with JTL Training in Ashford, Kent to provide their students with Aico’s free, award-winning Expert Installer Training.

JTL is one of the largest work-based learning providers in England and Wales working with over 3,800 businesses from large corporations to small local suppliers. JTL is currently working with over 8,000 learners and trains more apprentices than anyone else in the building services and engineering sector.

Aico’s FIA CPD accredited Expert Installer Training is designed to ensure electrical contractors have all the information they need to install domestic fire and carbon monoxide alarm systems. Guaranteeing effective fire safety protection for customers relies on alarm systems being installed correctly. It is important that young people who are entering the work environment are given the correct information when it comes to installing life safety devices.

The students at JTL were also provided with information and a demonstration of the HomeLINK Connected Home Solution. The system can extract and collate data directly from alarm heads and Environmental Sensors and be made available from a user-friendly dashboard. These actionable insights enable preventative measures and proactive maintenance of Landlords’ housing portfolios.

Once students have completed Expert Installer training, they are invited to join the Aico Installer Community – a connected online platform built to support Expert Installers. Members of the community are eligible to participate in Aico’s free-of-charge City & Guilds Assured Training – Domestic Fire &CO Alarm Systems.

Aico’s Regional Specification Manager (RSM), Paul Barrett, who provided the training, added: “Educating future generations is one of the most rewarding parts of my role. It has been great to work with Russell Griffiths and Dave Cunningham educating their students on the importance of installing Domestic Fire and CO alarms to British Standards BS 5839-P6 and BS 50292. It is now becoming an annual event and I hope we can roll the training out to all their colleges.”

JTL’s Senior Electrical Tutor, Russell Griffiths, commented: “I have been teaching electrical installations for 17 years and it has always baffled me that fire alarms do not form more of a part of the qualification than they do. So, with this in mind, I made an approach to Paul Barrett of Aico to see if the company could provide CPD to our learners here at JTL Ashford.

“On meeting with Paul, I could tell that Aico were going to be very proactive partners in the assistance they were to give us, and it was fantastic to hear about the Expert Installer training that they could provide for our learners. We arranged a date for Paul to come in and deliver the training and I have to say it was of great benefit to our learners. Students were actively engaged from start to finish and all were provided with a certificate of completion, that they could add to their CPD files and off-the-job training logs.

“All learners found the session very useful and were happy with gaining a better understanding of domestic smoke alarm systems and the different types of protection offered with Aico products, Paul was very professional and able to deliver a good session to our learners with his expert knowledge.

“Moving forward, Paul has arranged for a bespoke display board to be made for our workshop enabling the learners to have access to not only demonstrate products but also can be made live to enable learners to test functionality. I hope that we can have a Paul back every year to deliver to our learners because the service that Aico and Paul provide is a valuable addition to our curriculum here and I believe that it should be used widely throughout our organisation.”

Supporting education is a big focus for Aico and they have a dedicated team of 29 RSMs, delivering fully accredited CPD courses across the UK.

To find out more, you can find your local RSM here

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Aico has introduced the newest innovation in Multi-Sensor alarms – the Ei3030 Multi-Sensor Fire and Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarm.

The flagship alarm in Aico’s technologically advanced 3000 Series, the Ei3030 combines individual optical, heat and CO sensors, for the ultimate fire and CO response.

Aico continues to evolve its offering to provide products that align with its customers’ requirements while maintaining the simplicity that Installers love.

The Ei3030 multi-sensor Fire and CO specifications include:

• Fire Response – The device contains a thermistor heat sensor and high-performance optical sensor that intelligently work together, but will also operate independently.
• CO Response – The proven electrochemical CO Sensor provides an accurate CO response. The CO response is in line with BS EN 50291-1:2018.
• Visual Indicators – The Ei3030 has visual fire and CO indicators. The relevant indicator flashes depending on what has triggered the alarm.
• Kitemarks – This device holds Kitemarks for British Standards BS EN 14604:2005, BS 5446-2:2003 and BS EN 50291-1:2018.

The Ei3030 also has a range of additional benefits, including built-in dust compensation technology. The unique self-monitoring dust compensation mechanism reduces the risk of false alarms. The optical sensor chamber continually self-monitors minute changes in dust levels, automatically recalibrating the alarm’s trigger point when necessary to reduce false alarms.

For more information, click here

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BS 5839-6 is the code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic premises. Andy Speake, National Technical Manager, Aico, explains the importance of these standards.

A new version of BS 5839-6 was released on the 30^th April which has some major changes that will impact both you and your customers. These changes relate to the Grades of alarms, which determine the type of alarm to be used, and the Category which identifies the type/level of protection for each identified dwelling.

Grade changes

Under BS 5839-6, Fire Alarms are classified into Grades, from A to F. Grades B and E have been removed in 2019, but with Grade D being the current most common for domestic properties, I will focus on this.

Under the previous standard, Grade D required one or more interlinked mains powered Smoke Alarms (and Heat Alarms if required), each with an integral back-up supply. Under the revised BS 5839-6, Grade D has been replaced with Grades D1 and D2 which differ in terms of the back-up power supply:

D1 calls for a tamper-proof, standby supply consisting of a battery or batteries, with lithium being the standard battery type. These are long-life battery cells lasting the recommended lifespan of the alarm and are designed so they cannot easily be removed by the user. Grade D1 alarms are the preferred option for social housing as they remove the risk factor.

D2, on the other hand, requires an integral standby supply consisting of a battery or batteries (usually 9 volt PP3) which need to be replaced at regular intervals throughout the life of the alarm by the user.

Be sure to ask customers if it’s Grade D1 or D2 alarms they require. If uncertain, D1 is the safest option.

Whilst Grade D alarms feature most heavily in BS 5839-6:2019, Grade F systems also warrant mention here due to changes in Scottish legislation earlier this year which permits their use. Grade F systems use battery-only powered alarms. As with Grade D, Grade F has now been divided into F1 and F2 in the same fashion as that noted above.

New protection levels

Under BS 5839-6, different class of premises are identified and the minimum Grade of Fire Alarm system and Category of fire protection provided for that specific type of property are listed. It is here, in the 2019 revisions, that we have seen the biggest changes that will have a major impact on what type of Fire Alarms are fitted and where. In the main this is due to an increase in the Category of fire protection from LD3 where previously listed, which requires one mains powered Optical Alarm in the hallway and another upstairs on the landing, interconnected together, to Category LD2.

LD2 

LD2 involves additional alarm coverage, with a Heat Alarm in the kitchen and a further Smoke Alarm in the main living area, once again all interconnected.

This upgrade in fire protection is most notable in existing rental properties and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs):

Existing two to three storey maisonettes and houses in the rental sector have now been upgraded from the low Category of fire protection (LD3) to the medium Category LD2 and graded D1, i.e. mains powered alarm with tamper-proof battery back-up power.

Existing Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) have been set as Category LD2, whereas before it was a mixture of LD2 and LD3 depending on the nature of the property and inhabitants. Grade D1 is now the requirement.

Other property types that have made an appearance in the BS 5839-6 property classification are supported housing and short-term holiday lets. Both are allocated the highest category of protection, Grade D1, LD1.

Future implications

BS 5839-6:2019 is a standard for fire detection and Fire Alarm systems in domestic premises, not a set of legal requirements; there is no penalty if an organisation or individual chooses to ignore the standard and no date for ‘compliance’. However, the standard is considered best practice and those who choose to ignore it do so at their own risk. Certainly, social housing organisations place great emphasis on it and complying with it is regarded as essential.

Many have been moving towards LD2 systems over the past year in the anticipation of the revisions and we are now witnessing a large number rewriting their alarm specifications accordingly and planning upgrade programmes.

With the 2019 revisions we have benefitted from greater clarity and, in a number of cases, an increase in the level of fire protection. Of course, with this comes a need for additional alarms per property which represents an increase in unit sales for the wholesaler, but also a chance to upsell to higher value alarms with greater features and functions. For example, Fire Alarms that come with wireless alarm interconnection technology, such as Aico’s RadioLINK+ and SmartLINK, will make for faster installation, which is sure to be welcome by your customers.

With larger Fire Alarm systems comes issues over control and maintenance as more alarms will need to be tested, plus it’s important to be able to locate the precise alarm which originally triggered. Here you have the opportunity to advise customers of useful system accessories, such as an Alarm Controller which comes with test, silence and locate features for all alarms on the system. It adds valuable control to an LD2 system and represents further sales opportunities.

BS 5839-6:2019 builds on the success of the original standard which all installers will be familiar with. Pointing out the key changes and advising your customers of how they can meet the revised standard is a valuable service, whilst also providing additional sales opportunities for yourself.

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