E3 Series by Gamewell-FCI Nominated for CS/E’s 2006 TOP 10 PRODUCTS of the YEAR! November 2006 issue of Consulting-Specifying Engineer The Consulting-Specifying Engineer’s “Perfect 10” Awards is a two-part product-of-the -year competition in which a selection of this year’s new products has been chosen by a panel of expert judges for ultimate consideration by CS/E's readers to determine award winners. The awards competition will recognize the best new products from these categories: HVAC, controls/building automation, plumbing, fire protection, communications/security, electrical, power generation/emergency power and lighting. All 46,154 subscribers of Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine will then have an opportunity to vote for one winner from each category. Winners will be published in the November 2006 issue of Consulting-Specifying Engineer. The CS/E judges have narrowed contest entrants to four finalists in the fire category. We are proud to announce the E3 Series Expandable Emergency Evacuation System has been nominated and noted as offering “huge” safety benefits due to its broadband capability, which offers speed and reliable communications between nodes. E3 Series by Gamewell-FCI This expandable emergency evacuation system employs “building block” architecture, allowing multiple modules and cabinets to be configured to suit a wide range if applications, from a stand-alone fire alarm control panel to an expansive mass-notification system. Its distributed communication control capability provides clear instructions, automated or live, to needed areas – even on a floor-by-floor basis. Each segment of the system operates independently, allowing evacuation instructions to be delivered even if part of the system is damaged. One judge noted that the product’s broadband capability, which facilitates speedy, reliable communication between nodes, could be “huge.” To vote, go to http://www.csemag.com/   Update to UL 864 Defines Product Intro Source: Security Systems News - February 2006 By Joanne Friedrick, contributor Manufacturers put their focus on meeting the standard and are reducing their total offerings as the deadline nears. The introduction of new products to the fire/life safety market is being dictated these days by the myriad changes outlined in the ninth edition of UL 864, the testing standard for fire alarm control panels and accessories. The ninth edition, issued in late 2003, was meant to impact all products manufactured after Oct. 1, 2005, but that deadline was extended until March 31, 2006, and is now expected to be carried over until Dec. 31, 2006, in large part because of the volume of products that need to be tested and approved by Underwriters Laboratories, the product safety certification organization. "The industry as a whole looks to codes and standard changes as a tide," explained Jeff Hendrickson, director of marketing for Silent Knight. "We expect it to happen on a regular basis. "He said what's most important in cases such as this one is to have advanced warning and knowledge of what the details of the changes might be. Looking at the original two-year deadline for compliance with the ninth edition, Hendrickson said, "I would say companies have adequate time to respond to code changes. "But with 181 new or revised changes to the standard, noted John Weaver, marketing director for Gamewell/FCI, the impact on existing control panels is huge. Weaver said complying with the ninth edition " requires considerable redesign." "From our standpoint," said Weaver, "we've had to redesign the electronic circuitry, which will make a lot of products obsolete. "He said Gamewell/FCI chose to initiate a new platform rather than tweak existing products to make them fit the 864 ninth edition guidelines. What has resulted, he said, is the creation of Gamewell's E3 Series, which stands for Expandable Emergency Evacuation. The new product, said Weaver, is expandable so it fits both small and large applications and its modular construction increases the survivability of the system. The E3 Series is also in sync with ongoing changes to NFPA 72, which cover mass notification. Keeping the original October deadline for meeting the ninth edition standard in mind, Weaver said Gamewell/FCI had its E3 product tested and approved in just 11 months. It also wanted to meet the original deadline, he said, because the company had already informed customers it was discontinuing its 7200 alarm panel product. As a result of the changes dictated by the ninth edition and the products created to comply with it, Weaver said Gamewell/FCI is reducing its fire products SKUs by half. "The surviving products will have the attributes to do what the other product did," he said, "but will do it smarter."