Here at Space Age, we pride ourselves as an exceptionally versatile manufacturer that offers a comprehensive variety of code compliant solutions for the life safety industry. One of our flagship product brands is PanelVu, a line of custom Smoke Control Panels and Graphic Annunciators. Since each one of these panels is completely customized to our client’s building specifications and their intended application, most are often extremely complicated. Sometimes, one of these panels may even reach its destination only to have the installers discover an oversight in their approved design that requires a quick fix in the field. However, rare situations like these are easily remedied thanks to our PCI-certified technicians ensuring that each panel we fabricate can accommodate minor field enhancements.
In one specific case at a popular resort in Florida’s Lake Buena Vista, a manual override switch and its associated LEDs were left out of the design requirements for a large Smoke Control Panel. Changes like this can be costly for everyone involved in a project installation, but our experts were able to head to the site and provide the necessary modifications with just some standard hand tools and basic knowledge of the equipment wiring. Several mechanical systems no longer required to be visible or operational on the front display were removed, and a custom-printed patch kit was seamlessly applied to the existing graphic.
While we were fortunate enough to be able to send our own experts down to help out with this specific project, we go to great lengths to make sure our panels are designed so our partners can easily perform their own field modifications. Our factory team prefabricate and assemble the switch and LED clusters with wiring harnesses long enough to reach their respective locations within the enclosure utilizing detachable connectors and cables. This simple plug-and-play design allows quick and easy field updates with our supplied kits including the necessary drill bits, hardware, and instructions.
Last but not least, our portable, battery-powered PanelVu tester (developed by our apprentice engineer Dan Andrews in 2018) gives everyone peace of mind that any field modifications are performed correctly. Not only is this tester currently used during our production process for every panel, it can also be used to identify problems in the field for quick troubleshooting and operation verification.
Installing and servicing life safety systems shouldn’t be hard! That’s why Space Age goes the extra mile to ensure these tasks are simple enough for field technicians to accomplish on their own, saving everyone time and money as well as maintaining the quality and dependability of our products. Click here to learn more about our PanelVu line!
Life Safety Blog | Space Age Electronics Blog 