Siemens Building Technologies Develops Integrated Solutions for Its Customers

Matthias Rebellius has led as CEO the Fire Safety & Security Products Business Unit at Siemens Building Technologies for the past three years. During a visit to the international company headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, Heiko Baumgartner talked with Matthias Rebellius for GIT-SECURITY.com about the trends in building security and fire protection technology and the Siemens products for this industry.

GIT-SECURITY.com: The Siemens One concept assigns one point of contact for your customers. Can you explain the set-up of Siemens One?

Matthias Rebellius: Siemens One is not an independent business unit but a sales organization that works across all sectors. It is supported by our CEO, Peter Löscher, and the head of the Industry sector, Siegfried Russwurm. Our business units are represented within this structure by Siemens Corporate Account Managers who are highly familiar with the whole business. The Corporate Account Managers ensure that our customers have a central contact person for the entire Siemens product range, across all divisions and sectors. Their contact persons are all at management level.

How are Corporate Account Managers assigned to the projects?

Matthias Rebellius: Which expert from the Siemens One organization will be assigned to the project organization is decided during new customer project meetings. The Account Managers must work as an integrated team and also look left and right, whereby the proximity to the customer has priority over technology and solutions.

Can you say something about vertical markets?

Matthias Rebellius: One example of a vertical market that we manage in the Fire Safety Business Unit is the hotel market, for which I have the business lead. As we have a deep understanding of the processes of our hotel customers, we are able to deliver solutions to our Corporate Account Managers that are tailored to the needs of hotels. The security and safety of hotel guests is a very important subject, not least because of legal requirements. Meeting legal obligations alone, however, does not necessarily provide advantages for the business processes of hotel operators. Benefits can be optimized through an effective combination of the security and fire protection systems with an integrated building automation system. This is what we call "Total Building Solutions". Take, for example, the current information devices in hotel rooms, such as the TV screen which already performs a variety of functions like greeting guests and providing TV and radio programs as well as internet access. This device could also be integrated into the overall system so that it displays important messages in the event of a mass evacuation. This way there is no need to look for the evacuation plan in an emergency. Intelligent escape route control with lights also helps the evacuation process.

How is business developing in the residential market?

Matthias Rebellius: Changes in the standards mean that both new and older buildings now have to be fitted with smoke detectors. In most cases this is simple technology that has not been in our focus so far.

Could you tell us something about the role of voice alarms for building security?

Matthias Rebellius: Voice alarms will form an even more important element of security systems in the future. The characteristics depend on the type of building and its particular usage. A general voice alarm, for example, is not suitable for a hospital; hospitals require intelligent evacuation systems, which apply a staged evacuation concept that clears floors or rooms. The evacuation is initiated at various information levels via a local ‘Command & Control Solution‘ and is continuously tracked. This way the evacuation procedure is clearly tracked in case liability issues arise later. The US market is at the forefront of liability questions. It is particularly important, for example, to provide active support to the crisis team on large university campuses in the US. Good mass voice alarm systems are key where threats of fire or guns exist. These are important components of ‚Intelligent Response‘ solutions for intelligent emergency situations.

Is ‘Intelligent Response‘ used for all vertical markets?

Matthias Rebellius: Yes, it can be incorporated into virtually all security concepts. Our portfolio provides the necessary functionality. We combine this functionality of intelligent response solutions with our solution and application competence for our end-customers. .

Siemens supports the ‘best-of-breed‘ approach. How does this affect integrated solutions?

Matthias Rebellius: Tenders often take multiple suppliers into account. Our aim is always to find the best possible combination of all components, which is why we apply the BACNet standards and Ethernet. The security solutions also feature open interfaces and integration ability. Of course, we are happiest when our own products are used to the fullest extent.

How do you view the growing together of different sub-components into one solution?

Matthias Rebellius: We see a merging of fire protection, access control and burglar alarm systems. We are able to provide our customers with the best solution for his needs thanks to the integration capability and openness of the systems. The Siemens Management System forms the bridge for this integration. Our MM8000 Danger Management Station can, for example, be used just as well for smaller requirements as it can be used at the core of multiple locations. And, to return to the hotel example, the reservation or room management system can also be incorporated alongside the fire alarm and access control system.

Does integration only happen at management level?

Matthias Rebellius: No, integration also happens at controller level. With the field bus, for example, video technology can be integrated into the loop of the fire alarm equipment and displayed on the fire brigade panel. This enables us to provide a ‚pre-recording‘ of the fire situation that can give the response personnel valuable information early on. The Ethernet-based network and comprehensive use of IP technology guarantee the highest security, availability and redundancy through a cluster backbone architecture that complies with EN 54 and can be connected to up to 64 central controllers.

What trends do you see with fire detectors?

Matthias Rebellius: Wireless fire alarms systems are becoming increasingly popular. We invest large amounts in the research and development of such systems and the next generation of fire detectors. We are able to give our customers a genuine alarm guarantee because of the high quality level of our detectors, which are based on ASAtechnology. Additional sensors can hardly beat such a high level performance. This is why we see the trends in fire detectors more in terms of a combination of fire and life safety, such as turbo isolators in the loop or CO sensors. The development of fire detectors will concentrate on the normal generation change and adjusting to new technology.

What do chemical sensors offer?

Matthias Rebellius: Chemical sensors can also be helpful for pure fire detection when one needs to find out what is burning or how a fire started, for example with a fire accelerator. Chemical sensors also help in the analysis. In general, the most important aspects in the development of fire detectors are protection against false alarms and the reaction time - that's where future development will focus on.

You mentioned wireless fire alarms technology. Tell us more.

Matthias Rebellius: We will soon be introducing Sinteso Swing. In contrast to the wired Sinteso fire detectors with ASAtechnology, Sinteso Swing also utilizes mesh network technology. Routing over the wireless alarm point happens in real time. This, together with the wireless solution architecture increases the engineering availability and flexibility enormously. Sinteso Swing is currently being certified to EN 5425.

Wireless fire detector technology could soon come out of its niche positioning and develop into a large market. I don't think however that it will be a mass market and don't expect it to develop into a 100% replacement for wired systems. I also see hybrid solutions that will accommodate high urbanization and population density in towns. For example in housing blocks or shopping centers, radio systems could be integrated into existing cabled systems for flexible usage areas. Cabling is often very difficult in historic buildings, where wireless technology is a great advantage.

What other trends can you identify?

Matthias Rebellius: A very important point is that we secure our customer‘s investment for the long-term. A sustainable modernization and migration strategy contributes to this and is provided by Sinteso Move. A fire alarm system can be modernized step-by-step with this migration concept and thus ensures the security of investment. We have been active in fire protection for 160 years: some systems have already been in operation for 30 years. Backwards compatibility is not just a feature here but the basis for a long-term customer relationship that is built on trust.

Mr Rebellius, thank you for this conversation.