Risk Management at Abu Dhabi Falah Plaza Hotel - Case Study Example

RISK MANAGMENT (A STUDY OF ABU DHABI FALAH PLAZA HOTEL AND ITS FIRE FIGHTING STRATEGY) 25TH June, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary………………………………………………………... 3.0 2. Introduction………………………………………………………… ……... 3.0 3. Risk Assessment and Management ………………………………………. 4.0 4. Fire safety procedures in the Hotel………………………………… …….. 4.0 5.1 Fire alarm systems………………………………………..……… 4.0 5.2 Sprinkler system…………………………………………………. 5.0 5.3 Smoke and heat detection(includes heat detection and smoke alarms) 5.4 Water supply – Use of dry and wet riser……………………........ 5.0 . 5. Internal Risk Factors …………….………………………….…………….. 6.0 6.1 Evacuation Time…………………………………………………… 6.0 6.2 Travel Distance……………………………………………………. 6.0 6.3 Radio Communication…………..………………………………… 7.0 6.4 Back Draught……………………………………………………… 7.0 6.5 Water Supply………………………………………………………. 8.0 6.6 Rubbish Pipes…………………………………………………….. 8.0 6.7 Fallen Glass and Debris……………………………………………. 8 .0 6.8 Number of Floors…………………………………………………. 8.0 6. External Risk Factors………………………………………………………. 9.0 6.1 Traffic……………………………………………………………… 9.0 6.2 Distance of the Fire Engines……………………………………….. 10.0 7. Risk Factors For the Guest and the Crew…………………………………. 10.0 8. Conclusion……………………………………………………..………….. 11.0 9. Bibliography…………………………………………………….……….. 12.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The emerging tertiary sector that is the service industry has suddenly been showing a tremendous pace of development since the past few decades, with the increasing demand, the challenges and risk also get levitated. One such threat is the occurrence of fire incidents, this report deals with the various means to overcome the destruction caused by fire with special reference to the hotel industry. The risks involved and the strategies framed to overcome those risks by the Hotel Abu Dhabi Falah Plaza, which is one of the most renowned high rising hotel of the city is featured here in this report. INTRODUCTION The leading name in the hotel industry Abu Dhabi Falah Plaza Hotel is a high rising building with 60 floors located on the beautiful beach side coast for providing a mesmerizing view to its guests and keeping in mind the safety issues with a capacity of 6000 rooms entertaining people from all over the world with different cultures, customs, ethos and languages. On the ground floor, kitchen and storage areas are located along with four night clubs with three licensed running bars, laundry, cleaning, swimming pool and various other means of entertainment for all age segments. During the peak season, the hotel has about 14,000 guests to entertain with 700 staff members to look after the excellent service rendered to the guests. To ensure proper safety of the guests at times of crisis, two exit doors on each floor are constructed with six fire fighting lifts. Installation of effective sprinkler system with complete alarm security and proper use of heat and smoke detectors has been done to ensure the safety norms. A dry riser is implanted from the first till the 10th floor and from the 11th floor onwards a wet dry riser system is used till the 60th floor to provide adequate water supply. RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT To deal with the business environment, both external and internal threats have to be tackled, internal factors to an extent are controllable and can be worked upon for improved and better performance but external non-controllable factors are beyond the functioning of any organizations, still various means to mitigate the risk caused by the external forces could be employed during the pre-construction phases while planning and implementing the execution plans for the high rising buildings. FIRE SAFETY PROCEDURES IN THE HOTEL Abu Dhabi Falah Plaza Hotel has adopted few effectual measures in the internal system to confront the fire occurrences such as the : Fire Alarm System: Smoke Alarm Systems are used to sense the low levels of smoke and blow an alarm. They are the stand alone devices used to send signals to the building fire alarm systems. Audible and visual alarms detect whether the alarm system has been activated or not. Flow switches detect the water in case of sprinkler system and blow the alarm (Fire Alarms, 2001). An emergency Voice Alarm system is incorporated as a part of fire alarm system to notify the occupants about the urgency of the situation and declare an alert. Sprinkler System An automated sprinkler system is the best way to control or restrain the fire to a limited area. They are composed of pipes fitted inside the walls and ceilings providing protection to the internal areas of the building. It has the ability to flow 150 gallons of water in a minute (Fire Sprinklers, 2001). As per the NFPA, use of sprinklers reduces the loss ratio by two -third in comparison to any other means. It is obvious that a protection form fire engine does take some time, at that moment sprinklers are the best form for immediate aid, as they react in seconds saving the valuable time. Heat and Smoke Detectors: Fixed temperature Heat detectors are oldest devices, inexpensive used to detect heat at the expansion of heated material, melting of heated material or any kind of change in resistance of heated material, not subjected to any sort of false alarms specially used in areas such as kitchen and work shops. However ionization and photoelectric smoke detectors can stimulate alarm much early than the heat detectors, used for detecting slow burning such as the furniture, building materials etc. Dry and Wet Riser A dry riser is a system which enables the pumping of the water on to the upper floors but not to high, as the Plaza Hotel has used the dry riser up to the 10th floor, and there onwards a wet riser which is a system , where pipes are permanently charged with water. Dry risers are generally loaded in buildings over 18 meters above the ground level whereas the wet risers are used in buildings over 60 meters from the ground level. Improper riser system may cause considerable damage to the lives and property of many. INTERNAL RISK FACTORS Evacuation time: In a high rising building, evacuation takes both time and intelligence. Panic caused by the occupants can raise the casualty level. But a proper pre- planned evacuation strategy can minimize the risk by chalking out the layout for the evacuation stating the priorities clearly with effectual evacuation communication process. During the time of fire evacuations should be made through the stairwells with proper signage for guidance and help.. Emergency evacuation floor team should be well aware of their tasks and responsibilities. For further assistance the occupant’s movement speed can be calculated using the model proposed by Jason D. Averill, Weiguo Song, (2007) to implement more sophisticated techniques of detection and remedial actions. Travel Distance: The major hindrance in a fire fighting rescue operation is the long distance which has to be covered, to combat this risk, the hotel should have adequate appliances and equipments to reach at all levels, use of special fire fighting lifts can enhance the speed for the rescue. Use of elevators can also be one option. As per the guidelines of NFPA in the section 101 – 7.7, the discharge of the exit doors should be straight to the ground level. To curb the distance in times of emergency, the design structure of the building should be in accordance with the rules laid down by the NFPA. A model proposed by (Peter Kolesar, 1975) can be used to minimize the travel time. Radio Communication: A proper communication system is required in high rising buildings for implementation of a successful rescue operation; a radio communication system is the most important component of life saving equipments. Special radio systems are needed which can operate in severe environments such extreme heat and water. Use of Trunking radio systems offers a talk around mode inside the effected building even if there is absence if signals or network coverage(Radio communication for the Fire Services, viewed on 25th June,2008). Radio communication is a link between the central control and the affected areas, instructions to occupants and workforce can be easily conveyed through proper radio system. Personal wireless pagers, loud speakers, and telephones can also be used as communication devices. Back Draught: the internal risk factors also include the consequences of the Back draught which is caused due to the admission of air into the compartment containing oxygen deficiency. According to the NFPA, (Burklin R.W, Purington R.G, 1980) Back Draught is a condition when , “ The explosive or burning of the heated glass that occurs when oxygen is introduced into a building that has not been properly ventilated and has a reduced supply of oxygen at times of fire”. To overcome the back draught problem proper training of the system has to be imparted to the firefighters in addition to the prognostic tools which can be developed to enable the building design to reduce the ill effects of back draught. Water Supply: Constant water supply is needed; internal risks of the company also include adequate water storage. Use of wet riser in the hotel, requires a permanent storage of water which is provided at the ground floor. Water supply is the only means of providing immediate fire support in critical situations, absence of which might lead to disastrous consequences. Rubbish Pipes: are used to send garbage or waste to the main area where the bins are located. In case of the blockage of such pipes fire can spread to other areas of the hotel and aggravate the risk, however use of high quality standard pipes such risk can be mitigated. There are three types of pipes used for recycling into general purpose, short term use and for unprocessed and raw products (Takenaka Corporation, 1999). Fallen Glass: can be a major cause for destruction in times of fire. It is noted that there is a significant damage from the falling glass at times of explosion over a radius of 140 meters. Flying debris could shatter the glasses and cause severe injuries. The danger from being hit by falling glass and debris is much more than any other risk. Use of anti shatter films and protective glasses can help in lowering the risk Number of Floors: increased number of floors can pose more threat to the people trapped in the fire because it takes more time to get out of the danger especially for old and handicapped people, use of fire fighting lifts and elevators can curb the risk but cannot prevent it altogether. It must be ensured that the communication system should be able to respond to the top most floors of the building to avoid any kind of distortion or miscommunication. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 floors From the graph above it can studied that as the number of floors increase the risk factors shoot up as it becomes difficult for the people to provide aid at the highest floor, the slow speed and obstacles on the way increases the risk factors with the increasing number of floors as in the case of medium or low rise buildings. The maximum aid which can be catered to is till 25th floor, beyond which the risk triggers up EXTERNAL RISK FACTORS Traffic Hazards: Uncontrollable risk such as the traffic on the roads cannot be trounced completely; use of sirens signals are made to notify the crowd of the occurrence of a mishap and let the fire engines make way but it is the moral responsibility of the citizens to help the authorities. The traffic hazards can reduce a fire fighters ability to see and make use of the appliances effectively. To control the risk certain measures can be taken such as use of traffic control device, parking of the unwanted vehicles off the road, proper positioning of apparatus and understanding of the topographical conditions, use of high visibility apparels for fire fighters, implementation of incident management system etc. Distance of the Fire Engine: must be as less as possible from the hotel site. There availability is also am important consideration thus for such situations, contact numbers of the nearby fire engines must be ready at all times with proper internal assistance to support them. Near the Plaza hotel few fire engines such as the Essex fire service, strathclydefire organization are located which are located at a reasonable distance from the hotel and be called even by blowing the sirens and automated alarms in emergency. . RISK FACTORS FOR THE GUEST AND THE CREW 10 20 30 40 50 60 Floors For the firefighters increased distance poses threat so as to ensure the adequate supply of water, equipments, and workforce. The radio signals and other communication devices are difficult to respond to the high distance. Panic and chaos could lead to prolonged services and untimely communication which can be disastrous. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Floors The graph above shows that during the day till the 55th floor is less than the risk at night, the factors responsible can be numerous, during the day people are more alert, at night people indulge themselves in leisure activities and are in relaxed mood, many of them fast asleep. Alcoholic activities are more in night than during the day time. Rescue operations at night increase the risk of more time consumption in evacuation, providing amenities and facilities, locating people, sending signals, arranging workforce and many others hazards. CONCLUSION Thus it can be concluded that to deal with the fire incidents , a well formulated disaster management plan needs to be executed considering both the internal as well as the external factors responsible for increasing the risk and applying all the safety procedures as far as possible to prevent the adverse situations. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Fire Sprinklers, Living with Fire, A Program for Campus and Student Fire Safety, posted on 10th Jan, 2001, viewed on 25th June,2008, http://www.ehs.uci.edu/programs/fire/sprinklers.pdf 2. Fire Alarms, Living with Fire, A Program for Campus and Student Fire Safety, posted on 10th Jan, 2001, viewed on 25th June,2008, http://www.ehs.uci.edu/programs/fire/firealarmsystem.pdf 3. Jason D. Averill, Weiguo Song, April 2007, Accounting for Emergency Response in Building Evacuation: Modeling Differential Egress Capacity Solutions, viewed on 25th June,2008, http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/NIST_IR_7425.pdf 4. Takenaka Corporation, POSTED ON January 28, 1999, Three Types of Recycled Products from PVC Pipe Rubbish, Viewed on 25th June, 2008, http://www.takenaka.co.jp/takenaka_e/news_e/pr9901/m9901_01_e.htm 5. Radio communication for the Fire Services, A Planning guide for obtaining the communication system you need for enhanced safety and emergency preparedness, viewed on 25th June, 2008, http://everyonegoeshome.com/resources/firedecisionmanual120905.pdf 6. Peter Kolesar , A Model for Predicting Average Fire Engine Travel Times , Operations Research, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug., 1975), pp. 603-613 , http://www.jstor.org/pss/169845 7. Burklin R.W, Purington R.G, Fire terms: A guide to their meanings and Use, NFPA, 1980    Read More