Fire Protection during Construction

 

Fires are rarely sympathetic to any environment and can quickly destroy weeks, if not months of workmanship during a construction project. It is therefore crucially important that some often simple steps are taken to ensure your project takes the necessary precautions to prevent fire.

Keeping the construction area as clear as possible, particularly when left unattended, should be a key consideration on every foreman's list. Reducing the amount of debris and combustible materials both within the build site and around its immediate boundaries can prevent a fire starting from a loose spark. Clearing the site of these materials should be carried out as often as practicable.

Many fires are started within the roof space of a build therefore it is important to prevent such an occurrence as much as possible. Do this by selecting materials that are fire resistant or do not combust such as Class A asphalt shingles, metal, cement or concrete products.

There are some design considerations as well which could be taken into account. For example, smaller panes and double glazed windows are much more effective in preventing the spread of fire from one room or building to another (providing the windows are built to the appropriate government and construction industry standards).

During the build process, be sure to use surface protection products in both the protection of the finished floor, wall or door, but also with consideration to the prevention of fire. There are numerous products on the market but not all are flame retardant. Why take the risk?

Carpet protection is one of the most common forms of surface protection as carpets are often the most easily of damaged finishings during the final stages of a build. This is perhaps one of the most important areas to ensure fire protection because a fire at this stage of a build is likely to destroy much more than just the carpet.

Prevention is always better than cure, no more so than in the avoidance of fire in the construction industry. Make sure this does not happen to your project by following some simple steps and choosing the right protection products.

 

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Fire alarm system interfaces

 

For many years, building fire alarm systems have been used to provide interfaces with building systems beyond the HVAC system interfaces. One example of such interfaces involves signals being sent from the fire alarm system to the building’s elevator control equipment to initiate Phase I emergency operations (or “elevator recall,” as it is commonly referred to within the United States) and return elevators to a designated level for occupant safety and to ensure elevator availability for emergency responders. Another example of fire alarm system integration is where the fire alarm system sends signals to a building’s security system to disable electronic locking devices in the means of egress pathway where such locks are permitted during nonemergency times to restrict the travel of occupants within a building.

Fire alarm systems have been successfully interfaced with other building systems to improve the overall level of safety in large assembly occupancy spaces, such as theatres and large entertainment facilities. In these buildings, it can be difficult for a fire alarm system to draw the attention of an otherwise-occupied person in the building. To address this, fire alarm systems are often interfaced to disable both the use of public address systems and the use of light-dimming equipment. Disabling these systems allows the fire alarm system to be heard and provides an adequate level of illumination for safe occupant egress when evacuation of a space becomes necessary.

 

http://www.csemag.com/home/single-article/integrating-fire-protection-in-building-systems/eafc82d45e.html

 

Best Economic System: The Criteria

 

Among others, there are seven criteria in determining the best economic system.

Abundance

There is abundance when the members of the society experienced satisfaction, mass poverty was eliminated, goods and services are sufficient, no problems in food, clothing, shelter, medicine, education and in recreation.

Growth

The quantitative changes in the economy signify economic growth. As earlier mentioned, economic growth is present when the society acquires greater productive capacity which can be used for consumption or investment. For example, increase in terms of the number of buildings, houses, schools, cars, hospitals, factories or machinery made in a given year.

Stability

When inflation and unemployment are absent in that country then we can say that their economic system is the best because this means that their economic condition is stable.

Security

When there is an assurance of not losing their jobs there follows the security.

Efficiency

It occurs when the opportunity cost (the value of the next best opportunity to a good or to some activity) of some specific amounts of goods is at the lowest possible value and when maximum production from given sources and cost is achieved.

Justice and equity

It is clearly seen when there is fair distribution of income and power among the members of the society. These can be proven when there is sufficient opportunity for job seekers and people had improved their social and economic conditions.

Economic freedom

When consumers are free to choose their food, style of house, education, recreation and etc. then we can say that there is economic freedom. Businessmen are free to invest their money; however this freedom is construed not to violate legal and moral values.

 

http://www.shvoong.com/social-sciences/economics/1744491-best-economic-criteria/#ixzz1WpMZaWgi

 

Mixed economy

The term “mixed economy” arose in the context of political debate in the United Kingdom in the postwar period, although the set of policies later associated with the term had been advocated from at least the 1930s. Supporters of the mixed economy, including R. H. Tawney, Anthony Crosland and Andrew Shonfield were mostly associated with the British Labour Party, although similar views were expressed by Conservatives including Harold Macmillan.

Critics of the British mixed economy, including Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich von Hayek, argued that what is called a mixed economy is a move toward socialism and increasing the influence of the state.

The term mixed economy is used to describe economic systems which stray from the ideals of either the market, or various planned economies, and “mix” with elements of each other. As most political-economic ideologies are defined in an idealized sense, what is described rarely if ever exists in practice. Most would not consider it unreasonable to label an economy that, while not being a perfect representation, very closely resembles an ideal by applying the rubric that denominates that ideal. However, when a system in question diverges to a significant extent from an idealized economic model or ideology, the task of identifying it can become problematic. Hence, the term “mixed economy” was coined. As it is unlikely that an economy will contain a perfectly even mix, mixed economies are usually noted as being skewed towards either private ownership or public ownership, toward capitalism or socialism, or toward a market economy or command economy in varying degrees.

There is not a consensus on which economies are capitalist, socialist, or mixed. It may be argued that the historical tendency of power holders in all times and places to limit the activities of market actors combined with the natural impossibility of monitoring and constraining all market actors has resulted in the fact that, as we understand a “mixed economy” being a combination of governmental enterprise and free-enterprise, nearly every economy to develop in human history meets this definition.

The elements of a mixed economy typically include a variety of freedoms:

· to possess means of production (farms, factories, stores, etc.)

· to participate in managerial decisions (cooperative and participatory economics)

· to travel (needed to transport all the items in commerce, to make deals in person, for workers and owners to go to where needed)

· to buy (items for personal use, for resale; buy whole enterprises to make the organization that creates wealth a form of wealth itself)

· to sell (same as buy)

· to hire (to create organizations that create wealth)

· to fire (to maintain organizations that create wealth)

· to organize (private enterprise for profit, labour unions, workers' and professional associations, non-profit groups, religions, etc.)

· to communicate (free speech, newspapers, books, advertisements, make deals, create business partners, create markets)

· to protest peacefully (marches, petitions, sue the government, make laws friendly to profit making and workers alike, remove pointless inefficiencies to maximize wealth creation)