PAP Group · · Updated · Customer story · Fire alarm systems · 4 min read
PAP takes care of fire safety in Finland’s largest building
S Group’s grocery logistics centre in Sipoo is the largest building in Finland and the seventh largest in the world by volume. With a quarter of the food consumed by Finns passing through it, fire safety plays a significant role at the site.
“The site has a floor area of 195,000 m² and a volume of 3,560,000 m³,” begins Petri Pitkänen, property manager at SOK Kiinteistöässä. “The scale is perhaps best understood by comparison: the building could hold 30 Parliament Houses.”
S Group’s grocery logistics centre in Sipoo plays a significant role in what Finns can put in their trolleys on their daily shopping trips. A quarter of the food consumed in our country every day passes through the centre. “When a site is this critical, it is absolutely vital to ensure that there are no interruptions of any kind to operations. The centre’s operations are designed to be efficient, and there is no idle time. If production is interrupted, for example because of an unnecessary fire alarm, this may eventually also show up as gaps on store shelves. On the other hand, if it were a real fire, it would be extremely important to bring it under control as quickly as possible.”
When the design and implementation of the logistics centre’s fire safety systems became topical in 2014, SOK chose PAP as its partner for the project. “Our site needs complex and extensive systems to protect it. We chose PAP because it can reliably handle projects on such a massive scale and also understands the importance of fire safety to us and our business.”
A complex whole
Rauno Pukarinen, founder of PAP Group, says that the project to protect the logistics centre was unique in many ways. “Our brief was to deliver the systems to the site installed and fully operational. From start to handover, the project took a total of four years.”
Just as the scale of the logistics centre is among the largest in the world, its fire safety systems are extensive and complex. “We installed more than 400 aspirating smoke detection systems, 30 fire alarm control panels and 3,000 other devices, such as various detectors, sounders and manual call points. There is a huge number of controls between the systems at the site, and all of them had to be made to work as designed. The fire alarm system controls, for example, fire doors and smoke barriers, which effectively prevent a possible fire from spreading.”
A project this large also had challenges of its own. “For example, we carried out pipework design and installations in a space 27 metres high. When no crane tall enough for the job could be found in Finland, we ended up buying one from Germany. The site also has special spaces, such as a freezer of almost 15,000 m². We had to think about how the work would be carried out in practice and later maintained in arctic conditions. The practical work was further complicated by the fact that moving around a kilometre-long building took a lot of time.”
Occupational safety and project management were key to the project. “For us, occupational safety goes without saying, and we are also experienced in delivering large projects. That is why we handled these areas flawlessly as well, and the work was completed nicely on the agreed schedule.”
When a site is this critical, it is naturally extremely important that every part of the fire safety system always works without fault. That is why PAP was chosen to take care of the logistics centre’s fire safety after the actual installation work as well. “We spend a lot of time at the site, as such an extensive and complex whole requires active maintenance. We work fairly independently, and when practical interaction with the customer is needed, it takes place directly with the site’s property manager. Direct customer communication is key in this kind of work. When we can contact the customer without intermediaries, the work gets done in the best possible way in terms of both schedule and quality. The customer also benefits financially from the direct contact, in the form of factory discounts on products.”
Fire safety in the hands of a trusted partner
Petri Pitkänen of SOK Kiinteistöässä is satisfied with the cooperation with PAP. “Professional skill, knowledge and specialisation stand out in everything they do. It is also a good thing that we get everything we need to maintain our fire safety as a complete delivery through PAP.”
PAP’s way of working also earns praise from Petri Pitkänen. “PAP works independently at our site, but interactively at the same time. I appreciate that I do not have to chase things up; PAP informs me of everything relevant. It is also very good that communication with me comes directly from someone who is physically present at the site. This way, the information is accurate, and the quality and cost-effectiveness of the work improve. PAP also actively makes suggestions for improving and developing our fire safety, which we value highly.”
Finally, Petri Pitkänen highlights the most important things that, in his view, make PAP an excellent partner for SOK. “The quality of PAP’s work is of a very high standard. At such a critical site, it is extremely important that you can trust your partner’s expertise not just 100 but 110 per cent.”
