FCSC: A Fresh Approach to Depot Safety that’s FirstClass
Essex-based safety control system specialist FirstClass Safety & Control (FirstClass) have been supplying safety control systems for over 20 years.
The company was created following a management buyout of the safety control division of Beck & Pollitzer back in 2017 and has continued to prosper and develop.
Depot protection systems are just one of the products offered for the rail sector, along with depot control systems and locally operated points systems (LOPS). This range of products means that FirstClass can provide a rail depot operator with a fully integrated safety system.
FirstClass developed an industry-first in 2017, the RFID operator control panel, allowing users to log on and off using a RFID card, the same card that links to the depot security system and any other RFID-based system. The operator control panels also use pictorial menu screens, eliminating the need for “wordy” on screen instructions, and allowing translation into multiple languages at a fraction of the cost of other systems on the market.
All FirstClass Safety systems come with SIL 2 level safety-certified as standard. Additional features of the FirstClass depot protection system that can be provided are depot door interlocks, high-level gantry access interlocks, wifi interlocks and OLE interlocks, to name only a few of the options that can be integrated.
All FirstClass depot protection and depot control systems are designed to the client’s specification, allowing 100% tailored solutions, not a standard product that has been tweaked.
All of the technical capabilities of FirstClass are backed up with unrivalled service support, available 24 hours a day with full on-site support, as well as back-office support for software and online diagnostics.
Looking to the future FirstClass is excited to be developing rail safety systems that incorporate their knowledge of the oil & gas sectors, for applications such as hydrogen fuelled trains, where the TUV Functional Safety Engineer certification FirstClass holds is a pre-requisite for system design and verification.
FirstClass are also going global with the recent announcement of a partnership with Freightquip for the Australian and New Zealand markets. This partnership has already produced its first order, a Depot Protection System for a maintenance depot located in Melbourne. Watch this space for further news of this and other global contract wins!
With a track record of installations over the past 15 years across the rail sector, from metro depots such as Blackpool Tram to mainline depots, including the Ilford Crossrail depot and the recently completed GWR Exeter Depot, FirstClass can support you with any depot safety control system requirements.
