Troax upgrades fire safety

AT LEADING HEALTHCARE DISTRIBUTOR M&S TOILETRIES' LIVINGSTON DISTRIBUTION CENTRE.
Industrial safety and partitioning specialist Troax UK Limited has upgraded fire safety at the Livingston distribution centre of M&S Toiletries, one of the UK's leading distributors of health, beauty and household products, by installing a large, custom-designed wire mesh enclosure for the storage of aerosols and other flammable or volatile products.

Working with main project contractors Thistle Systems Group, Troax designed the six-metre high wire mesh enclosure to provide M&S Toiletries with a convenient way to meet relevant Fire and Safety regulations concerning the storage of potentially hazardous aerosol products and to ensure the safety of personnel working in the area.

The Livingston warehouse is one of M&S Toiletries' main distribution centres, from where it distributes over 6,000 top brand products from manufacturers such as Elida Faberge, Procter & Gamble, Gillette, Colgate Palmolive and Wella, to pharmacies, retail outlets and 'cash and carries' across the UK.

In particular, the enclosure, which Troax constructed using its Caelum industrial partitioning, has a mesh aperture of 25mm x 25mm to ensure that volatile aerosol cans can be stored safely, preventing the escape of shards in the event of an explosion and so containing any subsequent fire.

Another advantage of the wire mesh design is that, in the event of a fire, it permits smoke and heat to filter through the enclosure to trigger smoke detection systems and it allows the effective penetration of sprinkler systems.

Troax fitted the mesh partitions right up into the roof space to ensure that the structure was completely enclosed, with no gaps. Three large, (3 metres wide x 4.5 metres high) bi-parting, self-closing doors have also been installed which automatically demagnetise in the event of a fire and remain open to provide an immediate escape route. The doors provide forklift access and have been custom-designed by Troax.

According to Stewart Hoskins of main project contractor Thistle Systems Group, Troax made an invaluable contribution to the M&S Toiletries project by ensuring that all Fire and Safety regulations were met.

He reports: “Troax provided us with a complete, 'one-stop' solution for the project – designing a storage enclosure that fits the available warehouse space, provides easily accessible storage and most importantly, meets all of the end user's requirements. They were our representatives on site and carried out a thoroughly professional job.”

Also incorporated into the design of the enclosure was another important safety feature – Troax's Musca Anti-Collapse pallet rack safety screens (also in the 25mm x 25mm mesh size), which have been fitted to pallet racking within the enclosure to prevent items falling from the racking and injuring personnel.

Troax UK Limited
Enterprise House
Murdock Road
Swindon SN3 5HY
Tel: 01793 542000
Fax: 01793 618784
eml: info@troax.co.uk