Fire alarm system design with Safety Systems Designer

For system designers, one of the most time consuming tasks is to transfer each fire safety device from AutoCAD®software into Safety Systems Designer manually to generate the detailed BOM of all Bosch panel components, plus the related tender text. Similarly, system integrators carry out this manual transfer to validate the viability of the system and check for any exceeded system limits. These manual, laborious tasks pose risks of human error, especially when pressure is on to meet tight project deadlines.

The Bosch SSD plugin for AutoCAD® software supports fire alarm system design with an automated solution which offers rapid, seamless data transfer from AutoCAD® software to Safety Systems Designer. This instantly increases efficiency, compatibility, accuracy and reliability.

Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries.

Planning and designing safety systems are often complex projects with multiple stages, practical factors, limits and preferences to consider. In addition, manual specification of requirements for a system’s design can involve tedious tasks which consume valuable time and pose high risks of human error.

Safety Systems Designer is intuitive to navigate and use, and allows consultants and system specifiers to plan and configure fire safety systems quickly and precisely with automated steps. It allows users to design entire systems without the need for software-specific training.

The tedious manual steps of fire alarm system planning are time-consuming. Having to start from scratch every time a new customer presents their required system parameters is an inefficient use of resources for consultants and system specifiers.

The Safety Systems Designer offers a large array of predefined templates which simplify the whole planning process. Completely new planning documentation can be produced and exported to an Excel spreadsheet in a few quick clicks.

Whether office towers or sprawling complexes, customers’ buildings are unique. They demand precise designs to address the requirements of all aspects of fire safety. Planning consultants and system specifiers must customize each of their systems to address very specific needs.

With the Safety Systems Designer Quick Start feature, required parameters and specifications of systems can be rapidly selected from a generic, manufacturer-neutral list of fire safety devices. With just a few clicks, the selection is imported to the program. Devices are evenly distributed across the minimum number of loops and panels automatically.

It is difficult to predict the issues that might occur when there is a lack of overview for a system, such as its capacity and potential system limits in the future regarding fire alarm system configuration.

With Safety Systems Designer, key indicators are clearly visualized. This transparency allows safety system designers and specifiers to view the maximum capacity versus the current situation. This is updated at every configuration step, so an overview is provided the entire time, indicating any exceeded limits and providing direct links to any sources of error.

For larger and networked fire alarm systems, an overview of all networking devices needed, including Ethernet switches, media converters, and related housing components, is difficult to compile and maintain. However, clear, consolidated view of the networked systems is essential to predict potential conflicts or technological limits.

Safety Systems Designer provides automatic calculation of all necessary networking devices with minimal input and effort. The software reports any system conflict with a direct link to its source to the user. A clear network overview can be exported with one click in multiple formats.

With the Bosch SSD plugin for AutoCAD® software, users can design in the AutoCAD® application by using a professional, extensive SSD blocks library which contains all relevant fire alarm peripherals. Users can automatically save a fire alarm system from the AutoCAD® software as an .ifc file and then instantly import it to Safety Systems Designer software. The .ifc file comprises all configured quantities and attributes of the fire alarm peripherals, including loop and panel assignment.

The Bosch SSD plugin saves valuable time, meaning tight deadlines can be met more easily, and project portfolios can continuously be updated and expanded. The automation of the previously manual transfer from AutoCAD® software to Safety Systems Designer significantly reduces errors, thus improving quality and reliability of design projects. This solution is unique in the market. The SSD plugin is free of charge and quick to install.

Autodesk screen shots reprinted courtesy of Autodesk, Inc.
Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries.

For fire safety design projects, system integrators are often missing a professional CAD blocks library with the full range of relevant fire-safety peripherals made available to them.

The SSD CAD blocks library comprises more than 150 blocks, predesigned in the same look and feel as icons in the established Bosch Safety Systems Designer software.

Each of the blocks feature detailed attributes to use as needed, including

• Detailed and manufacturer neutral product description
• Editable panel and loop assignment
• Editable element address

The SSD blocks library can be uploaded easily to the AutoCAD® blocks palette. The detailed attributes help users find the relevant fire-safety peripheral block quickly and easily when using the AutoCAD® blocks palette’s filter function.

The selected SSD block can be transferred from the palette to the AutoCAD® model space with a simple drag and drop. The fire-safety peripheral is then configured, and ready for its import to Safety Systems Designer. This saves users time, as well as unnecessary frustration.

For optimized comfort and flexibility, the SSD plugin features can be applied with any user-specific CAD blocks library. A simple mapping functionality allows users to adapt any CAD block with the appropriate attributes so that it will be recognized by the Bosch SSD plugin.

Autodesk screen shots reprinted courtesy of Autodesk, Inc.
Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries.

Safety Systems Designer is convenient and intuitive enough to navigate immediately without the need for specific training. A simple Setup Assistant provides installation guidance in a few steps and activation of local admin rights are not needed. Terminology is generic and available in 17 different languages. With the user-friendly interface, and ready-to-use templates which ease the burden of repetitive work steps, designing a fire alarm system has never been faster or easier.

Safety Systems Designer provides a continual clear overview of the latest status of planning, configuration and specifications. As designing a fire alarm system involves input from diverse parties, this transparency helps all personnel work effectively together to establish the safest fire safety solutions. Everyone, from planners to specifiers and their customers, is on the same page and can advise or intervene when needed, so all fire protection projects can run smoothly.

All key indicators are displayed with clear visuals on the Safety Systems Designer interface. The maximum capacity is shown at each configuration step and the current state of the configuration instantly updated when adding each new element, for instance:

• system level – total number of detection points and loop elements
• panel level – total number of detection points, loop elements and panel modules
• loop level – total current consumption, quantity of loop elements, loop length and used loop cable diameter

Continuous monitoring on the backend performs feasibility checks on configured products in real time to avoid configuration errors. If any system limits are exceeded, users are instantly alerted with a direct link to the source of error.